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SQUEEKY2's avatar

In this day and age is there really a need for uranium mining?

Asked by SQUEEKY2 (23475points) December 26th, 2017

In any country?
I thought all countries were supposed to be scaling back nuclear weapons, and nuclear power.
I am no scientist, but other than those two, what is uranium needed for?

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6 Answers

Darth_Algar's avatar

Probably not much. We have enough nuclear weapons stockpiled to level any enemy. As for energy – nuclear fuel rods are actually very recyclable. With the inventory we currently have we could power the US for a couple of centuries.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

Thanks @Darth_Algar I kinda thought so.

elbanditoroso's avatar

Somewhat.

We don’t need much uranium for nuclear weapons.

The US and other countries still use uranium for nuclear power plants.

Uranium is also used to harden conventional weapons (like a normal howitzer shell or similar). That’s a specific type of uranium called depleted uranium.

Civilian uses include counterweights in aircraft, radiation shielding in medical radiation therapy and industrial radiography equipment, and containers for transporting radioactive materials.

Military uses include armor plating and armor-piercing projectiles.

So – there’s still uses or uranium, just not for nuclear weapons.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

Thank you @elbanditoroso I did not know that.

Pinguidchance's avatar

Brain scans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_medicine

Nuclear Energy Around the World. As of April 2017, 30 countries worldwide are operating 449 nuclear reactors for electricity generation and 60 new nuclear plants are under construction in 15 countries. Nuclear power plants provided 11 percent of the world’s electricity production in 2014.

kritiper's avatar

Since it has a half-life, it deteriorates. So if you want to keep your bombs up to full power, you have to replace the old with the new. As well as new more accurate, reliable and dependable electronics.

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