Twitter

Uranium and Nuclear Power Industry

2024 belongs to an offbeat pairing — uranium and gold – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining.com – January 2, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

As demand for EV and base metals is expected to slow along with global growth in 2024, two very different metals are likely to stand out from the commodity pack: gold and uranium.

Gold, prized throughout human history, is virtually indestructible. That means most of the over 6.7 billion oz. of the metal the World Gold Council estimates has ever been mined is kicking around somewhere, whether as a wedding ring or in a 400-troy-oz. gold bar stored behind blast-proof gates at the ultra-secure Fort Knox gold vault in Kentucky.

Read more

Site for Canada’s underground nuclear waste repository to be selected next year – by Allison Jones (Canadian Press/Toronto Star – December 27, 2023)

https://www.thestar.com/

Key milestone upcoming for Canada’s nuclear waste

A critical milestone is on the horizon for Canada’s 175-year-long plan to bury its nuclear waste underground, with two pairs of Ontario communities set to decide if they would be willing hosts.

Late next year, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization plans to select the site for Canada’s deep geological repository, where millions of bundles of used nuclear fuel will be placed in a network of rooms connected by cavernous tunnels, as deep below the Earth’s surface as the CN Tower is tall — if the process goes according to plan.

Read more

US and Russia in race to ban uranium trade – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – December 20, 2023)

https://www.northernminer.com/

The United States Congress is preparing for critical votes on legislation impacting the country’s uranium industry, focusing on the Nuclear Fuel Security Act (NFSA) and a potential ban on Russian uranium imports. The proposed NFSA promises to direct about US$2 billion towards revitalizing the domestic uranium and nuclear fuel sectors, upon approval, as a matter of national security.

The funding may come from standard government appropriations or special emergency allocations by the White House. This governmental engagement has already been a catalyst, driving uranium prices up 71% year-on-year to a current high of US$82.30 per lb. of uranium oxide from below US$20.

Read more

China uranium grab poses threat to western energy supply, warns Yellow Cake – by Harry Dempsey (Financial Times – December 9, 2023)

https://www.ft.com/

Prices of nuclear commodity at 15-year high as governments scramble to secure sources of fuel for power stations

China is making an aggressive push to tie up global uranium supply amid a worldwide rush to secure nuclear fuel, warned the boss of Yellow Cake, a London-listed investment vehicle for the radioactive commodity.

André Liebenberg, chief executive of the Aim-traded company, said the west was lagging behind in securing uranium after prices hit a 15-year high and as Chinese firms purchase supplies on the open market, sign long-term contracts and buy up mines.

Read more

Navajo Nation faces possible new threats after decades of uranium mining – by Kate Holland and Tenzin Shakya (ABC News – December 7, 2023)

https://abcnews.go.com/

A Canadian company is working to move forward with uranium extraction.

Just miles from the site of the 1979 Church Rock Mill spill, the largest nuclear disaster in American history, uranium extraction operations could resume near the Navajo Nation. Now, Navajo leaders say the health and prosperity of their community could be in even further jeopardy.

A Canadian company is working to move forward with uranium extraction, an industry that has a lengthy history around the Navajo Nation. “The pursuit of happiness for us is to be able to live in our communities without fear from the impact of radiation and uranium,” said Teracita Keyanna, who grew up near an abandoned uranium mine in New Mexico. “It’s been really scary, just being a mom in this area.”

Read more

OPINION: Canada moves to the forefront in the new age of nuclear power – by Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail – December 6, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

From one global climate conference to the next, nuclear power has been politely shunned as the world’s environmental elite remain divided about including it in the mix of energy solutions needed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century. That is, until now.

The current COP28 conference under way in Dubai marks a sea change. The atom’s rehabilitation as a necessary ingredient in the quest for a net-zero world got a major boost on Saturday when 22 countries, including Canada, called for a tripling of global nuclear power capacity by 2050.

Read more

Sask. government approval brings new biggest uranium project in Canada closer to reality – by Pratyush Dayal (CBC News Saskatoon – November 28, 2023)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/

Mine will produce more than 23 per cent world’s uranium production once running, says NexGen Energy

Saskatchewan is moving closer to being the location of the new biggest uranium mining project in Canada. On Nov. 8, Canadian company NexGen Energy Ltd. received ministerial approval under the Environmental Assessment Act of Saskatchewan to proceed with the development of the Rook I Project, slated to be located 130 kilometres north of La Loche, Sask. It still requires federal approval.

NexGen is the first company in more than 20 years to receive full provincial environmental assessment approval for a greenfield uranium project in Saskatchewan.

Read more

BHP looks to take potash plant nuclear – by Matthew Cranston (Australian Financial Review – November 26, 2023)

https://www.afr.com/

Washington | BHP is considering nuclear energy to power what will be the world’s biggest potash mine in Saskatchewan, Canada, in a move that would help the Australian mining giant achieve its net-zero emissions target by 2050.

