US Uranium Mining Companies Ranked by Output

The biggest US uranium producer in 2025 was Energy Fuels, whose White Mesa mill in Utah turned out about 390 tonnes of uranium (tU). enCore Energy came next with 230 tU from Texas, then Ur-Energy with 158 tU from Wyoming. Six producing companies made 831 tU in total, according to World Nuclear Association (WNA) tables built on EIA data. US power plants use about 19,000 tU a year, so domestic mines still cover only a small slice of demand (WNA, October 2026).

This page ranks the US producers by 2025 output, explains how each one works and what its latest report says, and then covers the numbers behind the list: where the uranium is mined, imports, prices, how long new mines take, policy, and what to check in a company’s filings. It also has a margin-per-pound calculator. It is a research guide, not investment advice.

US uranium mining companies ranked by output

Uranium is sold as yellowcake, a powder called U3O8. Reports use two units: tonnes of uranium (tU) and pounds of U3O8. One tU equals about 2,600 lb of U3O8, because uranium makes up 84.8% of U3O8 by mass. The table ranks companies by 2025 concentrate output in tU, the one measure that every producer shares. In-situ recovery (ISR) means dissolving uranium underground and pumping the solution to the surface. A conventional mill crushes mined ore instead.

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US uranium output by company, 2025

Tonnes of uranium (tU); Energy Fuels figure is White Mesa mill output including third-party feed

Source for the 2025 column: WNA’s US uranium production table, which reproduces EIA’s Domestic Uranium Production Report. Energy Fuels’ figure is mill output and includes third-party feed. Nichols Ranch (Energy Fuels, Wyoming) made nothing in 2025.

How we ranked these companies

We ranked by uranium concentrate made in calendar 2025, taken from EIA’s survey as tabulated by WNA. We chose that measure because it comes from a government survey (EIA) as tabulated by WNA, uses one unit, and covers every producer on the same dates. It has limits. Company fiscal years differ (UEC’s ends on 31 July), mill output can include feed from other owners’ mines, and EIA withholds some figures to protect company data. We did not rank by share price, market value or resource size, and nothing here is a price view.

The profiles below use each company’s own latest quarterly or annual release. Company figures follow each company’s own definitions, so costs per pound are not directly comparable between them. Where a company states a view of itself, we say so.

The six producers in detail

1. Energy Fuels (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR)

Energy Fuels runs the White Mesa mill, in southeastern Utah, which EIA lists as the only US uranium mill in operation at the end of 2025. WNA reports that White Mesa produced 1,015,000 lb of U3O8 in 2025. Its mines include Pinyon Plain in Arizona, and La Sal and Pandora in Utah. In its second-quarter 2026 release, the company said it mined 315,000 lb of U3O8, produced 865,000 lb of finished U3O8, sold 310,000 lb at an average US$80.48 per lb, and put the average cost of Pinyon Plain ore at about US$23 per lb recovered.

What stands out: the only operating US conventional mill and one of the highest-grade US mines (WNA). Strengths in its reports: large 2026 guidance range (1.5 to 2.5 million lb processed), stockpiled ore for the next mill run, low reported cost on Pinyon Plain ore. Risks in its reports: the company is also expanding into rare earths (the company reported a US$33.6 million net loss in the quarter, mainly from planned acquisition costs), and mill runs are campaign-based, so output comes in lumps. Utah mines and districts are covered in our Utah uranium mining guide.

2. enCore Energy (NASDAQ: EU; TSXV: EU)

enCore operates the Alta Mesa ISR project in Brooks County, Texas, which EIA lists as operating at the end of 2025 with 1.5 million lb a year of licensed capacity. WNA’s table shows 230 tU there in 2025, up from 64 tU in 2024. In its August 2026 results, enCore said extraction in the first half of 2026 fell to 131,274 lb, wellfield 7 would end recovery in the third quarter as it depletes, and final permits for wellfield 3 extension were expected in the fourth quarter. The company also said all federal permits for its Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota are in hand and state permitting began on 15 June 2026, with development expected in 2028.

