The worlds uranium is controlled by Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia.
Australia, the world's biggest uranium reserve holder, was estimated to possess 1.66 million tonnes (Mt) of known recoverable uranium resources as of 2011, accounting for about 31% of the world total.''
In 2019, 53,656 tons of Uranium were produced in mines.
Over two-thirds of the world's production of uranium from mines in Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia.
Kazakhstan produced about 43% of the world's uranium supply in 2019, Canada produced 13% and Australia produced 12%.
You can legally buy and legally posses uranium.
Uranium can actually be purchased online in small amounts through Amazon.com and eBay.com
People typically buy uranium for experiments and science.
Not only can you legally buy uranium you also won't have to produce any special authorization to get it.
The purpose of buying Uranium-238, the most common isotope of the element, is purely for research.
By regulation, the general public is allowed to order these materials without possessing a radioactive materials license, so vendors will sell these compounds directly to any customer.
However, educational institutions are not allowed to possess more than 3.3 pounds of uranium or thorium at any one time.
Processed depleted uranium may be sold for commercial uses such as counterweights, military penetrators, shielding, etc.
Alternatively, material may be transferred to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a fee.
In the U.S., since 1986, it has been legal for anyone to own as much uranium 235 as they can pay for. (See 10 CFR 70.20 10 CFR 70.20 General license to own special nuclear material. )
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the periodic table, with atomic number 92.
It is assigned the chemical symbol U.
A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons.
Uranium has the highest atomic weight of all naturally occurring elements.
Inhaling large concentrations of uranium can cause lung cancer from the exposure to alpha particles.
Uranium is also a toxic chemical, meaning that ingestion of uranium can cause kidney damage from its chemical properties much sooner than its radioactive properties would cause cancers of the bone or liver.
A further property of U-235 is that it is fissile and so neutrons emitted during fission can cause other U-235 nuclei to fission also, releasing a lot of energy.
This reaction is the basis of operation for the world's current nuclear power stations and is the major reason why uranium is a valuable mineral resource.