Govt pushes atomic minerals agency to fast-track exploration as uranium demand set to surge

.

The Centre has asked the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), to step up its search for key minerals for India’s nuclear expansion by exploring new areas and identifying fresh deposits of uranium, thorium, lithium, and rare earth elements, DAE officials told Moneycontrol.

The push comes as India readies a massive scale-up in nuclear power capacity. Government estimates state that India’s annual natural uranium demand will rise to nearly 8,029 tonnes per annum by 2047, up from around 3,600 tonnes in the early 2030s. The requirement for enriched uranium is projected to grow to about 1,045 tonnes per year, driven by the planned rollout of advanced reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs). Uranium is crucial for fueling nuclear reactors, which generate baseload electricity in a reliable and carbon‑free manner.

India is targeting a tenfold increase in nuclear power capacity—from about 8 GW currently to 100 GW by 2047—as part of its long-term clean energy strategy. For this, the government's plan includes a phased expansion anchored by large pressurised heavy water reactors, supplemented by light-water reactors built with global partners, and later small modular reactors (SMRs). Moneycontrol was the first to report on September 12, 2025, that large reactors would remain the mainstay of India’s nuclear build-out despite the buzz around SMRs.

“AMD is conducting integrated geophysical, geological, geochemical and radiometric surveys across potential mineral belts as part of the expanded programme,” said another official in the Department of Atomic Energy.

Earlier, AMD’s work was more limited in scale, focusing on selected areas with periodic surveys and smaller drilling programmes. The official added that the expanded effort is designed to reduce import dependence and build a secure, long-term mineral base to meet the growing uranium and other critical mineral needs of India’s civil nuclear programme.

Currently, Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) — a public sector unit under the Department of Atomic Energy — supplies fuel for the country’s operational nuclear fleet from seven mines and two processing plants in Jharkhand and a mine and processing facility in Andhra Pradesh. Currently, domestic uranium supports only a small part of India’s nuclear fuel needs, powering about 2.4 GW of capacity, with the rest imported. As nuclear capacity expands toward the government’s 100 GW goal, natural uranium demand is projected to climb to about 8,000  tonnes per year by 2047.

“The idea is to expand domestic production while also diversifying import sources,” the official said. Moneycontrol reported that the government plans to nearly quadruple uranium imports through 2033, bringing in at least 9,000 MTU (metric tonne units) of natural uranium to power new reactors under the National Nuclear Energy Mission, as domestic production remains constrained by lower ore quality and limited output.

India has already been importing uranium from countries including Uzbekistan, Canada and Kazakhstan, and is exploring additional long-term supply arrangements with partners such as Russia and Australia to bridge the gap between rising demand and domestic availability.