What stands out: Texas ISR output and South Dakota permitting. Strengths in its reports: second-largest 2025 output, a drilling programme at Alta Mesa East, a licence for Dewey-Burdock renewed to June 2046. Risks in its reports: lower extraction in 2026, a reported cost of US$57.36 per lb extracted in the half-year, a July 2026 staff cut, and production tied to state permit dates.

3. Ur-Energy (NYSE American: URG; TSX: URE)

Ur-Energy owns Lost Creek in Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin and the Shirley Basin satellite project. WNA records 158 tU at Lost Creek in 2025 and notes that commercial production restarted in 2023. The company’s second-quarter 2026 release reports a record 140,873 lb drummed, a cash cost of US$40.20 per lb sold, 215,000 lb sold under long-term contracts at an average US$66.85, and final state authorization for full production at Shirley Basin in late June 2026. The company describes itself as the largest US ISR producer.

What stands out: a uranium-only ISR company selling under a long-term contract book. Strengths in its reports: rising output, resin from Shirley Basin processed at Lost Creek, near-mine exploration at Lost Creek South. Risks in its reports: all Q2 2026 sales were under long-term contracts, so spot moves matter less to its revenue, and wellfield and wastewater projects still have to be built on time.

4. Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE American: UEC)

UEC restarted Christensen Ranch, part of the Willow Creek project in Wyoming, in August 2024 and began producing at Burke Hollow in Texas in April 2026. Its fiscal 2026 results (year to 31 July 2026) give 229,294 lb produced, a total cost of US$39.94 per lb, 400,000 lb sold from inventory at US$93.13, and 1.256 million lb of inventory at year-end. Federal permitting for the Sweetwater project runs under the FAST-41 fast-track process, and construction of wells for the Ludeman satellite is under way. UEC is also working on a conversion plant, covered below.

What stands out: the widest US project pipeline (Wyoming and Texas hubs plus Sweetwater). Strengths in its reports: large liquid assets (US$753 million at 31 July 2026, per its earnings call) and more header houses approved on 28 September 2026. Risks in its reports: 2025 output was only 37 tU, the company gives no formal production guidance because approval timing is outside its control, and much of the value rests on projects not yet built.

5. Cameco’s US plants (Power Resources Inc., trading as Cameco Resources)

Cameco is a Canadian company, and Canada supplied 32% of the uranium delivered to US reactors in 2025 (EIA). Its US subsidiary holds Smith Ranch-Highland in Wyoming, with 5.5 million lb a year of licensed capacity, and Crow Butte in Nebraska, with 1 million lb. EIA lists Smith Ranch-Highland as operating and Crow Butte as in restoration at the end of 2025. WNA’s table shows only 9 tU and 2 tU in 2025, so the biggest licensed US plant is running far below capacity. Cameco also owns 49% of Global Laser Enrichment, which plans to re-enrich old tails at Paducah, Kentucky (WNA).

What stands out: large licensed US capacity that is mostly idle. Strengths in its reports: the largest licensed ISR capacity in the table and a global parent. Risks in its reports: negligible 2025 output and no US restart date in the sources we checked.

6. Peninsula Energy (ASX: PEN), through Strata Energy

Peninsula’s Lance project in Wyoming uses low-pH (acid) ISR, the only US ISR operation to do so (WNA). Production restarted in December 2024 and the Ross plant (WNA gives about 770 tU a year of yellowcake capacity; EIA lists 3 million lb, about 1,150 tU, of licensed capacity), made 5 tU in 2025. On 22 July 2026 the company withdrew its calendar-2026 guidance of 400,000 to 500,000 lb after slower wellfield flow rates, kept its 2027 range of 500,000 to 600,000 lb, and reported 13,889 lb for the June 2026 quarter and US$22.1 million of cash.

What stands out: the only US acid-leach ISR operation. Strengths in its reports: head grades of 50 to 60 mg/L in one header house, reported as more than double the earlier alkaline-leach average. Risks in its reports: a missed 2025 target and a withdrawn 2026 target, and US$22.1 million of cash at the end of June 2026, before a US$56 million funding package raised after quarter-end.

