[littlestymaar]

Mining is destructive whatever you mine. The worst kind of mining is open-pit mining, which isn't the most common method for uranium, so in average uranium mining is probably less destructive than most mining operations.

[FredPret]

The alternative is a pre-technology existence.

EDIT: if you're downvoting this, do you expect that we can create and maintain a technological life without building blocks like metals and energy minerals? Did that M1 CPU just appear out of thin air and started powering itself?

And if we do need minerals to create a good life for the 7 billion people we have, do these simply materialize?

We have to dig for it. Holes are ugly and messy. But the alternative is living in one.

[littlestymaar]

Or we could stop building throwaway things. Sure it won't reduce mining to zero, but when a significant fraction of what we mine is ending up in landfills after just a few years, there sure is margin of improvement.

[FredPret]

Why "or"? Why not "and"?

We have massive numbers of people who are still really poor. Making quality infrastructure and products for these people involves lots of brand-new metals.

In the meantime, increasing quality and recycling is merely a multiplier increasing the efficiency of our system. You can't recycle your way to economic greatness.