Blog
02/22/2012
Alright, let’s get down to it... South Africa (February 22, 2012: Bloomberg) is considering spending more than 600 billion rand ($78 billion) on nuclear plants, another coal-fired plant and a hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo to stave off power shortages in Africa’s largest economy.” Cameco Corp. (TSX: CCO) is counting on long-term energy demand
We have an excellent research team here and today and this morning I was reviewing the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit that had been forwarded to me with great interest. Held March 26-27 in Seoul, Korea – they have confirmed participation of representatives from over 50 countries and 3 international organizations (UN, IAEA and EU). The site states
02/16/2012
Last week in my piece called Could NRC Approval of Nuclear Plant Spark Global Nuclear Renaissance?, I reported that for the first time in 30 years the US Nuclear Regulatory Agency had granted approval to build two new nuclear reactors in the State of Georgia. This week nuclear and uranium news is heating up across the globe
Continue reading "New South Wales Lifting Exploration Ban to Be Part of Lucrative Uranium Sector" »
02/12/2012
It could be more impressive. The uranium sector, that is. Do you realise that there are only four companies with a market capitalisation over $1 billion (in Canadian dollars)? Cameco Corp (TSX:CCO) is way out front, worth $C7.78 billion (these figures were all compiled in November by Versant Partners and Capital IQ). Then it was quite a
Continue reading "Weekly Review: does uranium sector need more grunt?" »
02/10/2012
The State of Georgia has been granted approval to build two new nuclear reactors at the Vogtle nuclear power site located east of Atlanta. The power plant is owned by Georgia Power a subsidiary of Southern Company. Early this morning websites breaking the story such as the Atlanta Business Chronicle indicated that the decision to grant approval
Continue reading "Could NRC Approval of Nuclear Plant Spark Global Nuclear Renaissance?" »
02/07/2012
It’s probably as good as one could hope for in the present climate: a prediction that the uranium market is “well-balanced”. This comes at a time when, at least, the uranium spot price is holding its own, unchanged this week at $US52/lb. There’s also some positive news: the Russians are to expand the Smolensk nuclear power station,
Continue reading "Weekly Review: Nuclear progress continues, but prices will rise slowly" »
01/31/2012
It’s down to the wire with the Technology Metals Summit set to kick off tomorrow morning. The delegates and speakers have already started to arrive and the atmosphere is buzzing at the Hyatt Regency as Pro-Edge staff members are already on-site making sure the 2-day conference runs without a glitch. The business media -- namely Business News
Continue reading "Experts Say Uranium Shortage by 2014: Reality, It’s Already Here?" »
01/28/2012
Uranium politics took a considerable shift this week in the state of Western Australia. The left-wing Labor party opened the door just a little. Not that it matters all that much because they’re unlikely to win the state election next year, and the pro-uranium Liberal government is well ahead in the polls. But - and no one
Continue reading "The Weekly Review: Uranium ground shifts in Western Australia" »
01/27/2012
Received an email this morning from a reader who referenced a uranium industry update from equities research analyst Rob Chang...so busy with the Technology Metals Summit in less than 1 week and counting, but thought a few lines were warranted... The US Energy Information Administration has released the preliminary figures for its “Annual Energy Outlook 2012”. The
Continue reading "U.S. EIA Forecasts Nuclear Demand to Outpace Growth " »
01/20/2012
Shares of major uranium miner Cameco doubled from June 2010 to February 2011. Uranium juniors like UEX Corp. performed even better. UEXs shares rose 298% from May 2010 to February 2011. In the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan 10 months ago, Germany decided to shut down its nuclear power plants. Specifically, German legislators voted
Anything faintly cheerful about uranium is welcome these days. Now we have a report that goes one better than faintly but still expresses some reservations about the economics of upcoming new projects. From Sydney, the analysts at J.P. Morgan Securities Australia have just upped their price forecasts. This be a welcome relief to the industry as it
Continue reading "Uranium prices better but maybe no Cigar (Lake)" »
01/18/2012
We could be less than 10 years away from commercially viable, small scale nuclear plants. More likely by 2025, though (although the Russians may be only a year or two away). That’s the view of Matt Robinson at Australia-based engineering consultancy WorleyParsons. The company is now engaged in nuclear projects in 18 countries and is providing design
Continue reading "Nuclear reactors - going smaller, quicker and cheaper" »
01/13/2012