Developers and toll-mill customers to watch

Several smaller companies send ore or resin to larger plants rather than operate their own. WNA lists Western Uranium & Vanadium (Sunday Mine complex, ore delivered to White Mesa from early 2025), IsoEnergy (a Tony M bulk sample trucked to White Mesa from late December 2025), Anfield (Velvet-Wood, ground broken in November 2025, plus the Shootaring Canyon mill on standby) and Laramide (Church Rock and La Jara Mesa in New Mexico, both named FAST-41 projects in June 2025). Centrus is covered under enrichment below, because it does not mine.

Where the US mines uranium: Wyoming, Texas and Utah

US output comes from three kinds of site. The Wyoming ISR plants (Smith Ranch-Highland, Lost Creek, Willow Creek and Ross) sit in the Powder River and Great Divide basins, and four of the six facilities that produced in the second quarter of 2026 were in Wyoming (EIA, August 2026). Texas has the Alta Mesa plant and UEC’s new Burke Hollow wellfield, with UEC’s Hobson plant, which EIA listed as standby at the end of 2025 and which UEC says it has since recommissioned. Utah has the White Mesa mill, which takes ore from Arizona and Utah mines, including high-grade breccia pipes on the Arizona Strip.

By the 2025 company table, the White Mesa mill in Utah made the most (390 tU), Texas made 230 tU, and the four Wyoming plants together made about 209 tU. Wyoming still holds about two-thirds of licensed ISR capacity (22.3 of 33.6 million lb a year at the end of 2025, EIA annual report; EIA’s August 2026 quarterly update lowered the national total to 27.6 million lb, so the share may differ now), so its share can rise as plants ramp up.

Land access can matter as much as geology. A 2023 proclamation created the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni national monument near the Grand Canyon, closing nearly 4,000 square km to new uranium claims while leaving valid existing claims alone. The Ninth Circuit dismissed an appeal against it in April 2026 (WNA). For the three Utah districts and the uranium-vanadium belt there, see the Utah guide linked above. For worldwide mine rankings, see our guide to the largest uranium mines in the world.

How much uranium the US produces and how much it imports

US mines peaked at 16,800 tU in 1980, when more than 250 mines operated (WNA). Output fell to almost nothing by 2021 and then rebuilt. EIA reports that US plants made about 2.1 million lb of U3O8 concentrate in 2025 (2,109 thousand lb, about 811 tU), up from 657,000 lb in 2024. The WNA company rows add to 831 tU, so treat the company table as close but not exact; EIA’s mine-production total was 1,388 thousand lb (about 534 tU), the figure WNA’s fuel-cycle page quotes. Exploration and development drilling reached 5,532 holes in 2025, the most since 2012, and industry spending was US$234.7 million, the highest since 2014 (EIA, June 2026).

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Where reactor uranium came from, 2025 deliveries

Share of total deliveries to US reactor owners and operators (%)

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US uranium concentrate production, selected years

Thousand lb U3O8; 2020 withheld by EIA

Demand is far larger. Owners and operators of US reactors bought 46.9 million lb of U3O8 equivalent in 2025 at a weighted-average US$58.46 per lb. US-origin material was 7% of deliveries; Canada supplied 32%, Kazakhstan 28% and Australia 15% (EIA Uranium Marketing Annual Report). Worldwide, Kazakhstan produced 39% of mined uranium in 2024, Canada 24% and Namibia 12%, and over 55% of output now comes from in-situ leaching (WNA, October 2026). For a wider look at resources by country, see our post on uranium resources by country.

US commercial inventories stood at 170 million lb of U3O8 equivalent at the end of 2025, up 9% on a year earlier, and reactor operators have 186 million lb of unfilled needs for 2025 to 2035 (EIA). That unfilled demand is what new US supply competes for.

Uranium prices and what US producers were paid

Uranium trades mostly on private contracts. Spot is a one-off delivery; long-term contracts set prices for years. Cameco, which averages month-end prices from UxC and TradeTech, puts the spot price at US$89.63 per lb and the long-term price at US$96.50 at 30 September 2026 (Cameco price page). EIA found reactor operators paid an average US$76.01 under spot contracts and US$55.91 under long-term contracts for 2025 deliveries, and US producers’ own 2025 sales averaged US$68.45 per lb.

