In 2023, at the United Nations Climate Conference COP28, a historic milestone was reached: for the very first time, a resolution was adopted that placed nuclear energy on par with renewable sources as a priority for sustainable development. In the same year, the global nuclear community set a collective goal to triple nuclear generation capacity by 2050, a target that has already gained the support of more than 130 companies worldwide. According to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), achieving this ambition will require the addition of roughly 28 GW of new nuclear capacity each year.
By 2024, the world’s fleet of nuclear reactors demanded over 67,000 tonnes of uranium annually. Under the baseline demand scenario presented in WNA’s Outlook, uranium requirements are expected to rise to 85,863 tonnes by 2030 and surpass 150,000 tonnes by 2040, in step with the rapid expansion of nuclear power generation.
Global uranium production in 2024 reached 60,213 tonnes, exceeding the previous forecast of 55,468 tonnes and marking a 22% increase compared to 2022, largely due to higher output from established mines in Canada and Uzbekistan. Yet, WNA has cautioned that a “significant portion” of today’s primary uranium production capacity will close in the early 2030s to early 2040s. This will create a “substantial gap” between reactor demand and mining output, underscoring the urgency of deploying innovative and sustainable uranium extraction methods.
Against this backdrop of rising global demand and looming supply challenges, the way uranium is extracted becomes as important as how much is extracted.
A uranium transition
Open-pit and underground mining – traditional mining methods – have been supplying the world with uranium for decades. However, both involve mass overburden and ore mining, with subsequent crushing, processing, and disposal of tailings. Sound from a technical standpoint but environmentally devastating, they destroy ecosystems, negatively impact landscapes, and leave behind massive waste storage facilities whose long-term contamination risks are only just beginning to be appreciated.
Critical environmental concerns are tailings ponds containing radioactive waste, which are generally prone to leakage; groundwater pollution and depletion, generally in arid regions; surface disturbance, precluding land from being used for agriculture, grazing, or conservation; and reclamation expense, which is generally borne by governments rather than companies. In nations like Namibia, where agriculture and mining are crucial economic underpinnings, such impacts create land and water use conflicts. A different approach is urgently required – one that balances industrial growth with ecological preservation.
Countries with major uranium reserves such as Namibia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Australia, and Uzbekistan are spearheading a transition in uranium extraction.
A proven alternative method has been developed over recent decades. Known as In-Situ Recovery (ISR) uranium mining, it offers a low-impact environmentally friendly approach to uranium production with high recovery efficiency. Its growing use worldwide highlights its ability not only to revolutionise mining but also to balance the extraction of resources with environmental preservation and public health.
Proving the ISR advantage
ISR has become the most widely used uranium mining method globally, accounting for more than half of total production. Countries such as Kazakhstan, Russia, China, Uzbekistan, the USA, and Australia have proven its safety, efficiency, and economic viability. Unlike conventional mining, ISR does not involve digging pits or tunnels. Instead, a leach solution – usually a weak acid such as sulfuric acid – is injected into permeable aquifers containing uranium ore. The uranium is dissolved into the solution, which is then pumped to the surface for treatment. The circuit is a closed loop with the leach solution recycled and closely controlled.
ISR is significant as it minimises disturbance of the land because no open pits or waste dumps are created, and surface landscapes are protected. It protects water security through closed-loop processes that prevent chemical leakage, and aquifers remain usable following mining. It also removes a requirement for tailings ponds by using ion exchange technology to eliminate the storage of large-scale wastage. Furthermore, ISR ensures compatibility with agriculture because land over ISR sites remains cultivable and graze-able. Finally, it has a reduced carbon footprint owing to low infrastructure and energy requirements.
The development of ISR involves several steps. First, wellfields are established by drilling arrays of injection and recovery wells. Then, underground uranium oxides are dissolved using a mild acidic solution. The pregnant solution is pumped to the surface and treated by ion exchange and precipitation into yellowcake. Finally, reclamation involves sealing wells, land restoration, and aquifer monitoring for many years after closure. ISR would allow Namibia, for example, to expand uranium production without trading off scarce water and land resources, supporting long-term sustainability for both the mining and agricultural sectors.
