Print this article
Uranium has more than quadrupled from 20-year lows of $7 a pound to $30.75 over the past five years. But during the next few years, it looks likely to “shoot to the moon”, says Adam Hamilton on Zealllc.com. On the demand front, much of the impetus comes from China and India, with the latter planning to grow its nuclear energy production by 100% over the next 50 years to help meet rising energy demand. Worldwide, says Hamilton, there are more than 140 new nuclear reactors under construction, planned or proposed.
But while demand for uranium is rising, supply isn’t. Last year, mined supply met just 58% of demand, with the shortfall covered by stockpiles and recycled uranium from old nuclear weapons. But these are rapidly diminishing and it can take a decade for a new uranium mine to come onstream. The World Nuclear Association estimates that by 2020, supply from mines and secondary sources (ie, stockpiles) will make up just 50% of expected demand. The bull run, then, is far from over.
One uranium play is miner Cameco (CCO.CN, C$62, or CCJ, $53 in New York), which will gain from higher prices as it renegotiates its supplier contracts. Rohit Segal of the Dynamic Power Canadian Growth Fund expects a climb to $75.
A much more speculative play, highlighted by Finanz und Wirtschaft, is Forsys Metals (FSY.CN, C$1.15), which owns 90% of Namibia’s Valencia mine. Forsys expects an ongoing assessment of the area’s uranium deposits to show that reserves are higher than suggested by the last analysis, which was carried out in the 1970s, and hopes to begin production in four years’ time
Published in
Precious metals & gems
| More
articles
by
Andrew Van Sickle
Related articles
-
By Tim Bennett, May 25, 2012
-
By Matthew Lynn, May 04, 2012