In May, Oklo was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for advanced negotiations under the Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, which makes designated surplus plutonium available to private industry for conversion into fuel under strict requirements.

In contrast, Uranium Energy Corporation is positioned at the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The company is a U.S.-based uranium miner that uses in situ recovery (ISR), a low-impact mining method that uses oxygenated groundwater to dissolve uranium underground and then pumps it to the surface.

Uranium Energy uses a “hub-and-spoke” platform, meaning it operates processing plants that serve as central hubs for processing material extracted from multiple nearby mining sites (the spokes). The company currently controls two active ISR central processing production platforms in the U.S., in Wyoming and Texas.