The first component of nuclear fuel is a uranium concentrate—what the mining companies produce after milling uranium-bearing ores. Sometimes called “yellow cake,” it is normally sold in the standard chemical form U3O8, with prices quoted in X U.S. dollars per pound U3O8.

The top five uranium-producing countries in 2010 were (in order) Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia, Namibia and Niger. Mines in these countries produced almost 80% of the global total.

Besides freshly mined uranium, there are also inventories of uranium mined in years gone by and held for strategic reasons by governments and commercial entities. NUKEM is an active purchaser of both freshly mined uranium (largely but not exclusively from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) as well as inventories making their way into the market from different sources.