United States uranium production more than tripled in 2025, reaching its highest level since 2017, as the country moves to strengthen its domestic nuclear fuel supply.According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US uranium mines produced 2.1 million pounds of uranium concentrate in 2025, up from 657,000 pounds in 2024. Uranium exploration and development drilling also increased during the year, pointing to renewed activity across the domestic mining sector.The rise comes as the US remains heavily dependent on foreign uranium. American nuclear operators purchased 46.9 million pounds of uranium concentrate equivalent in 2025, while only 7 percent of uranium delivered to US reactors was US-origin.The gap highlights the scale of the challenge that Washington is facing. Despite the sharp increase in domestic production, US mines supplied only a small share of the uranium required by the country’s nuclear sector in 2025. Most supplies continued to come from overseas, with Canada, Kazakhstan and Australia among the largest sources.The dependence becomes more significant further along the nuclear fuel chain. Uranium concentrate produced by mines cannot be used directly as fuel in most nuclear reactors. It must first undergo conversion and enrichment before it can be fabricated into fuel.Enriched uranium is used to fuel the nuclear reactors that power US navy submarines and aircraft carriers, making access to a secure and reliable uranium supply chain important for the country’s nuclear-powered fleet.The United States has been trying to rebuild its domestic uranium enrichment capabilities after years of declining capacity. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the US has lacked the ability to produce enriched uranium that meets national-security requirements since 2013, leaving the country reliant on existing stocks and efforts to restore domestic production.Washington has responded with major investments in the nuclear fuel sector. The US department of energy announced $2.7 billion in funding in January 2026 to expand domestic uranium enrichment capacity, part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and strengthen the US nuclear fuel supply chain.For the US military, strengthening that supply chain has a direct strategic importance. Domestic access to uranium and enrichment capacity can help support the long-term fuel requirements of the country’s nuclear-powered submarines, aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons programme, while reducing exposure to disruptions in foreign supply chains.
