Potential Uranium Resources of the Western United States; GJO - 104 (73)

Grand Junction, CO: U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, Grand Junction Office, Resource Division, 1973. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. Good. [2], 7, [1] pages, plus covers. Figure/Map. Tables. References. Staplebound. Some discoloration around staples. Cover has some wear. This report is one of a series on uranium supply and demand. The major exploration in the U.S. has been in or near the producing districts in the Colorado Plateau *Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona), the Wyoming Basins, and the Gulf Coastal Plains with lesser activities elsewhere in the western states. The eastern U.S. and large parts of the west have received only minor attention and are not evaluated in this report. The large projected increase in the growth of nuclear power necessitates a better understanding of the total U.S. uranium resource position. Data generated by industry exploration activity provides the principal basis for AEC evaluations. Uranium is used to fuel the 98 operable nuclear reactors in the United States, providing 20% of the nation's electricity. More than 95% of this uranium is imported, and the rest is produced from uranium mines in Wyoming, Nebraska and Texas and a uranium mill in Utah. The potential for uranium production in the United States was last fully evaluated during the energy crisis of the 1970's, and USGS is working to update this estimate by focusing on high priority regions throughout the United States. Methods to expand evaluation of uranium resources to include the impacts of mining these resources are also being developed. Scientists on the project also participate with and lead international groups of uranium resource experts to monitor world uranium supply which is critical for continued operation of domestic reactors. This research and accompanying assessments benefit industry, regulators, land owners, land managers, utilities and aid in formulating energy policy in the United States.