WHO: Uranium - Industrial, commercial and military applications
Description
Whereas the mining of uranium has taken place since the Middle Ages it is only in the last 100 years, and particularly the last 50 years, that mining has taken place on a large scale. Estimated total production of metallic uranium since recording began in 1920 is estimated at 1.5 million tonnes (British Geological Survey, 2000) although this is only a small fraction of the 1014 tonnes estimated to be present in the lithosphere. Recent production figures for a range of acknowledged producers are given in Annex 3. Uranium by itself has relatively few industrial uses and is commonly removed from raw materials such as fertilizers containing phosphate as a waste product during processing, or because of environmental concerns where it is often removed with other heavy metals such as cadmium.
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