New Uranium Mining Projects in Europe: Status 2026

Reference article · Updated 2026-11-06

Key facts

Uranium recovery at Finland's Terrafame mine began in June 2024. The World Nuclear Association describes Finland as the only uranium-producing EU member state.
Sweden's 2018 ban on uranium exploration and mining was repealed by a vote in November 2025, with new rules in force from 1 January 2026.
Czechia's Rožná mine, the last operating uranium mine in central Europe, ceased production at the end of 2016.
Spain's Retortillo project has a mining licence but was refused the concentrate-plant authorisation. The dispute is in international arbitration.

How to read project status

European uranium projects fall into distinct categories that are easily confused in news coverage:

operating production;
by-product recovery from another mining operation;
closed mines in remediation;
proposed projects at the exploration, study or permitting stage.

A mining licence, an environmental permit and a nuclear-facility authorisation are separate decisions. Having one does not mean a project can proceed.

All statuses below are drawn from the World Nuclear Association country profiles as updated in 2026. Treat them as snapshots. The wider map is on the uranium mining map, and Asia and Africa have their own pages (Asia, Africa).

Finland: by-product uranium at Terrafame

Finland's uranium story is tied to the Talvivaara nickel and zinc mine at Sotkamo. Talvivaara planned to recover about 350 tU (tonnes of uranium) a year as a by-product from a resource of 26,000 tU. Cameco agreed to build a recovery plant.

In December 2013 the Supreme Administrative Court revoked a 2012 licence. A regional agency licensed recovery again in April 2014, and the company went bankrupt in November 2014.

The state-owned Terrafame took over the mine in August 2015. It applied for a uranium recovery permit in October 2017 and obtained a government permit in February 2020. Uranium recovery began in June 2024, after the radiation regulator STUK approved commissioning. Capacity was expected to reach about 200 tU a year by 2026.

This is by-product recovery, not a uranium mine. It is regulated under the Nuclear Energy Act 1987, and the Council of State licenses major nuclear facilities.

Sweden: ban repealed, projects at an early stage

In May 2018 Sweden amended the Environmental Code and the Minerals Act to ban uranium exploration and mining. Parliament voted in November 2025 to repeal the ban, and the new legislation took effect on 1 January 2026.

A further bill in June 2026 came into force on 15 July 2026. According to the World Nuclear Association, it removed the requirement for a separate Environmental Code assessment and for municipal approval. Uranium mines are also no longer regulated as nuclear facilities.

Planning-stage projects exist, but none has a mining permit in the sources reviewed. The Viken deposit in Jämtland, held by Canada's District Metals, was the subject of a preliminary economic assessment in June 2026. It envisages an open pit producing about 1,269 tU a year over 13 years, with vanadium and potash as other products. A preliminary assessment is an early-stage study and does not mean approval.

Spain: Retortillo and the Salamanca deposits

Spain's historical production in Salamanca ended in 2000, when the Fe mine closed after producing over 4,000 tU. The Quercus mill operated until 2003.

Australian company Berkeley Energia developed the Retortillo (Salamanca 1) project and obtained a 30-year mining licence in April 2014. In November 2021 the Ministry for Ecological Transition rejected the application for authorisation of the uranium concentrate plant, after an unfavourable report from the Nuclear Safety Council. Berkeley's appeal was rejected in February 2023. In 2024 the company began ICSID arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty, claiming $1.25 billion in compensation by February 2026.

Spain has no domestic production and imports uranium. The status of an arbitration claim is a company allegation, not a finding.

Czechia and Slovakia: closure, remediation and bans

Czechia

The state-controlled Diamo operated the Rožná mine until production ended at the close of 2016. The government closed it in early 2017. It was the last operational uranium mine in central Europe.

The Brzkov deposit near Jihlava was studied for reopening. In July 2026 the Ministry of the Environment discontinued Diamo's 2015 application to extend the protected deposit area.

In situ leach mining at Stráž pod Ralskem ran from 1967 to 1996. Groundwater remediation there, costing about €1.25 billion, continues, and uranium is recovered as a by-product. The 2009 government decision rejected resumption of mining at Stráž.

Slovakia

Projects at Kuriskova and Novoveska Huta were stopped by licensing and legal developments. The environment ministry refused to extend the exploration licence at Kuriskova in April 2015, and a court dismissed a challenge in June 2016. A 2015 amendment made uranium mining dependent on a local referendum. No mining has begun.

Ukraine: state production and plans

Ukraine's state-owned VostGOK runs underground mines (Ingulskaya, Smolinskaya and Novokonstantinovskoye) and a processing plant at Zheltye Vody. The World Nuclear Association reports production of around 800 tU a year from 2010 to 2020. It fell to about 100 tU in 2022, and the estimate for 2024 is 288 tU.

The Novokonstantinovskoye deposit, described as Europe's largest, began production in 2011 but never reached full operation, largely for financing reasons. A private company has been leaching the Safonovka deposit since about 2020. In 2026 the government began merging VostGOK with Energoatom.

Data from a country at war should be treated with extra caution.

A checklist for judging a European project announcement

When a European uranium project is announced, a few questions help separate progress from promotion.

Is the quoted figure a resource or a reserve, and in which category?
Does the project hold a mining licence, an environmental permit and, where required, a nuclear authorisation?
Is local or municipal consent required, as in Slovakia's referendum rule?
Is the stage a scoping study, a preliminary economic assessment or a feasibility study?
Is the stated output production from a mine, or by-product recovery from another operation, as in Finland?

Applying these questions shows, for example, that Sweden's Viken has an economic study but no permit in the sources reviewed. Spain's Retortillo has a licence but not the plant authorisation. Further background on resource categories is on uranium resources and reserves.

What the European picture shows

Three themes recur.

Regulatory decisions often matter more than geology. Moratoria, local-approval laws and permit refusals have halted several projects, while Sweden shows that policy can also reverse.
Remediation, not new mining, is the main activity in former Soviet-era and Cold War districts (see incidents and legacy sites).
By-product recovery, in Finland and potentially elsewhere, is an alternative to dedicated mines.

For ISL, which is an issue in Czech groundwater remediation, see ISL explained. For permitting rules see regulation.

Frequently asked questions

Is any uranium mined in the European Union?

The World Nuclear Association describes Finland as the only EU member state producing uranium. It does so as a by-product from the Terrafame mine, since June 2024. Conventional mining has ended in most EU countries.

Has Sweden lifted its uranium mining ban?

Yes. Parliament voted to repeal the 2018 ban in November 2025, with new legislation in force from 1 January 2026. No mining permit was identified in the sources reviewed.

Why is Spain's Retortillo project not operating?

It holds a mining licence, but the ministry refused the authorisation for the uranium concentrate plant in 2021 and rejected the appeal in 2023. The company has begun international arbitration.

When did uranium mining end in Czechia?

Production at the Rožná mine ended at the end of 2016 and the mine was closed in early 2017. By-product uranium from groundwater remediation at Stráž pod Ralskem continues.

Does Ukraine produce uranium?

Yes, through the state company VostGOK. Output has fallen from about 800 tU a year in 2010-2020 to a few hundred tU or less.