Like celebrity gossip burying financial news under the fold, the most significant players in the uranium market are rarely the ones making headlines. And the current Bernankes to uranium’s Kardashians are, without a doubt, the juniors. The 2012 global uranium discussion reached a fever pitch before the ball had finished dropping; combined with what could become an
Continue reading "As market momentum builds, juniors edge into spotlight" »
On January 11, I interviewed Dr. Richard Spencer CEO Director of U308 Corp. (TSX.V: UWE), a Toronto-based company focused on the exploration and expansion of uranium and associated commodities in South America (click here). Dr. Spencer confirmed that initial tests at the company’s flagship Berlin project yielded metallurgical results for the recoveries of 97% uranium, 97% phosphate
Continue reading "Game Changing Results at U308’s Berlin Flagship Project…Free Uranium?" »
01/12/2012
January 12, 2012 -- Outstanding metallurgical recoveries from U3O8 Corp.s (TSX.V: UWE) Berlin Project this morning includes 97% Uranium, 97% Phosphate, 79% Vanadium other rare earth metals (News Release). Dr. Richard Spencer, President CEO for U3O8 Corp. speaks with Tracy Weslosky, CEO for Pro-Edge Inc. who asks: You have a 20 million tonne (uranium) resource...would this not
01/11/2012
It once produced around 10 per cent of the world’s uranium, but the Ranger mine in northern Australia is going through a real bad patch right now. The mine’s operator, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), had to close the processing plant in 2011 due to heavy rain; the close-down last from January 28 until June 15. And
Continue reading "Rain continues to plague Australian uranium mine" »
01/10/2012
If you have any plans to enlarge your uranium interests - and you have either readycash or still know a bank that is lending - this may be the time to go about it. Uranium spot pricescontinue to besubdued: they remained unchanged this week at $52/lb. For all the hand-wringing in Japan and Western Europe over nuclear
Continue reading "Calling all predators - uranium explorers may never be cheaper" »
12/27/2011
Let’s file this latest development under ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ India has announced it will axe its independent nuclear regulator and replace it with a government-controlled body, according to radioaustralia.net.au. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board will be replaced with a straightforward safety authority answerable to government ministers, raising concerns it will suffer from government interference, according
Continue reading "Hand Grenades, Horseshoes and Selling Uranium Abroad" »
12/26/2011
South Korea has yet another historic reason to dislike Japan – the anti-nuclear domino effect that the Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster has engendered amongst the radioactive-adverse populace. The government has selected two domestic sites for nuclear power plants ― Yeongdeok County of North Gyeongsang Province and Samcheok City of Gangwon Province. The two locations, both on the eastern
Continue reading "South Korea Grapples with Its Own Nuclear Winter of Discontent" »
12/21/2011
Here comes the next big not-in-my-backyard fight in the US uranium space. An Australia-owned company, Oregon Energy, wants to start digging in Oregon’s poorest county, one appropriately named Malheur, which is the French word for misfortune, bad luck or curse. Oregon Energy – the 100%-owned subsidiary of Energy Ventures Ltd. - hopes to extract at least 18
Continue reading "Oregon Energy, a Malheur Uranium Investment and Shouts of Nimby" »
12/19/2011
There’s a movement afoot in Canada that could transform the future fortunes of some sleepy towns in the flat, middle part of the country. William Elliott, head of the economic development corporation serving the Elliot Lake region, sees the upside of something that usually provokes gut reactions of not-in-my-backyard – storing nuclear waste. Theres the obvious economic
Continue reading "Nuclear Waste - Digging Deep To Reap Economic Benefit" »
12/16/2011
There are 35 uranium companies trudging around Labrador and Newfoundland looking for yellow cake - and celebrating this week now that a three-year moratorium on uranium mining activities on Inuit lands will be lifted in March 2012. Let the consolidation game begin. There are two companies that are perhaps emblematic of the uranium space – one domestic
Continue reading "M&A Season Could Be Upon Us now that Inuit Lands to Open For Uranium Business" »
12/14/2011
If there is one U.S. state that might remove a moratorium on uranium mining, it could be Virginia. Why? Well, the area – dominated by the Appalachian Mountains – has been dogged by controversial mountaintop removal coal mining, a kind of surface mining often seen in West Virginia, Kentucky, but also anywhere from Ohio to Virginia. A
Continue reading "Virginia — Uranium mining might look better than mountaintop coal mining" »
The legacy of the Soviet Union with regard to uranium mining seems to overhang policy in some, at least, of that empire’s former Eastern Europe satellites. This issue has been reignited by the Reuters report from Prague (posted here, of course, on Uraniumblog.com) that the Czech Republic’s industry ministry is calling for an expansion of uranium mining.
