Abstract The mining and milling of uranium ore is the first step in the production of fissile material and is a rate-limiting step for the indigenous production of nuclear weapons in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This study reports a geologic analysis of uranium mines in the DPRK in order to bound the state’s potential uranium production. The analysis suggests that the uranium deposits of the possible mines are of four types: (1) black shale (metamorphosed organic shale); (2) limestone; (3) granite/metasomatic; and (4) metamorphic deposits. Comparison with geologically-related, uranium-bearing host rocks in the Republic of Korea (ROK) indicate that DPRK uranium mines are associated with medium-to-high quantities of average low-grade ore (0.001–0.04 wt.% uranium). Using this low-grade ore, expansion of the state’s nuclear arsenal would require the extraction of larger quantities of uranium ore than has been previously assumed. The DPRK’s geology could, therefore, limit the future development of its nuclear weapons program.

中文翻译：

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朝鲜民主主义人民共和国铀矿资源地质分析

摘要 铀矿的开采和选矿是生产裂变材料的第一步，也是朝鲜民主主义人民共和国（朝鲜）本土生产核武器的限速步骤。该研究报告了对朝鲜铀矿的地质分析，以限制该国的潜在铀生产。分析表明，可能矿山的铀矿床有四种类型：（1）黑色页岩（变质有机页岩）；(2) 石灰石；(3) 花岗岩/交代岩；(4)变质矿床。与大韩民国 (ROK) 的地质相关的含铀主岩的比较表明，朝鲜铀矿与中等至高数量的平均低品位矿石（0.001–0.04 wt.% 铀）有关。使用这种低品位矿石，国家核武库的扩张将需要开采比以前设想的更多的铀矿石。因此，朝鲜的地质状况可能会限制其核武器计划的未来发展。