What is yellowcake? What is uranium ore slurry? And what’s the difference?

Yellowcake is uranium concentrate in the form of powder.

Ore slurry is ground uranium ore in the form of a thick paste.

So now you know that yellowcake is powder, and uranium ore slurry is paste. But what else is different?  Yellowcake contains about 85% uranium, which is about four times the uranium that is present in uranium ore slurry from McArthur River.

The ore slurry eventually gets converted into yellowcake.  In this project, for example, the uranium ore would leave the McArthur mine site in the form of uranium ore slurry. Once it arrives at McClean Lake, it would be processed at the mill into yellowcake.

Both the yellowcake and uranium ore slurry are transported on public roadways, but the containers that ship them are different.  Yellowcake is transported in purpose-built barrels (as see in the above photo). Uranium ore slurry is transported in specially designed containers (right) that will withstand extreme cold and hot temperatures, fire hazards, and traffic accidents.  Their wall thickness serves as a barrier to radiation exposure and protects their contents.

Uranium ore slurry has been transported using similarly designed containers for the past 10 years without incident between the McArthur River mine and the Key Lake mill.  Likewise, yellowcake has been safely transported in northern Saskatchewan for over 30 years.  We are committed to continuing to transport uranium ore slurry and yellowcake safely.