Continue reading "Czech uranium investment - not as simple as they make it sound" »
12/13/2011
The nuclear power sector simply can’t make headway in the U.S. – if it isn’t crowds of Nimbys (not-in-my-back-yard) pulling hair and gnashing teeth or a high-profile meltdown incident such as the one in Japan earlier this year, then it’s political infighting inside Washington’s beltway. Here’s the latest: House oversight committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa saystheWhiteHouseis AWOL
Continue reading "NRC Execs Go Nuclear; White House Accused of Hiding in the Shelter" »
It has long been a guiding principle of Gold Stock Trades that requires constant reiteration. To know how to wait is the great secret of success. At one time in the history of the United States there were great Americans who had little education, but they were endowed with a native intelligence. Will Rogers was one of
Continue reading "Nuclear Energy's Future Shines Brightly" »
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. But common sense in the Commonwealth might be slightly more difficult to believe in. The General Assembly is at the cusp of ending a 1982 ban on uranium mining in Virginia—a ban slightly more outdated than the tired What About Chernobyl refrain of anti-nuclear rhetoric, if such a thing is
Continue reading "Virginia's Uranium mining debate--and what it could mean for the market" »
12/11/2011
Global uranium majors have significantly underperformed the broader share market over the past 12 months. That will be only too obvious to shareholders in those companies, but now we have a compilation of the actual numbers. According to the latest quarterly uranium sector report from Sydney-based Resource Capital Research (RCR), the Canadian majors are down around 50
Continue reading "Uranium market bottom forming, outlook cautious but positive" »
12/06/2011
The nuclear situation in Japan becomes more opaque by the day. It seems many commentators have already written off atomic power as part of the country’s future but it may not be as clear-cut as all that. The news flow from Tokyo is certainly confusing. In the past 48 hours we have had a report that 45
Continue reading "Confusion rules with competing Japanese nuclear priorities" »
11/29/2011
Japan’s nuclear woes continue. In the latest development, Kansai Electric Power Co. estimates it will cost about 200 billion yen ($US2.56 billion) to make safe its reactors in Fukui prefecture. According to the Nikkei news service, the company plans to build levees around its two nuclear plant towns, Mihama and Takahama, up to a height of 11.5
Continue reading "Japan hesitates on nuclear, Korea surges ahead" »
11/27/2011
Australia and the Czech Republic are going to co-operate on building a prototype thorium-fuelled molten salt reactor. This despite the fact that thorium mining is banned in Australia (in some states even exploration for it is outlawed) and, when it is extracted as part of rare earth mining, then the thorium has to be put back in
Continue reading "Thorium - another sign it's the coming nuclear fuel" »
11/21/2011
Fukushima and a faltering uranium price have not dampened the spirits of Australia’s uranium explorers. According to the Australian Uranium Association (AUA), exploration budgets in the sector in the fiscal year 2011 (that is, to June 30) were collectively the second highest on record. Nationally, the uranium industry spent A$213.9 million (US$210.4 million) searching for and proving
Continue reading "Australia's uranium companies looking on the bright side" »
11/17/2011
November 17, 2011 -- Tracy Weslosky CEO of Pro-edge interviews the Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp on the inevitable uranium bull market. Mickey starts: "Pre-Fukushima we had 443 operating plants worldwide. Post-Fukushima, with plants coming offline in Japan and some in Germany, we were at 1 point down to 425. Since then we have at least 4 more
11/13/2011
A prominent business think tank is trying to re-ignite the nuclear power issue in Australia. CEDA (which stands for Committee for Economic Development of Australia) says in the first of a series of energy reports, Australia’s Nuclear Options, that new nuclear technology should be explored if the country is serious about both tackling climate change and maintaining
Continue reading "Australia urged to embrace nuclear power to lower emissions" »
11/11/2011
Ruble debt is so much better than, say, a kick in the head for equity investors, who were probably wondering when the next round of dilution would rear its ugly mug. Investors have a right to be gun shy; Uranium One has completed three equity financings this year. It was perhaps welcome news then to hear that
11/09/2011
Regulatory approvals in the U.S. regarding new and expanding uranium mines have come under the microscope at London financial analysts Libertas Partners. This follows the recent comment from Cameco (TSX:CCJ) that its subsidiary, Power Resources, has faced frustrations from the regulatory processes in Wyoming. They have been trying to bring into production new wellfields into production at
Continue reading "U.S. nuclear plants will favor domestic mines - although approvals slow " »
Kivalliq Energy continues to work up in northern Canada, on a large Nunavut-based property straddling two promising basins - Yathkyed and Angikuni. “Work” is the operative word here; this has become increasingly important in the uranium sector over the past year as a large number of U3O8 wannabes have been thinned from the herd. Despite what you
Continue reading "Kivalliq's Energized Lac Cinquante Project Takes Another Big Step Forward" »
