Uranium Price per kg in US Dollars: Spot, Term, Fuel Cost

One kilogram of uranium oxide concentrate (U3O8, called yellowcake) was worth about US$198 at the 30 September 2026 month-end spot average of US$89.63 per pound, and about US$213 under long-term contracts at US$96.50 per pound (Cameco, industry average of UxC and TradeTech month-end prices). Counted as uranium metal rather than oxide, the same spot price is about US$233 per kilogram. Uranium is quoted per pound, so every “per kg” figure is a conversion, and this page shows the arithmetic, the price history, what reactor operators really pay, and what a kilogram costs to find and mine.

Uranium price per kg in US dollars: the conversion

Uranium has no exchange where everyone can see one price. Buyers and sellers agree contracts in private, and price reporters publish indicators. Cameco takes the month-end prices from two of them, UxC and TradeTech, and averages them. The unit is US dollars per pound of U3O8. To get a price per kilogram, multiply by 2.20462 (pounds in a kilogram). To get a price per kilogram of uranium metal, divide again by 0.848, because U3O8 is about 84.8% uranium by weight (238.03 g/mol for uranium and 15.999 g/mol for oxygen, from standard atomic weights).

The per-kilogram columns are our arithmetic from the published per-pound prices. The Trading Economics uranium page tracks a contract for difference linked to the NYMEX contract, whose standard size is 250 pounds of U3O8. It is a reference tracker, not a UxC or TradeTech assessment, so we show it as a cross-check and not as the base price. Check today’s price at the publisher before you use any figure here in a deal.

Why the answer changes with the question

People who search for the “price of 1 kg of uranium” usually mean one of four things. The first is yellowcake (U3O8), which is what the table above prices. The second is uranium metal inside that yellowcake. The third is enriched reactor fuel, which costs many times more because of conversion, enrichment and fabrication. The fourth is the cost to produce a kilogram at a mine, which is a different number from the selling price. Each has its own section below.

How the uranium price moved

The spot price is a thin slice of the market, so it moves faster than the contract price. The World Nuclear Association (WNA) says the spot share of trade has been about one quarter in the last decade, while most uranium moves under 3-15 year contracts, often at a higher price than spot to reflect security of supply (WNA, Uranium Markets). Utilities and producers made up 95% of spot market activity in 2000 and 30-40% since, with traders and financial buyers making up the rest.

Chart

Spot and long-term uranium price, month-end

US$ per pound U3O8, January 2025 to September 2026

TradeTech’s own spot indicator reached a 16-year high of US$91.00 per pound at the end of 2023, fell to US$73.50 at the end of 2024, and went down to US$64.50 on 28 February 2025 as US tariff plans made buyers cautious (TradeTech, Daily Uranium Spot Price Indicator). Cameco’s month-end average then recovered from US$64.23 in March 2025 to US$94.28 in January 2026, and has stayed between US$84 and US$90 from February to September 2026.

Long-term prices rose from US$80.00 in the spring of 2025 to US$96.50 in August and September 2026 without a monthly fall. At the end of September 2026 the long-term price was US$6.87 per pound above spot.

Spot price versus what utilities pay

The quoted spot price is not what a reactor operator pays on average. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) surveys owners and operators of US civilian reactors each year. For deliveries in 2025 they bought 46.9 million pounds of U3O8 equivalent at a weighted-average price of US$58.46 per pound, about US$129 per kilogram of U3O8 (EIA, Uranium Marketing Annual Report with data for 2025). That is 11% higher than the 2024 average of US$52.71 and below the US$64-83 range of month-end spot prices in 2025 (Cameco).

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September month-end: spot versus long-term price

US$ per pound U3O8, 2022 to 2026

The reason is the contract book. In the EIA data, 87% of the uranium delivered in 2025 came under long-term contracts at a weighted average of US$55.91 per pound, and 13% under spot contracts at US$76.01. Many of those long-term contracts were signed when prices were lower. New contracts signed in 2025 for 2025 delivery averaged US$70.46 per pound across 22 contracts. In short, the number in a news headline and the number on a utility’s invoice can differ by 30% or more.