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Spot and long-term uranium price, year-ends and September 2026

US$ per lb U3O8, month-end industry average

The gap between the two price types has flipped twice at year-end since 2022 (see the chart). Producers with older long-term contracts can earn less than spot, as Ur-Energy’s US$66.85 average in Q2 2026 shows against Energy Fuels’ US$84.92 on spot sales and US$76.33 on its own long-term sales in the same quarter. Prices change daily, so check a current source. For more on price drivers, see our uranium long-term contract price post.

Margin per pound: a calculator for a US ISR project

The calculator below turns a project’s pounds, selling price, cost and royalty into a yearly margin and a break-even price. Reported costs differ by definition: Ur-Energy gave a cash cost of US$40.20 per lb sold for Q2 2026, UEC a total cost of US$39.94 for its fiscal 2026, and enCore a weighted average cost of US$75.54 per lb delivered (including purchased pounds) for the first half of 2026. Use your own numbers.

Uranium mine development lead times: how long new US projects take

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and IAEA’s 2026 Red Book puts the typical lead time for uranium mining project development at 15 to 20 years, and notes that no new uranium mining project began production worldwide in 2023 and 2024 (ANS summary, September 2026). US ISR projects that already hold permits move faster, but the record is mixed.

Sources: EIA 2025 Domestic Uranium Production Report; WNA US uranium mining profile; company releases cited above. A header house is a building that controls the flow of solution to and from a group of wells, and a wellfield is the pattern of injection and recovery wells. The pattern is clear: restarts of idle ISR plants took from about six months to first pounds (Christensen Ranch) to about two years (Lance), new sites take several, and the state or federal permit date often sets the schedule.

US policy: the Russian import ban, waivers and critical-mineral status

The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, signed in May 2024, bars Russian-produced low-enriched uranium (LEU) from August 2024 until the end of 2040, with limited waivers until 1 January 2028 (WNA). Russia answered in November 2024 with its own export limits. At the end of 2025 uranium was added to the US Geological Survey’s critical minerals list. In August 2026 the National Nuclear Security Administration asked industry about buying about 4 million lb of unobligated US-origin U3O8 a year from the 2030s, for defence needs. Unobligated means carrying no foreign-government use restrictions.

These steps help domestic miners in two ways. They reduce the supply that competes with US output, and they create buyers for uranium with a clear US origin. They do not change the timing of permits or the physics of a wellfield, which is why the lead-time table above matters more to a producer than any single announcement.

Conversion and enrichment: the US companies after the mine

Yellowcake is not reactor fuel. It must be converted to uranium hexafluoride gas, enriched, and made into fuel. The US has one conversion plant, Metropolis Works in Illinois, owned by Solstice Advanced Materials and marketed by ConverDyn. It is licensed for up to 15,000 tU a year and has run at 50 to 70% of that, and UEC launched a subsidiary in September 2025 to plan a new conversion plant in Wyoming (WNA).

The US has one commercial enrichment plant, Urenco USA at Eunice, New Mexico, with 4.3 million separative work units (SWU, the standard measure of enrichment work) a year, against a fleet need of about 13 million SWU. Centrus runs the American Centrifuge lead cascade at Piketon, Ohio, which produced high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) under a Department of Energy contract that finished in June 2026. In 2025, 77% of the SWU US utilities bought was foreign-origin, including 26% from Russia (EIA). Centrus is an enrichment and fuel company, not a miner, so it is not in the ranking above.

Environmental rules and legacy sites

Most uranium-producing states are NRC agreement states, meaning the state issues permits and regulates mining and milling. Wyoming joined in 2018, so five of the six facilities that had been under NRC oversight are in that state (WNA). ISR leaves rock in place and pumps solution through it. That cuts surface disturbance but puts the focus on groundwater, which is why wellfields go through a restoration stage after mining (EIA lists Crow Butte as in restoration). Our post on in situ leach mining explains the method, and the post on turning uranium ore into yellowcake covers milling.

History matters in local debates. Mining on Navajo land produced about four million tonnes of ore from 1944 to 1986, and WNA describes an ongoing multi-agency cleanup of abandoned mines there. The Uravan mill site in Colorado took more than US$120 million and about 20 years to clean up. Modern operators work under much stricter rules, but this record is why permits, water and community consent set the pace for new projects.