If you talk to a uranium exploration company executive, he’ll often tell you that a company and its assays or positive results aren’t really the underlying catalyst for its stock price gapping higher. Nope. He’ll say a huge component of a positive investment climate is dictated by the direction of the spot price of uranium; that it’s
Continue reading "When a Market Starts to See Some Semblance of Life" »
11/08/2011
Common sense and rational thought are sometimes the first casualties when the subject of uranium and nuclear power is raised. A stark example is recent discussion of uranium and India. The former conservative Liberal-National coalition government of Australia had agreed to sell uranium to India for nuclear energy even though the lattercountry had not signed the non-proliferation
Continue reading "Is India going to show the way on uranium-nuclear common sense?" »
11/05/2011
Time to catch up on the nuclear scene. This comes as Uraniumblog.com has its staff beefed up and, from here on in, the website will be expanded to provide comprehensive daily coverage.We could also say we are padding up but youd have to be a cricket fan to recognise that term - it refers to the pads
Continue reading "Uraniumblog beefs up to catch metal's, nuclear's big future" »
10/11/2011
Two-third of Americans continue to support nuclear power, according to a late-September telephone poll of 1,000 U.S. citizens. Versant Partners, which conducted the survey on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute, found that 62% of respondents favoured the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to generate electricity in the U.S. The figure does, however,
Continue reading "US Still Nuclear-friendly, Versant Survey shows" »
10/04/2011
IT seems the anti-nuclear fever experienced in Japan post-Fukushima may be waning. The latest indicator: voters in the town of Iwanai on Hokkaido, close to a nuclear power plant, have voted in as mayor an advocate of re-starting those idled reactors. Yugi Kamioka, who campaigned on getting all the reactors back into service at the Tomari nuclear
Continue reading "Japanese sentiment swings slowly back to nuclear" »
09/08/2011
September 8, 2011 (Source: The Energy Report) -- The Energy Report (TER):Edward, lets quickly sum up 2011 for uranium. Spot prices for yellowcake have fallen from a high of around $74 a pound (lb.) in January to around $51/lb. now. Most of the decline can be attributed to the tsunami in Japan that caused radiation leaks at
Continue reading "BMO's Edward Sterck: Uranium Companies Poised for a Comeback" »
09/06/2011
In one of his first acts in office as the new Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda has come out in favour of nuclear power and building new nuclear reactors to supply Japan’s electric power needs. Polls there show it will be a hard sell to the Japanese electorate. Fukushima’s 4 wrecked reactors are still spewing radiation
09/03/2011
You know the old saying that it always seeming darkest just before the dawn. Well, that pretty well sums up the uranium industry at the moment. Now we have Cameco spreading a tale of woe, and predicting that the junior uranium companies are in for a shocker of a time. A plausible argument, especially in a week
Continue reading "Uranium - it will pick itself up, dust itself off, and start all over again" »
09/02/2011
Japans Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is casting doubt on future supply projections by optimistic uranium junior explorers. Thats the word from Cameco marketing strategy and administration VP Tim Gabruch, according to miningweekly.com (Read here). “The juniors are feeling, and will continue to feel, the negative impact of Fukushima, as they struggle to raise money to advance projects,”
Continue reading "Cameco looks askance at uranium juniors' positive supply projections " »
08/23/2011
Buy when others are fearful. It’s a time-honoured dictum in the markets, and the uranium market is certainly one where investors are fearful. Ux Consulting, the Roswell, Georgia-based company that monitors the uranium sector was quoted this week as saying the spot market for uranium looks “like a ghost town”, so sparse is the activity. The spot
Continue reading "Uranium blues - but bliss for Chinese buyers" »
08/09/2011
Despite ongoing news out of Japan about the true impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, two Canadian-based uranium producers gave mid-year updates that revealed a quiet optimism for the sector. Cameco – the world’s largest uranium producer in 2010 – and Denison both came in with half-year earning’s reports that simply reflected the volatility arising from the
Continue reading "Cameco, Denison take a cup-half-full approach" »
08/06/2011
The Republic of Namibia, which borders the Atlantic ocean in southern Africa, relies on the mining of diamonds, gold, uranium, silver and base metals to prop up the country’s economy. A new Frost Sullivan’s report, courtesy of Research and Markets, says uranium is set to overtake diamonds as Namibia’s largest foreign currency earner. The report, Production and
Continue reading "Namibia's uranium sector a magnet for foreign direct investment" »
Imagine if only one Starbucks Coffee could be built every 30 years; it would’ve been decades before we got a Starbucks catty-corner to yet another Starbucks at a busy, downtown intersection. Well, Southern Company - a public utility holding company – is about to break ground on a construction project that hasn’t been seen in the U.S.
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