The same EIA report shows the second cost for a utility: enrichment. US operators paid an average US$108.70 per separative work unit (SWU) in 2025, up 11% from US$97.66 in 2024. A SWU is the standard unit of enrichment work, and it is explained in the WNA enrichment guide.

What 1 kg of enriched reactor fuel costs

Most power reactors burn uranium enriched to a few percent U-235, while natural uranium contains only 0.7% U-235. Making 1 kg of enriched uranium as fuel needs far more than 1 kg of yellowcake. The WNA worked example, priced in September 2021, needs 8.9 kg of U3O8, 7.5 kg of uranium converted to UF6, 7.3 SWU of enrichment, and fabrication of the fuel pellets and assemblies, for a total of about US$1,663 per kilogram of uranium as UO2 fuel (WNA, Economics of Nuclear Power). Uranium itself was 51% of that bill.

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Front-end cost of 1 kg of uranium as UO2 fuel

US$ per kg, WNA worked example at September 2021 prices (total US$1,663)

Re-pricing only the two parts that have current figures on this page gives a rough 2026 picture. Uranium at the 30 September 2026 spot average (8.9 kg at US$197.60 per kg) is about US$1,759. Enrichment at the 2025 EIA average (7.3 SWU at US$108.70) is about US$794. Adding the 2021 conversion (US$120) and fabrication (US$300) figures from the WNA table brings the total to roughly US$2,970 per kilogram of enriched uranium as fuel. It is an estimate, because conversion and fabrication prices have not been updated here, and utilities pay contract prices, not spot. The calculator below lets you change every input.

Fuel is still a small part of nuclear power costs. The WNA notes that front-end fuel is typically 30-40% of the cost of electricity at operating nuclear plants and only 15-20% at new ones, and that doubling the uranium price from US$25 to US$50 per pound lifted the fuel cost of a typical US plant by about one quarter. That explains why utilities sign long contracts and do not chase the spot price.

What it costs to produce 1 kg of uranium

Production cost is not one number. Mining companies report it at several levels, and each level answers a different question (WNA, Uranium Mining Overview):

• C1 (cash operating cost): mining, processing, reagents, energy, labour, freight, royalties and a provision for closing the site, but not depreciation.
• C2: C1 plus depreciation, so it shows total production cost.
• AISC (all-in sustaining cost): C1 plus the development spending needed to keep production going.
• C3: every cost of the business, which is the one that decides whether a mine is viable over its life.

Quoted costs are often per pound of U3O8, and sometimes per kilogram of uranium. Always check which level and which unit a company is using. TradeTech’s comparison of mine cost profiles, reported by the WNA, shows that for in situ leach (ISL) mines almost half of the C3 cost is the capital to set up the operation, about a quarter is sustaining spending and just over a quarter is C1 cash cost. For open pit mines C1 is about 70% of the total. So a low cash cost at an ISL wellfield does not mean a low all-in cost per kilogram.

The method matters because it now dominates supply. The WNA reports that ISL, where a solution is pumped through the ore underground and brought back up, supplies over half of world uranium production. In 2024 the world’s mines produced 60,213 tonnes of uranium (tU), equal to 90% of reactor demand, with the rest coming from stockpiles and secondary sources (WNA, World Uranium Mining Production). Kazakhstan alone supplied 39%, Canada 24% and Namibia 12%.

Resources are counted by cost per kilogram

Government and industry resource reports sort uranium by the cost of recovering it, and they use kilograms of uranium, not pounds. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and IAEA “Red Book” counts 5.86 million tU of identified resources recoverable at up to US$130 per kg U as of 1 January 2025, of which Australia holds 1.70 million tU (29%), Kazakhstan 0.83 million tU (14%) and Canada 0.55 million tU (9%). Raise the cost ceiling to US$260 per kg U and the total grows to 8.1 million tU (WNA, Supply of Uranium). The first figure, US$130 per kg U, equals about US$50 per pound of U3O8, well below the spot price in this article.

