The US is heavily dependent on foreign countries for 31 minerals designated as “critical” to national security by the Department of Defence, including uranium for nuclear reactors and fluorspar, which is used in nuclear fuel, Forrest Remick, emeritus professor of nuclear engineering at Pennsylvania State University, wrote in Penn Live.

Mr Remick, who is also a retired commissioner of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said US dependence on foreign minerals has doubled in the past 20 years and called for “a diverse supply chain” for minerals including uranium.

He said the US imports 93% of its uranium needs, and a large share comes from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, whose state-owned companies are flooding the global market and driving free-market companies out of business.

Uranium is needed for the Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, for our nuclear-powered submarines and for weapons production. It is also essential for nuclear power plants, which supply nearly 20% of the nation’s electricity, and for many industrial and medical uses.

“To protect our defence sector and economy, the US needs to establish a diverse supply chain in this country for rare earths, uranium and several other strategically important minerals where there is no possibility we can be threatened,” Mr Remick said.

Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross believes US dependence on foreign uranium is a national security threat, but president Trump said he didn’t agree. Mr Trump recently announced the creation of a group that will within 90 days draw up recommendations for reviving and expanding US nuclear-fuel production.

According to former energy secretary Spencer Abraham, US uranium extraction has reached the lowest level in the nuclear age, dropping 37% from 2017 to 2018.

Currently there are only two uranium mines operating in the US, one in Wyoming, the other in Utah.