US uranium concentrate production totalled 2.1 million pounds of triuranium octoxide in 2025, the highest volume since 2017 and more than triple what domestic producers turned out in 2024, according to figures the US Energy Information Administration published on 28 August 2026.

Triuranium octoxide, known in the trade as yellowcake, is the first marketable product in the nuclear fuel chain. Uranium ore is milled to produce it, and the material then moves to conversion and enrichment facilities before it is fabricated into fuel pellets and assembled into fuel rods.

Drilling activity tracked the production rebound. Exploration drilling in 2025 covered 1,824 holes and passed 1.0 million feet of total footage, up from 1,324 holes and 0.6 million feet in 2024. Development drilling, which measures the size, shape and grade of known deposits, reached 3,708 holes and 1.30 million feet, compared with 2,462 holes and 1.26 million feet a year earlier.

Purchasing told a different story. Owners and operators of US nuclear plants bought 46.9 million pounds of triuranium octoxide equivalent in 2025, down from 55.9 million pounds in 2024. The weighted average price paid was $58.46 per pound, 11 percent above the 2024 average of $52.71.

Sourcing remains heavily foreign. Canada supplied 32 percent of deliveries to US reactors in 2025, followed by Kazakhstan at 28 percent and Australia at 15 percent. Material of US origin accounted for 7 percent of the total, leaving domestic mine output a small share of what the operating fleet consumes.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration - https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=68044