Silk Road

Decade-long supply crunch fears grow as miners fail to access the metal quickly enough

Matt Oliver23 December 2023 • 12:00pm

Since the Ukraine war erupted, Kazatomprom has sought to reduce its reliance on Moscow for getting uranium to the West, sending more via what it calls the ‘trans-Caspian route’ CREDIT: Olivier Martel Savoie/The Image Bank Unreleased

Already stretched uranium supplies are set to come under further pressure as dozens of new nuclear power plants come online globally

Britain’s long-promised nuclear renaissance edged forward this month, as a crane swung a gigantic domed roof into place on a reactor building at Hinkley Point C in Somerset.

Emblazoned across it, a large banner declares: “Helping Britain achieve net zero”.

The site’s two reactors, which are expected to come online in 2027, are among 61 being built around the world, as more countries turn to nuclear to help cut their carbon emissions.

Yet with hundreds more planned, experts are now asking where all the uranium to fuel them will come from. There is a worrying lack of answers...