The Jaduguda Mine (also spelt as Jadugoda or Jadugora) is a uranium mine in Jaduguda village in the Purbi Singhbhum district of the Indian state of Jharkhand. It commenced operation in 1967 and was the first uranium mine in India. The deposits at this mine were discovered in 1951. As of March 2012, India possesses eight functional uranium mines, including this Jaduguda Mine. A new mine, Tummalapalle uranium mine is discovered and mining is going to start from it. Mining activities were suspended in 2014 following an inquiry into the diversion of forest land of the mine. Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) expects mining activity to resume at Jaduguda in 2017. The Jaduguda mine produces up to 25% of the raw materials needed to fuel India's nuclear reactors. Geography The Jaduguda uranium mine is an underground mining mine located in the Purbi Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. The mine is located at least 640 meters below the earth's surface and is accessible by a 5-meter diameter vertical shaft. Uranium purification plant A uranium purification plant is usually located close to the mine as uranium ore is converted here to yellow cake. According to Department of Atomic Energy, the ore extracted from this mine is of 0.065 grade, which means that the plant needs to process 1000 kg of ore to extract 65 grams of usable uranium. After the ore is crushed and ground in the Mill House, it goes to the Chemical House for mineral extraction and purification. The plant processes 2,190 tonnes of uranium ore per day. After purification of the ore, yellow cake is shipped by heavy-duty vehicles to the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad, Telangana, which is over away from plant. Smuggling of uranium On February 18, 2008 police of Supaul district in the eastern Indian state of Bihar seized 4 kg of low-quality uranium and arrested one Indian and five Nepali smugglers. According to media reports the uranium was smuggled out of the Jaduguda mines and the smugglers were trying to sell it to Nepal. The market value of the seized uranium was estimated at Rs. 5 crore on the international market. Pollution When uranium ore is extracted from the ground, 99.28% of the mined ore is treated as waste as the uranium isotopes used in nuclear power plants mainly is uranium-235 leaving behind the major portion of the ore which consists of uranium-236 and uranium-238