Uranium Exploitation in Romania: Strategic Resource Management, Environmental Risk, and Energy Security

This paper analyzes uranium exploitation in Romania from a scientific perspective that connects resource geology, mining engineering, environmental protection, and national energy security. The relevance of the topic derives from the strategic role of uranium in the nuclear fuel cycle and from the need to evaluate how domestic extraction capacity may contribute to supply stability, industrial continuity, and long-term energy planning. The study approaches the subject as an integrated system problem in which reserve assessment, extraction technology, ore processing, waste management, radiological control, and site rehabilitation must be examined simultaneously. Methodologically, the paper proposes a structured analytical framework based on technical feasibility, environmental risk indicators, regulatory constraints, and strategic value for the Romanian energy sector. Particular attention is given to the balance between national resource use and the obligations associated with worker protection, groundwater quality, tailings management, and post-mining land recovery. The central argument is that uranium exploitation should be evaluated not only through short-term economic output, but through its capacity to support a secure, controlled, and environmentally responsible energy policy. The resulting perspective is relevant for researchers, decision-makers, and engineering practitioners involved in mineral and nuclear resource governance.