Cover Story Breakbulk & Project Cargo
US uranium production reached a six-year high of 375,401 pounds in Q4 2024. Georgia Power
Among those projects, nuclear supplier Orano USA is developing a multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment facility in Tennessee. In May, Urenco began production at the first phase of an expansion that will increase its New Mexico plant’ s capacity by 15 % by 2027. And in April, BWX Technologies( BWXT) acquired 97 acres of land to develop a centrifuge manufacturing facility to support uranium enrichment.
Another key source of project cargo would be the development of nuclear plants and reactors. According to the World Nuclear Association( WNA), there are 94 operating reactors in the US, but 41 that have been shut down over the years. Although no new reactors are currently under construction in the US, 21 have been proposed, according to the WNA.
A potential growth area for project development is advanced small modular reactors, or SMRs. Whereas traditional nuclear reactors can cost billions and take decades to build, SMRs would consist of modular components that can be delivered and assembled onsite.
Gavin Erasmus Global Head of Mining, DHL Industrial Projects
Dialing up domestic
Uranium mining is the first step of the nuclear fuel process, and the US has taken steps to significantly ramp up domestic mining and production activities.
Gavin Erasmus, global head of mining for DHL Industrial Projects, told the Journal of Commerce that as recently as 2023,
US uranium production accounted for 0.4 % of the country’ s nuclear fuel requirements. The momentum shifted in 2024, when US lawmakers banned low-enriched uranium imports from Russia. The US historically obtained 20 % of its enriched uranium from Russia.
That legislation has positioned the US as a more promising source of uranium project revenue, Erasmus said.
“ The industry in Canada and the US are of significant importance to DHL,” he said.
Energy Fuels’ Casey said the US is the world’ s largest consumer of nuclear energy, using roughly 40 million to 45 million pounds of uranium each year. Yet in 2024, the US produced just under 700,000 pounds of uranium concentrate, according to EIA figures.
In one sign of a turnaround, domestic uranium production reached a six-year high of 375,401 pounds in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a report from the US Energy Information Administration( EIA).
One of the facilities contributing to that production is Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill, located in southeast Utah and the country’ s only conventional uranium mill operating. Casey said the mill has the capacity to process 8 million pounds of uranium ore, although it has never operated at that level.
“ We’ re operating at 2 million pounds this year and hope that if all of our mines are coming online, we will get to 6 million pounds,” Casey said.
Fast-tracking facilities
Trump’ s recent executive orders included the rollout of accelerated review processes that would dramatically speed up approvals for nuclear energy projects, including uranium mines. In May, Anfield Energy’ s Velvet-Wood
8 Journal of Commerce | September 2025 www. joc. com