Industry Facts

Industry Facts

  • Miners recognize the need to decarbonize - globally, there are around 28,00 large mine hauling trucks, predominantly diesel-powered. Together these trucks emit 68 million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to the total greenhouse gas of Finland or New Zealand
  • Conventional mining is inherently energy-intensive with a large carbon footprint with investor pressures for emission reductions rising
  • Greenhouse gas emissions associated with primary mineral and metal production was equivalent to approximately 10% of the total global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 with maturing conventional mines anticipating increasing hauling distances and strip ratios
  • Demand for raw material for battery metals, copper, gold and silver is on the increase and will impact the need for mining operations globally
  • Water is a growing source of concern with many mining operations located in water-stressed locations

In-Situ Recovery (ISR) Facts

  • ISR was commercially introduced in the uranium sector during the 1970s in the USA, and then applied in many countries over last 50 years
  • EU’s Director, Dennis Stover, PhD, was awarded several of the first ISR patents in the United States. The enCore Energy team has significant expertise in ISR technology, permitting and operations
  • ISR allows the extraction of minerals leaving the host rocks ‘in place’. No waste piles or long term disturbance
  • ISR now provides for over 50% of all uranium extraction in the United States (US)
  • ISR eliminates the need for mine hauling trucks, waste and tailings piles, open pit and underground mining operations
  • A multiple jurisdictional state and federal regulatory regime ensures that no solution escapes from the ISR area and ground water is protected
  • The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that no underground source of drinking water in the United States has been impacted by operating or decommissioned ISR uranium recovery operations

Nuclear Energy Facts

  • Nuclear energy produces 52% of the emission free electricity in the United States, it is carbon-free and emission-free
  • Nuclear energy protects air quality, it is a zero-emission clean energy source and the largest source of clean energy in the US
  • Nuclear energy produces more electricity on less land than any other clean-air source
  • Nuclear is reliable, nuclear plants are the most efficient source of electricity, operating 24/7 at a more than 93 percent average capacity factor
  • Nuclear is powerful, one uranium fuel pellet—about the size of a gummy bear—creates as much energy as one ton of coal, 149 gallons of oil or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas
  • A single nuclear power reactor generates enough electricity on average to power over 700,000 homes without emitting any greenhouse gases—that’s more than enough to power a city the size of Philadelphia
  • The 94 nuclear plants in the United States produce enough electricity to power 75 million homes
  • Nuclear energy is one of the most reliable sources of energy and provides 20% of all power in the US
  • Nuclear energy is the 2nd largest source of power in the United States (US) with US reactors generated 790 billion kwh of electricity in 2020
  • Energy density - wind farms require 360 times more land area to produce the same amount of electricity and solar photovoltaic plants require 75 times more space than nuclear energy.
  • Also, you need more than 3 million solar panels to produce the same amount of power as a typical commercial reactor or more than 430 wind turbines
  • The thermal energy from nuclear reactors may also be used to decarbonize other energy-intensive sectors such as transportation – the largest contributor to carbon pollution
  • The nuclear industry supports nearly half a million jobs in the United States with salaries that are 30% higher than the local average. They also contribute billions of dollars annually to local economies through federal and state tax revenues

References

Raghav Muralidharan, Thomas Kirk and Thomas Kich Blank, Pulling the Weight of Heavy Truck Decarbonization: Exploring Pathways to Decarbonize Bulk Material Hauling in Mining,  Rocky Mountain Institute, 2019, https://rmi.org/insight/pulling-the-wight-of-heavy-truck-decarbonization.

Shared Water, Shared Responsibility, Shared Approach: Water in the Mining Sector, 2017, International Council on Mining & Metals, www.commdev.org  and www.icmm.com.

Commonwealth of Australia, 2010.  Australia’s In Situ Recovery Uranium Mining Best Practice Guide, Canberra

Transparency on greenhouse gas emissions from mining to enable climate change mitigation, Mehdi Azadi, Stephen A. Northey, Saleem H. Ali & Mansour Edraki 

https://rmi.org/how-much-co2-is-embedded-in-a-product/#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpdkvEVZFik Nuclear by the Numbers, US Department of Energy