Gold Flakes to Yellowcake Historic Mine Trail

Overview

The Yellowcake Boom The post-WWII quest for uranium in Central Wyoming was triggered by the sudden demand for yellowcake – processed uranium – primarily for national defense in the early years, but later used to fuel the 104 nuclear power plants in the U.S. One pound of yellowcake produces the same amount of energy as 31 barrels (1,302 gallons) of fuel oil or 10 tons of coal. Since production started, Wyoming uranium has provided energy equal to 5.9 billion barrels of fuel oil or 1.9 billion tons of Wyoming coal.