Syllabus Coverage: NFC1.1
The front end of the nuclear fuel cycle encompasses all the steps required to transform uranium ore in the ground into fabricated nuclear fuel ready for use in a reactor. These steps are:
- Mining the ore
- Milling and refining to produce yellowcake
- Conversion and purification to produce uranium hexafluoride (UF₆)
- Isotopic enrichment
- Fabrication of fuel elements (covered in Chapter 3)
This chapter covers everything up to and including enrichment.