ABSTRACT
Uranium is widely distributed throughout the world: more than 10 000 000 000 000 t are dispersed through the top kilometre of the crust and the oceans. Most of this is at very low concentrations and cannot be recovered economically; however, in the countries for which data are available* there are 2.3×106 t of well authenticated material, known as
‘reasonably assured resources’ (RAR), and a further 2.7×106 t of less well authenticated material, known as ‘estimated additional resources’ (EAR)—both recoverable at costs below $130/kg U ($50/lb U3O8) (Table 4.1.1).
