electricity produced by nuclear means. The 1967 AEC estimate of nuclear capacity translated into the needs for uranium for civilian use indicates an annual requirement of about 6, 000 tons in 1970, rising sharply to 37, 000 tons annually by 1980. The cumulative demand through 1980 for the U.S. alone is estimated to be at 250, 000 tons. However to this we must add additional reserves that will be needed to back up the future fuel requirements of capacity that will be installed by 19 80, and this factor raises the total requirements for uranium to somewhere between 500, 000 and 700, 000 tons for this period. Let us compare this indicated need with the uranium reserves and production presently available. Because we have been living off of our reserves for the past several years and because a portion of those reserves is already committed under the AEC program, we find that the reserves have dwindled from the peak of 241, 000 to 141, 000 tons at the beginning of this year and, in the absence of new discoveries, will drop to about 110,000 tons at the end of 1970. The annual production required to meet civilian needs in the early 1970's will be below the current operating rate for the industry as a whole, but soon thereafter the annual production for civilian usage must be stepped up sharply, and by 19 80 it will be almost five times the present rate and 150% above the existing mill capacity of the industry. So in the span of a few years, the situation is completely reversed and the apparent uranium surplus has given way to the prospect of a possible - 8 -