Uranium Mining and Milling

Uranium ore is extracted, purified and milled by miners to become uranium oxide (U₃O₈) or Yellowcake

Uranium Conversion

U₃O₈ is chemically converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF₆), also known as natural uranium feed, and transported to enrichment facilities

Enrichment and Feed Materials

UF₆ is fed into gas centrifuges that separate the lighter U-235 isotope which is typically enriched to up to 5%

Fuel Fabrication

The enriched UF₆ is converted back to uranium oxide (UO₂) and is now called enriched uranium product (EUP). The EUP in powder form is then pressed and sintered into pellets before being put into fuel rods

Electricity Generation

The fuel rods are loaded into reactors and used to generate steam. This drives turbines which power electricity generators

Reprocessing and Recycling

Recovered uranium from reprocessing can be converted to UF₆ and then re-enriched into new fuel