Trump’s Move to Bring Back Nuclear Power
Inside Climate News

(November 7, 2025) —The remote dirt road through dusty fields of sagebrush that John Cash drove along in June seemed to pass little of economic value. But his car was, in fact, rattling towards the top-producing uranium mine in Wyoming.

In 2022, the Lost Creek Mine became the first of several such sites across the West to restart operations as the U.S. scrambles to reestablish a domestic supply chain for nuclear fuel.

Cash, the CEO of UR Energy, which operates the Lost Creek Mine, believes more mines will come online in the years ahead. Newly revived mines are also humming in Texas and Arizona, their owners hopeful that a boom in demand lies ahead. Ten uranium mines operate in the country today, up from three in 2021, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

Company announcements and public records show dozens of others on standby for reopening or queued up for permitting in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, with at least four currently fast-tracked for approval under recent executive orders.

For more than a generation, many of these sites sat dormant, stifled by a cheaper imported supply and modest demand from a stagnant nuclear power sector. However, uranium markets have recently re-awakened: Spot prices doubled between 2022 and 2024, driven by global supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tension and lofty expectations for a renaissance of American atomic power.

Lately, a buzzing landscape of nuclear startups has stirred excitement with announcements of ambitious plans for advanced reactors to power artificial intelligence and other heavy industries across the country. But almost all of these companies are waiting for the U.S. to rebuild a nuclear fuel supply chain before they can even power up their prototype units.