Uranium: The Fuel For Clean Energy

Global demand for electricity is set to grow around 50% by 2040.

As the only energy source of low-carbon, scalable, reliable, and affordable electricity, nuclear is set to play a prominent role in meeting this growing demand while satisfying decarbonization objectives globally.

In this infographic from Skyharbour Resources, Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti and Sabrina Fortin take a closer look at how uranium is shaping the future of energy.

Nuclear Power to Backstop Clean Energy Transition

Nuclear is considered an important source of clean energy, being the second largest source of low-carbon electricity in the world behind hydropower.

Nuclear power plants produce no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, and over the course of their life cycle, they produce about the same amount of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions per unit of electricity as wind, and one-third of the emissions per unit of electricity when compared with solar.

Nuclear fuel is extremely dense and generates minimal waste. All of the used nuclear fuel produced by the U.S. over the last 60 years could fit on a football field at a depth of fewer than 10 yards.

To power up reactors, uranium demand is expected to rise ∼160% over the next decades.

Several countries are going nuclear in a bid to reduce reliance on fossil fuels while building reliable energy grids. Not many, however, have uranium deposits that are economically recoverable.

 

Canada has the world’s largest deposits of high-grade uranium with grades of up to 20% uranium.

 

The Highest-Grade Uranium Deposits in the World

Canada’s Athabasca Basin region in Saskatchewan and Alberta has the highest-grade uranium deposits in the world, with grades that are 10 to 100 times greater than the average grade of deposits elsewhere.

Uranium was first discovered in the Athabasca Basin in 1934, and today the region remains a major hot spot for uranium exploration.

Besides hosting the richest uranium grades in the world, the region is a top-tier mining jurisdiction, with the best practices for environmental protection.

In recent years, a number of junior uranium companies have made exciting new discoveries in the basin, with Skyharbour Resources among them. The company holds an extensive portfolio of fifteen uranium exploration projects, ten of which are drill-ready, covering 450,000 hectares of mineral claims.