How Uranium Is Extracted?
This simplified animation shows how uranium is extracted using a drill that pulls the reamer up through the pilot hole, widening it.
The broken ore then falls into what is known as an extraction chamber.
Next, a bulldozer, operated remotely to keep the operator at a safe distance from falling rock hazards, picks up the uranium rock.
Fast forward: the uranium is then condensed, ground, and placed into a centrifuge for further enrichment.
Everyone is talking about centrifuge enrichment, but let’s explore how it actually works.
This first batch is natural uranium, which contains only 0.7% of Uranium-235.
Here, in this Image we have 5% low-enriched uranium, which is used for commercial nuclear power plants.
Finally, we have weapons-grade uranium, which contains 90% Uranium-235.
As you can see, almost all the Uranium-238 has been removed, and it is replaced by Uranium-238 representing the color blue.