when did uranium become a sought after commodity
Uranium market Global demand for uranium rose steadily from the end of World War II, largely driven by nuclear weapons procurement programs. This trend lasted until the early 1980s, when changing geopolitical circumstances as well as environmental, safety, economic concerns over nuclear power plants reduced demand somewhat. The production of a series of large hydro-electric power stations has also helped to depress the global market since the early 1970s. This phenomenon can be traced back to the construction of the vast Aswan Dam in Egypt, and to a certain extent with the ambitious Three Gorges Dam in China. During this time, large uranium inventories accumulated. In fact, until 1985 the Western uranium industry was producing material much faster than nuclear power plants and military programs were consuming it. Uranium prices slid throughout the decade with few respites, leaving the price below $10 per pound for yellowcake by year-end 1989.[citation needed]
Phosphorus At 0.099%, phosphorus is the most abundant pnictogen in the Earth's crust but it is not found free in nature; it is widely distributed in many minerals, mainly phosphates.[7] Inorganic phosphate rock, which is partially made of apatite (a group of minerals being, generally, pentacalcium triorthophosphate fluoride (hydroxide)), is today the chief commercial source of this element. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), about 50 percent of the global phosphorus reserves are in the Arab nations.[30] Large deposits of apatite are located in China, Russia, Morocco,[31] Florida, Idaho, Tennessee, Utah, and elsewhere.[32] Albright and Wilson in the UK and their Niagara Falls plant, for instance, were using phosphate rock in the 1890s and 1900s from Tennessee, Florida, and the Îles du Connétable (guano island sources of phosphate); by 1950 they were using phosphate rock mainly from Tennessee and North Africa.[33]