▶ A 2.5-minute clay explainer of seven environmental impacts of mining and how satellites help watch mines. · 2:31

What to check before relying on a uranium company’s numbers

• Production basis: pounds drummed, pounds shipped and pounds sold are different. A quarter can show high drumming and low sales.
• Cost definition: cash cost leaves out items that total cost includes. Compare the same measure.
• Contract book: long-term contracts lock the price; spot sales follow the market. Ask what share of volume sits in each.
• Permit status: check whether approvals are federal, state or both, and the stated date. EIA labels plants operating, standby, developing, permitted and licensed, or restoration.
• Resource category: measured, indicated and inferred resources are not reserves. Canadian companies report to the NI 43-101 standard and US-listed companies to the SEC’s S-K 1300 rule. Never add resources and reserves together.
• Toll milling: several developers depend on another company’s mill, so their timing depends on that mill’s schedule.
• Source filings: use SEC EDGAR, SEDAR+ or ASX announcements rather than summaries.

Uranium exploration and satellite screening

Satellites cannot see uranium itself. They map the rock around it: clay and iron alteration, colour changes in sandstone and surface structure. Geologists then confirm with ground radiometric surveys and drilling. Farmonaut screens an area from satellite imagery for mineral targets, takes KML, KMZ or polygon input, and reports in 5 to 20 business days. The output is an exploration target, not a resource estimate. Licence owners and consultants can send a polygon through the mining query form or contact the team.

▶ A 14-minute explainer on how satellite imagery such as Sentinel-2 helps spot uranium targets, shown for Zimbabwe. · 14:35

Related reading on this site: Top Manganese Mining Companies Ranked by Ore Output.

We cover a connected topic in Coal Mining Companies in the USA Ranked by Output.

Frequently asked questions

Who are the largest uranium mining companies in the USA?

By 2025 output, Energy Fuels (390 tU), enCore Energy (230 tU) and Ur-Energy (158 tU) led, followed by Uranium Energy Corp, Cameco’s US plants and Peninsula Energy (WNA table of EIA data). Rankings can change quickly as restarts ramp up.

Which US state produces the most uranium?

In 2025 the largest single output was the White Mesa mill in Utah (390 tU), then Alta Mesa in Texas (230 tU), then Wyoming’s ISR plants together (about 209 tU). Wyoming holds most of the licensed ISR capacity, so the order can change.

How much uranium does the US produce each year?

EIA reports about 2.1 million lb of U3O8 concentrate in 2025, up from 657,000 lb in 2024. US reactors bought 46.9 million lb in 2025, so US supply was a small share.

How much uranium does the US import?

US-origin material was 7% of 2025 deliveries to reactor operators. Canada supplied 32%, Kazakhstan 28%, Australia 15%, Uzbekistan 7% and Namibia 4% (EIA).

Is Cameco a US uranium company?

No. Cameco is Canadian, with US ISR plants through Power Resources Inc. at Smith Ranch-Highland in Wyoming and Crow Butte in Nebraska. Both produced very little in 2025.

What is in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mining?

ISR pumps a solution into an ore-bearing sandstone through injection wells, then pumps the uranium-bearing solution out and strips the metal on the surface. WNA says over 55% of world production now uses in-situ leaching.

How long does it take to open a uranium mine?

The 2026 Red Book gives a typical lead time of 15 to 20 years. US ISR restarts with permits in hand took from about six months to about two years in the cases above, and new sites take longer.

Does the US ban Russian uranium?

Since August 2024 the US bans most Russian LEU imports until the end of 2040, with limited waivers possible until 1 January 2028 (WNA).

Is uranium a critical mineral in the US?

Yes. WNA reports uranium was added to the US Geological Survey’s critical minerals list at the end of 2025.

What is the uranium spot price?

Cameco’s price page showed US$89.63 per lb spot and US$96.50 long term at 30 September 2026. Prices move daily, so check a live source before using any figure.

Can satellites find uranium?

Not directly. They map alteration and structure that guide where to sample and drill. Results are targets that need field work and drilling before any resource estimate.