We do see energy getting released from natural ores which contain uranium. But the amount of energy being released from natural processes is very low. The difference between the fission that takes place in ore and in processed uranium is that the processed uranium produce a runaway reaction. When uranium undergoes fission it produce three neutrons which will cause fission in any other uranium atoms they hit. But in natural ore the amount of uranium is so low that the neutrons will most likely hit other atoms instead. So the reaction stops with one atom, or in some rare cases two. In nuclear reactors we make sure that the conditions are just right for one of the neutrons to hit another uranium atom on average. This means the reaction keeps going and release more and more energy.
Latest Answers