Bore costs: what drilling adds to the cost per kg

Readers who ask “what does a uranium bore cost” are asking a different question from the price of yellowcake. Drilling is a cost of finding uranium, and it only shows up in the price per kilogram after the metal is mined and sold. Three things set the bill: depth and rock type, the hole type (core holes give better data but cost more per metre than percussion or rotary holes), and groundwater, which can flood holes and add pumping and casing. Remote sites also add camp and mobilisation costs. Contractor quotes change by country and year, so use a current written quote for any budget instead of a rule of thumb from a blog.

Here is how to turn a drilling budget into a cost per kilogram. Divide the money spent on drilling by the kilograms of uranium it defined. As an example only, US$3 million of drilling that outlines 2,000 tU (2 million kg) costs US$1.50 per kg U. The WNA gives a long-run benchmark: the huge uranium reserves of Canada’s Athabasca Basin were found for about US$1 per kg U in 2003 dollars, including unsuccessful exploration (WNA, Supply of Uranium). Finding cost is tiny next to a selling price near US$233 per kg U, which is why drilling in the wrong place, not drilling itself, is the real risk.

That is where earlier screening saves money. Satellite data can rank parts of a licence for alteration and surface signs before a rig is booked, so the first holes go to the best targets. A satellite screen gives targets for follow-up, not a resource estimate. For context on exploration budgets, see the guide to Canadian mineral exploration spending, and for the public geology data that shapes drill plans, the Ontario and British Columbia public geoscience data guide.

▶ Why a hole in the wrong place costs as much as one in the right place, and how satellite screening ranks targets first. · 4:26

What moves the uranium price

Demand is steady and easy to forecast. The WNA counts about 440 reactors with roughly 390 GWe that need some 80,000 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate (about 67,500 tU) a year, and the market is expected to grow (WNA, Uranium Markets). Because fuel is a small part of power costs, demand reacts little to price in the short run. Supply is where the surprises come from.

• Mine output and delays. Three countries supply about three quarters of mined uranium, so a plant delay or a permit decision in one of them moves the market. The Trading Economics news stream notes worry over delayed sulphuric acid capacity at Kazatomprom’s leaching operations.
• Trade rules. The US ban on imports of low-enriched uranium from Russia took effect on 11 August 2024 and runs to 31 December 2040 (TradeTech). It changed where buyers source enriched material.
• Tariffs and policy. TradeTech linked the early-2025 spot decline to uncertainty over US tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
• Stockpiles and secondary supply. Mines met 90% of 2024 demand; stocks, recycling and other sources filled the rest.
• Financial buyers. Traders and funds are a large share of spot activity, so sentiment can move spot faster than the physical market.
• New reactor designs. Small modular reactors may change fuel needs per unit of power, but the WNA outlook does not show a price effect yet.

For more on how company news and producers’ sales reports feed into the price, see our look at a Cameco news release and the uranium price, the guide to uranium price per pound and its main impacts, the profile of Generation Mining and Ontario’s green metals, and the page on uranium resources by country.

Where uranium comes from and who holds the resource

Kazakhstan produced 23,270 tU in 2024, Canada 14,309 tU and Namibia 7,333 tU. Australia produced 4,598 tU but holds the largest identified resource. Production has moved in a different pattern from resources: Canada’s output more than tripled from its 2020 low of 3,885 tU, and Natural Resources Canada says all of it comes from high-grade Saskatchewan deposits, with concentrations up to 100 times the global average, and that about 90% was exported (NRCan, Uranium and nuclear power facts). Niger fell from 2,991 tU in 2020 to 962 tU in 2024 (WNA production table). For a view of one African prospect, see our note on satellite exploration targets in Zimbabwe and the clay-animated video below on Kanyemba, a known deposit with no working uranium mine.

