Most measures of U.S. uranium activity reached their highest levels in almost a decade last year, pointing to a broader industry recovery.
Production more than tripled last year to 2.1 million lb. of uranium oxide (U3O8), a 223% increase over the total produced in 2024, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report last week. The last time a comparable total was produced was in 2016, when domestic sites mined 2.5 million pounds.
The increases come amid significant tailwinds boosting the uranium sector in the U.S. over the last couple years, including higher spot prices, government support for nuclear energy and uranium mining and increasing data centre demand for atomic power.
Seven of the country’s nine producing uranium mines in 2025 were in-situ recovery (ISR) operations, a method that involves injecting a solution underground through wells to separate uranium from ores, and then pumping it to the surface for processing. Most U.S. ISR production comes from Wyoming.
66% more drilling
Exploration drilling for uranium increased almost 66% to just over 1 million feet across 1,824 holes last year, 500 more holes than drilled in 2024, the report shows. Development drilling, used to delineate deposits, expand resources and prepare for production gained by a modest 3% to 1.3 million feet across 3,708 holes, a 50% rise in the number of holes drilled.
That combined drill work in 2025 reached the highest levels since 2013.
Meanwhile, total expenditures for land, exploration, drilling, production and reclamation came to $234.7 million last year, about 47% higher than in 2024 and the most money spent on those activities since 2014.
40% rise in work hours
The uranium production sector clocked 711 full-time person years in 2025, a 40% rise over 2024. That marks the highest employment years in the sector since 2014.
One indicator where totals were lower in 2025 than in 2024 was with annual production capacity, which last year declined 5% to 13.3 million lb., the EIA said. The decline suggests the industry still has substantial idle capacity that could return to production as market conditions improve.
Five ISR plants were on standby at the end of last year, with a combined annual production capacity of 8.8 million pounds U3O8. They include enCore Energy’s (TSXV, Nasdaq: EU) Alta Mesa project in Texas and four others in Wyoming: Ur-Energy’s (TSX: URE; NYSE-A: URG) Lost Creek project, Cameco’s (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) Smith Ranch-Highland operation, Energy Fuels’ (TSX: EFR; NYSE-A: UUUU) Ross and Uranium Energy’s (NYSE-A: UEC) Willow Creek project.
2026 strong start
This year has seen significant developments for uranium in the U.S., with enCore last month getting federal approval to build its Dewey Burdock ISR site in South Dakota and Ur-Energy restarting production in April at the Shirley Basin mine for first time since 1992.
Also in June, the Department of Energy said it plans to offer $17.5 billion in loans to accelerate the nationwide buildout of 10 large-scale commercial nuclear reactors.
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