A decision to pursue nuclear generation in a country where it has long been part of the energy mix raises further questions about Australia’s own interest in the clean but controversial energy alternative.

Read more

Uranium sector ‘scrambling’ to fill supply gap – by Colin McClelland (Northern Miner – November 21, 2023)

https://www.northernminer.com/

The price of uranium will hit triple-digits for the first time since 2007 as nations weaning off oil and seeking energy security deplete nuclear fuel supplies, the world’s largest investment fund in the physical metal says.

The spot price for uranium should rise from US$80 per lb. this week to US$100 or more per lb. within a year to 18 months, John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management, which runs the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (TSX: U.U for $US; U.UN for $CAD), said by phone on Monday. The trust holds 62 million lb. of yellowcake uranium valued at US$4.9 billion.

Read more

Opinion: Nuclear power and LNG are key to a low-carbon future – by Duncan T. Munn (Financial Post – November 24, 2023)

https://financialpost.com/

Nuclear provides reliable base power while LNG could help manage the world’s transition away from coal

The national conversation about net-zero has tended to focus on renewable forms of energy, such as wind and solar, both of which have important roles to play in future.

But nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) have also emerged as pragmatic drivers on the road toward a low-carbon future. Each has its own unique advantages.

Read more

Uranium Exceeds $80 for First Time in More Than 15 Years – by Eddie Spence (Bloomberg News – November 21, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Uranium prices topped $80 a pound for the first time in more than fifteen years on renewed demand for nuclear power and disrupted supplies.

Nymex futures tracking physical-market contracts for a raw form of uranium known as yellowcake hit $80.25 a pound on Monday. Prices have rallied sharply this year, hitting levels not seen since Japan’s Fukushima accident caused governments across the world to cut back on nuclear power.

Read more

Top 10 Uranium Mines in the World (Updated 2023) – by Melissa Pistilli (Investment News Network – October 24, 2023)

https://investingnews.com/

In 2022, world uranium mine production came to 58,201 metric tons (MT) of U3O8. Kazakhstan was the top-producing country by far at 21,227 MT, followed by Canada at 7,351 MT and Namibia at 5,613 MT. Together, those three nations accounted for nearly 59 percent of global uranium production, with Kazakhstan alone accounting for more than a third at 36.47 percent.

Unsurprisingly, many of the world’s top uranium mines are located in Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia. But that’s not the case for all of the largest uranium mines. To give investors a better idea of where the top uranium mines are located, the Investing News Network has put together a list of the 10 biggest uranium mines in the world by 2022 production, based on the latest statistics from the World Nuclear Association (WNA). Read on to learn more about uranium mines, plus uranium reserves and uranium exploration.

Read more

Proposed northern Sask. uranium mine, mill one step closer to becoming reality – by Cole Davenport (CTV News Saskatoon – November 10, 2023)

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/

A major uranium project in northwestern Saskatchewan has cleared a significant regulatory hurdle. NexGen Energy said Thursday that its proposed uranium mine and mill to be built on the Athabasca Basin north of La Loche known as “Rook I” was granted full approval after an environmental assessment carried out by provincial officials.

“Throughout the rigorous [environmental assessment] process, the Government of Saskatchewan recognized the unparalleled value and future opportunities the Rook I Project will provide for local communities, Saskatchewan, and Canada,” NexGen CEO Leigh Curyer said in a release.

Read more

Macron is shopping for uranium in Kazakhstan after the loss of Niger – by Jan van der Made (RFI France – November 1, 2023)

https://www.rfi.fr/en/

Oil-rich Kazakhstan has already emerged as a replacement supplier of crude to European nations turning off Russian supply and an important link in the new China-Europe trade route bypassing Russia. At a meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Macron complimented Astana for refusing to side with Moscow on Ukraine and said the two countries planned to sign significant business deals.

“We will be able to make progress on important international matters, underscore our commitment to the United Nations charter and principles such as territorial integrity and national sovereignty,” he said through an interpreter. But Kazakhstan mainly attracted Macron’s attention because of its vast uranium resources.

Read more

The 10 Largest Uranium Mines In The World (World Atlas – October 22, 2023)

https://www.worldatlas.com/

If one were to ask an average person the question, “What do you know about uranium?”, their response would probably be, “It is a mineral used for fuel in nuclear power plants.” While this statement is technically true, the role of uranium in global power generation is somewhat more complex than that. So, what precisely is uranium? And beyond that, where does it come from?

To begin with, uranium is a mildly radioactive, metallic chemical element. It is represented by the symbol “U on the periodic table and listed as atomic number 92. Silver-white or silver-grey in color, uranium is what is known as a primordial element, meaning that it has been present since the Earth was formed nearly 4.5 billion years ago. The mineral is widely distributed in the planet’s solid crust, as well as in its oceans and rivers. Contrary to popular belief, uranium is not exceptionally rare. In fact, it is approximately as common as tin.

Read more