Uranium mining in Australia Uranium mining in Australia Radioactive ores were first extracted at Radium Hill in 1906, and Mount Painter in South Australia in the 1930s, to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced. Of the world's proven estimated uranium reserves (5,404,000 tonnes), 31% are held in Australia (1,673,000 tonnes), ahead of the second largest, Kazakhstan (12.1% or 651,800 tonnes). In terms of production, Canada is the largest supplier to export markets, followed by Kazakhstan and Australia. Uranium mined in Australia is mainly for export. Australia exported 50,235 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate in the five years
Fission products (by element) Fission products (by element) On this page, a discussion of each of the main elements in the fission product mixture from the nuclear fission of an actinide such as uranium or plutonium is set out by element. Se-79, half-life of 327k years, is one of the long-lived fission products. Krypton-85, half-life 10.76 years, is formed by the fission process with a fission yield of about 0.3%. Only 20% of the fission products of mass 85 become Kr itself; the rest passes through a short-lived nuclear isomer and then to stable Rb. If irradiated reactor fuel is reprocessed, this radioactive krypton