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Uranium mined by country, 2024

Thousand tonnes of uranium (tU); Uzbekistan and China are estimates

▶ A short clay-animation explainer on the Kanyemba uranium deposit in Zimbabwe and uranium in Africa. · 4:27

How to read a uranium price quote before you use it

1. Check the material. U3O8, UF6, enriched UF6 and uranium metal are priced differently. The US$ per pound quote is for U3O8.
2. Check the type. Spot, mid-term and long-term prices are different assessments. Quote the one that fits the contract you are valuing.
3. Check the date. Month-end averages, weekly indicators and daily indicators are not the same series (TradeTech price definitions).
4. Check the unit. Convert pounds to kilograms with 2.20462, and U3O8 to uranium metal with 0.848.
5. Check who set it. An indicator is a judgment of where a deal could be done, not a posted price, and it may differ between reporters.
6. Check the currency. Every figure here is in US dollars; other markets convert at their own exchange rate.

This page is a price guide, not a trading tool. Physical uranium is a regulated nuclear material, so buying, holding or moving it needs the licences of the national regulator, and a private buyer cannot simply order a kilogram. Figures here are not investment advice.

Frequently asked questions

What is the price of 1 kg of uranium in dollars?

At the 30 September 2026 month-end, spot U3O8 averaged US$89.63 per pound, which is about US$198 per kilogram of U3O8 or US$233 per kilogram of uranium metal. The long-term contract price was US$96.50 per pound, about US$213 per kilogram of U3O8 (Cameco). Check the publisher for the latest figure.

Why is uranium priced per pound and not per kilogram?

Uranium is quoted in US dollars per pound of U3O8, a convention that dates from the early North American market and has stayed in use. The standard NYMEX contract is for 250 pounds. You convert to kilograms by multiplying the per-pound price by 2.20462.

How much does enriched uranium cost per kg?

It depends on the enrichment level and the price of the SWU. In the WNA example, 1 kg of uranium as UO2 reactor fuel took 8.9 kg of U3O8 and 7.3 SWU and cost about US$1,663 at September 2021 prices. Re-priced with the Cameco spot average for 30 September 2026 and the 2025 EIA enrichment average, the same recipe comes to roughly US$2,970 before any change in conversion or fabrication prices.

Is the uranium spot price what power plants pay?

No. US reactor operators paid a weighted average of US$58.46 per pound for 2025 deliveries, because 87% of their uranium came under long-term contracts at US$55.91 per pound (EIA).

What is the price of uranium-235 per kg?

There is no market price for pure U-235. Natural uranium is only 0.7% U-235, and the price that matters is the yellowcake price plus the SWU price for enriching it. The enrichment sections above show how the costs add up.

How much does it cost to mine 1 kg of uranium?

It depends on the mining method, the grade and the cost level quoted. For ISL mines, only just over a quarter of the all-in cost is cash operating cost, while for open pit mines cash cost is about 70% (WNA, citing TradeTech). Ask which level (C1, C2, AISC or C3) any figure refers to.

What are bore costs in a uranium project?

Bore costs are the cost of drilling holes to find and measure uranium. They depend on depth, rock, drilling method, water and site access. Divide the drilling budget by the kilograms of uranium defined to get a finding cost per kilogram, as shown in the bore costs section.

Which countries produce the most uranium?

In 2024 Kazakhstan produced 23,270 tU (39% of the world), Canada 14,309 tU (24%) and Namibia 7,333 tU (12%), out of a world total of 60,213 tU (WNA).

Why does the long-term price differ from spot?

Long-term contracts run for years and reflect security of supply, while spot covers small volumes delivered soon. In September 2026 the long-term price was US$6.87 per pound above spot, but in September 2023 it was US$10.08 below it (Cameco).

Can I use the calculator on this page for a real contract?

Use it for a first estimate only. Prices in the calculator are examples; enter today’s price from a publisher you trust, and confirm the terms of any contract with the buyer, the seller and the regulator.