Russian Dalur JSC, a Rosatom subsidiary, shows how ISR can integrate innovation, environmental protection, and welfare for the local community. The Dalur site, in the Kurgan region, north of Kazakhstan and near Yekaterinburg, has been in operation since the late 1990s and has extracted several deposits without accidents or radiation illnesses among staff. Among its achievements are stringent environmental monitoring, transparent public involvement in information centres, harmonisation with agriculture by sourcing food from local farmers, corporate social responsibility in housing, education, and sports, and global accreditation with ISO certification. Dalur confirms that ISR can simultaneously augment energy security, advance rural economies, and protect ecosystems.
These benefits are backed by evidence. As Pelizza and Bartels (2016) noted, ISR maintains aquifer integrity, avoids massive excavations, and prevents long-term risks of contamination. Similarly, Binnemans and Jones (2023) highlighted ISR’s complementarity to circular hydrometallurgy, whereby resource cycles are recycled and waste is reduced.
Namibia, the world’s top producer of uranium, is contemplating ISR as a potential alternative to traditional mining. Its geology and hydrogeology – sandstone-hosted deposits and confined aquifers – are amicably conducive to this method. Permeability of 1-5 metres per day, the clay fraction, and natural confining beds are technical requirements that render ISR safe and effective to implement. Policy changes initiated by Namibia, such as reconsideration of the Minerals Act, are an indication of a willingness to undertake sustainable mining practices and by embracing ISR, the country would also serve as an African pioneer in responsible uranium mining.
While critics tend to question whether ISR leaves long-term ground pollution, recent scientific work demonstrates the self-restoration properties of geological environments. After the mine closure, natural geochemical processes and microbial activity gradually eliminate any existing leaching solution that remains. Sulphate-reducing bacteria convert sulphates into sulphides, precipitating heavy metals. Denitrifying bacteria remove nitrogen compounds, releasing harmless nitrogen gas. Geochemical processes immobilise any residual pollutants, enhancing the quality of the groundwater. Results from observations at locations in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia confirm that concentrations of pollutants in depleted ISR mines drop to background values over a period of a few years. This natural attenuation reduces the cost of reclamation and solidifies the fact that ISR is the least environmentally damaging mining method available.
Reclamation is a part of ISR operations. Compared to traditional mining, where rehabilitation entails remodelling landscapes and dealing with huge tailings, ISR reclamation is precise and affordable. Wells are cement-bentonite grouted, groundwater is treated by natural microbiological activity, surface structures are dismantled, topsoil restored, and reforestation carried out where needed. Computerised sensors and groundwater monitoring ensures compliance with safety standards for decades after closure. This systematic procedure not only ensures environmental protection but allows land to be released back to agriculture or conservation use, facilitating long-term regional development.
A route to sustainable development
The global uranium market will expand as countries commit to increasing nuclear capacity three-fold by 2050. The International Energy Agency has said that investments in nuclear are at their highest level since the 1970s, driven by the move towards clean energy and growing demand for data-intensive industries. For Namibia, it is challenge and opportunity. Economic development will be driven by the exports of uranium and creating high-skilled jobs. Domestic uranium resources would be able to meet future small modular reactors’ demand, enhancing energy security. Foreign alliances would bring investments, technology transfer, and infrastructure growth. Importantly, ISR ensures that this growth does not occur on the back of agriculture or ecosystems.
The future of uranium mining is not merely in how much is being mined, but how it is being mined. In-Situ Recovery is the paradigm shift towards environmentally-friendly mining that balances economic development and the preservation of the environment. Its proven track record all over the world place it as the natural solution for sustainable uranium development. With the addition of advanced monitoring, community engagement, and reclamation practices, uranium-producing nations like Namibia can ensure that the extraction of resources does not undermine but rather promotes long-term sustainability given best practices demonstrate that conservation, farming, and mining are not incompatible.
As the world transforms to clean energy and demand for uranium grows, ISR presents a model of what the future holds: a technology where technology, nature, and human advancement converge to not just construct a cleaner source of energy but a better and more sustainable world.
