Uranium Fuel Fabrication and Processing

Before uranium can be used in a reactor, it must be processed and fabricated into fuel. Uranium processing and fuel fabricating facilities typically refine uranium ore concentrate (generally called “yellowcake”) into uranium dioxide powder and manufacture fuel pellets. These pellets are assembled into fuel bundles used in nuclear reactors.

Canada’s nuclear power plants use natural uranium fuel and do not require enrichment — a defining feature of Canada’s CANDU reactor technology.

Fuel fabrication facilities operate under strict CNSC regulatory oversight and are subject to inspections, safety standards, and nuclear safeguards requirements.

There are currently 5 licensed uranium processing and fuel fabrication facilities operating in Canada:

• Blind River Uranium Facility
• Port Hope Conversion Facility
• Cameco Fuel Manufacturing Inc.
• BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. – Toronto
• BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. – Peterborough

For host communities, fuel fabrication facilities may involve specialized industrial operations, transportation of nuclear materials, security measures, and workforce considerations.