Global Scarcity of Uranium Looms

Challenges in source funds for new mining projects, interruptions in together new and ongoing mine production, as well as the end of the Highly Enriched Uranium agreement are near-perfect ingredients for a lack of uranium in the very near future, a top producer warns.

Tim Gitzel, Chief Executive Officer of Cameco Corp., the world's largest uranium producer, said the problem lies additional on the way investors and producers make their calculations."They take every likely project, think it's going to operate to excellence and add it up and say 'there's lots of supply,'" Gitzel said. "It's easier said than complete.

Gitzel argued that investors, traders, analysts and critics focus too much on a "post-Fukushima attitude.""People don't focus so a large amount on the supply side," he said.Prices of uranium, a radioactive heavy metal used as an plentiful source of nuclear energy, have tumbled 24 per cent since the March 2011 magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan so as to caused a partial meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.The crisis at Fukushima led nations to pause and re-evaluate accessible as well as future nuclear programs. Germany, for one, announced it will finish its nuclear reactors by 2022.

Uranium up on strong nuclear case

Uranium spot prices rose 2.4 percent last week as buyers look beyond the impact of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Ux Consulting Co said Uranium-oxide focus for immediate delivery sold for $54 a pound (0.45 kg) in the seven days ended Monday, compare with $52.75 the previous week, Ux said in an emailed report Tuesday that is based on the mainly competitive offer tracked by the U.S. company.

"The industry believes that the holder for nuclear energy is still strong, given that lots of countries are still moving forward with their nuclear energy plans," Ux said.

The spot price for the nuclear fuel has dropped 19 percent since the week previous to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami injured Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima No 1 power station, triggering the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 and prompting a few nations to put their nuclear power plans on hold.

Uranium Spot Prices Fall as Holiday Season Cuts Demand, Ux Consulting Says

Uranium spot prices, which weakened later than the Fukushima reactor crisis in Japan, fell 1.9 percent in the past week through the Northern Hemisphere’s summer holiday season, Ux Consulting Co. said.Uranium-oxide concentrate for direct delivery traded at $50.50 a pound in the seven days through yesterday compared with $51.50 the earlier week, Ux said in an e-mailed report today that’s based on the most competitive present tracked by the Roswell, Georgia-based company.

The spot price for the nuclear fuel has declined 24 percent given that the week before a March 11 earthquake and tsunami spoiled Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi power station the crisis prompted a few nations to put their atomic power plans on hold china halted approval of new plants and Germany said it will shut additional than 25 percent of its nuclear capacity.

“The spot uranium market continue to edge down on price-sensitive demand,” Ux said. “August is the height of the vacation season, giving buyers yet a new reason to stay away from a market that has been languishing this summer since the implication of the Fukushima accident have set in.”