Statistics and analysis firm US Energy Information Administration (EIA) finds in its latest yearly uranium production report that US-based uranium mines produced 2.1-million pounds of triuranium octoxide, or uranium concentrate, in 2025, marking a significant increase from the 657 000 lb produced in 2024.

The production of uranium concentrate is the first step in the nuclear fuel production process, preceding the conversion of the concentrate into uranium hexafluoride to enable uranium enrichment, followed by pellet fabrication and finally fuel assembly fabrication.

US uranium exploration drilling during 2025 included 1 824 holes with a total footage of 1.01-million feet, compared with 1 324 holes drilled in 2024 for a total 613 000 ft.

Development drilling totalled 3 708 holes with total footage of 1.3-million feet, up from 2024 development drilling of 2 462 holes for 1.26-million feet.

Notably, EIA finds exploration and development drilling activities in 2025 were at the highest levels since 2013 for number of holes drilled and for total footage drilled.

From a project perspective, EIA reports that, as of the end of 2025, the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill in Utah and the Sweetwater uranium project in Wyoming were on standby with a total capacity of 3 750 t of material a day. In Utah, the White Mesa mill restarted production. In Wyoming, the Sheep Mountain heap leach facility reached a partial permitting and licensed stage.

At the end of 2025, in-situ recovery (ISR) facilities Alta Mesa project, Lost Creek project, the Smith Ranch-Highland operation, Ross Central processing project, and Willow Creek project were operating with a combined capacity of 13.3-million pounds uranium concentrate a year, down from the industry-wide ISR capacity of 14.1-million pounds in 2024.

Five in-situ recovery plants were on standby as of the end of 2025 with a combined yearly production capacity of 8.8-million pounds uranium concentrate. Seven in-situ recovery plants were planned for three states—South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming—with a combined yearly production capacity of 10.5-million pounds of uranium concentrate.

Total employment in the US uranium production industry was 711 full-time person-years - one person-year is equal to full-time employment for one person, in 2025, which marked a 41% increase year-on-year and the highest employment total since 2014. The industry employed 506 full-time people in 2024.

EIA further finds that expenditures for land, exploration, drilling, production and reclamation totalled $234-million in 2025, up from $160-million in 2024.

EIA's report comes as US President Donald Trump is pushing to rapidly expand US nuclear power, with advanced reactor startups racing to meet a July 4 deadline and a new $17.5-billion financing plan aimed at jump-starting commercial reactor construction.

Together, these developments are putting renewed focus on whether the domestic uranium supply chain can keep pace with US ambitions and energy security goals.

Eagle Nuclear Energy, for one, is advancing one of the largest uranium resources in the US, as well as advanced small modular reactor technologies.

Its flagship asset is the Aurora uranium project in Oregon/Nevada.