Key facts
- EIA reports about 2.1 million lb U3O8 of concentrate produced in 2025, up from about 657,000 lb in 2024 and about 50,000 lb in 2023 (mine production figures).
- At end-2025 EIA listed five operating ISR plants: Alta Mesa, Lost Creek, Smith Ranch-Highland, Ross and Willow Creek.
- EIA counted nine mines and sources in 2025, seven of them in-situ recovery.
- The US reports production to EIA on Form EIA-851A; the data are published annually in the Domestic Uranium Production Report.
How much the United States produces
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes the standard series on domestic uranium production. In its 2025 report (released June 2026), EIA states that US facilities produced about 2.1 million pounds of U3O8 concentrate in 2025, up from 657,000 pounds in 2024.
Mine production, as reported in the same report's tables, fell from 4.1 million pounds in 2011 to 174,000 pounds in 2019 and was only 50,000 pounds in 2023 before rising to 677,000 pounds in 2024 and about 1.39 million pounds in 2025. For comparison, the World Nuclear Association estimated US output at about 260 tU in 2024, a small fraction of the world total (see the mining map).
These figures cover mine and concentrate output and do not include by-product recovery. Different EIA tables count mine production (the uranium extracted) and concentrate production (the uranium milled or processed) separately, so numbers for the same year can legitimately differ.
The decline and the recovery in EIA's series
EIA's tables allow the trajectory to be followed in numbers of operations as well as pounds. The count of operating mines and sources fell from 11 in 2011 to 3 in 2021, then rose to 8 in 2024 and 9 in 2025, of which seven in 2025 were in-situ recovery wellfields. Mine production fell from 4.1 million pounds in 2011 to 1.15 million in 2017 and only 21,000 pounds in 2021, before recovering. The 2022 figure was 194,000 pounds and the 2023 figure 50,000 pounds.
EIA does not offer causes in the report text, and this page does not either. The tables do show that the recovery coincided with the restart of ISR plants on standby (Alta Mesa, Ross and, in the data, Rosita and Vasquez in 2024), and with the White Mesa Mill returning to production. Standby plants can restart in less time than new plants can be permitted and built, which is why the sequence of plant status in the table is a useful indicator.
In-situ recovery plants, by state
In-situ recovery (ISR) is the dominant method in the United States, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and it can be used only where subsurface conditions allow (see ISL explained). EIA's 2025 table lists the following plants. Capacities are licensed or nameplate figures, not output.
| Plant | State | Status, end-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Smith Ranch-Highland (Cameco) | Wyoming | Operating |
| Lost Creek | Wyoming | Operating |
| Ross CPP (Strata Energy) | Wyoming | Operating |
| Willow Creek | Wyoming | Operating |
| Alta Mesa (enCore) | Texas | Operating |
| Nichols Ranch | Wyoming | Standby |
| Rosita (enCore) | Texas | Standby |
| Crow Butte (Cameco) | Nebraska | Restoration |
| Hobson (Uranium Energy Corp) | Texas | Standby |
EIA reports a combined operating capacity of 13.3 million pounds U3O8 a year at end-2025 (14.1 million at end-2024), with a further 8.8 million pounds of capacity on standby and 10.5 million pounds in planned plants in South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Plants listed as permitted and licensed or developing include Dewey Burdock in South Dakota, Shirley Basin in Wyoming and Goliad and Burke Hollow in Texas. Because operating plants are restarted or put on standby as prices change, status should be checked against the latest EIA table.
Conventional mills and heap leach: White Mesa and others
Only one conventional mill was producing at the end of 2025: the White Mesa Mill in San Juan County, Utah, owned by an Energy Fuels subsidiary and with a capacity of 2,000 short tons of ore per day. EIA records it as on standby in 2021 and 2023, processing alternate feed in 2022 and 2024, and operating in 2025. Two other facilities were on standby with a combined capacity of 3,750 short tons per day: Shootaring Canyon in Utah (Anfield Resources) and the Sweetwater project in Wyoming. The Sheep Mountain heap leach project in Wyoming, owned by Energy Fuels, was partially permitted and licensed.
The term alternate feed refers to processing material that is not conventional ore, such as certain residues from other industries, under a separate licence condition. Underground mining is minor: EIA's count of operating underground mines was one in 2024 and in 2025, and zero in several earlier years.
Who regulates what
US uranium recovery is regulated by a combination of federal and state authorities. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses uranium recovery facilities in states that have not taken over this authority, while Agreement States regulate under their own programmes compatible with NRC rules. The NRC's list of docketed applications, for example, includes ISR sites in Nebraska and New Mexico, which are NRC-regulated.
In Texas, state agencies license ISR and the associated groundwater permits, and Utah regulates White Mesa as an Agreement State facility. The US Environmental Protection Agency sets radiation protection standards for uranium mill tailings and, through the Underground Injection Control programme and state delegations, groundwater requirements for ISR. Because the allocation of authority differs by state and has changed over time, check the NRC's page on uranium recovery for a given site. The broader framework is in regulation of uranium mining.
How to read EIA data
EIA's Form EIA-851A collects data on milling and ISR processing, feed sources, mining, employment, drilling, expenditures and reserve estimates. Some values in the public tables are withheld (marked W) to protect individual company data, which is why mine-method breakdowns often show gaps while totals are still published. Related indicators from the 2025 report: exploration drilling of 1,824 holes and about 1.0 million feet, development drilling of 3,708 holes, employment of 711 full-time person-years (the highest since 2014), and expenditure of $234.7 million, also the highest since 2014. Reserve estimates are reported separately and refer to economic categories defined in uranium resources and reserves.
Legacy, restoration and reclamation
Many US facilities are not producing. Crow Butte in Nebraska is in a restoration status in EIA's table, meaning that groundwater restoration after ISR is the main activity; Kingsville Dome and Vasquez in Texas were listed as in reclamation at end-2025. Restoring the aquifer after leaching and decommissioning wells are required parts of an ISR licence. Legacy conventional mills and tailings sites, many of them dealt with under federal programmes, are covered on pages about tailings and incidents and legacy sites. For the US enrichment and fuel side of the chain, see enrichment plants in the United States.
Frequently asked questions
How much uranium did the United States produce recently?
EIA reported about 2.1 million pounds of U3O8 concentrate in 2025, compared with 657,000 pounds in 2024. Production in earlier years, including 2023, was far lower.
What is the main way US uranium is mined?
In-situ recovery. The NRC describes it as the dominant method in the United States; Utah's White Mesa Mill is the main conventional mill.
Which US states have operating ISR plants?
At end-2025 EIA listed operating plants in Wyoming (Smith Ranch-Highland, Lost Creek, Ross, Willow Creek) and Texas (Alta Mesa). Nebraska's Crow Butte was in restoration.
Who regulates uranium recovery in the US?
The NRC and Agreement States, depending on the state, with EPA setting radiation and groundwater standards. Check the NRC and state pages for a particular site.
Where do the production numbers come from?
From the EIA Domestic Uranium Production Report, based on company responses to Form EIA-851A, with some values withheld to protect confidentiality.
Sources and further reading
- US Energy Information Administration — 2025 Domestic Uranium Production Report (2026)
- US Energy Information Administration — Domestic Uranium Production Report (annual) landing page (2026)
- US Energy Information Administration — Domestic Uranium Production Report (annual series) (2025)
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission — Uranium extraction methods (2024)
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission — Uranium recovery licence applications (2024)
- World Nuclear Association — World Uranium Mining Production (2025)
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