One reason why no-one’s buying bargain mines

Niger, a major supplier of uranium to the French nuclear sector, wants a better price for its supplies, President Mahamadou Issoufou told state TV. Issoufou, who came to power after March elections that ended just over a year of military rule, said the poor desert state was determined to make the most of its resources.

Aura Energy Limited’s (ASX Code AEE, “Aura”) confidence in the greenfields Reguibat Project in Mauritania has been confirmed by the announcement of the first JORC-code compliant resource. The Inferred Resource of 50.2 million pounds at 330ppm U3O8 on the Reguibat Project was based on a cut-off grade of 100ppm U3O8 (Table 1). 48.9 million pounds of this resource are contained in permits 100% held by Aura.

The Namibian reports 500 workers at Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine in Namibia downed tools on Tuesday in a dispute over production incentives. The news comes in the wake of a senior Rio Tinto executive telling Dow Jones on Monday that the mine – which accounts for over 5% of world production of uranium oxide – is losing money at the current price of under $55 per pound of U3O8. Rossing which lies partly inside the Namib-Naukluft Park (pictured) has produced uranium since 1976. Rio Tinto owns 70% while the Iranian government with 15% is the second largest shareholder.

Australian uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia on Wednesday reported an 84 percent drop in second-quarter production from three months earlier, blaming voluntary interruptions in production due to safety concerns on flooding, but lifted its full-year production guidance.

Advanced stage uranium explorer Deep Yellowannouned that its wholly-owned Namibian operating entity, Reptile Uranium Namibia Ltd ('RUN') has made a new alaskite discovery at target MS7, which was recently identified from structural and geological mapping. MS7 is only 2.5 kilometres southwest of the company's Ongolo Alaskite deposit, which has a JORC compliant resource of 6.9 Million tonnes at 410 ppm for 6.2 Million Pounds U3O8 at a 275 ppm cut-off. Ongolo is a key component of the Company's flagship Omahola Project.

The Sowetan reports Tanzania will begin uranium mining in its southern Selous Game Reserve, Africa’s second-largest wildlife sanctuary and a Unesco heritage site (pictured), the energy minister said Tuesday. Australia’s Mantra Resources will start mining in late 2012 in the southern part of the 54,600-square kilometre park estimated to have 53.9 million pounds of uranium oxide deposits which is worth some $2.9bn at current market prices. The minister claimed that mining would only involve about 1% of the park's overall area and that income accrued from mining would help fund upkeep of the park, but environmentalists have slammed the plan.

An environmental engineer says Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) should not have reopened its uranium mine within Kakadu National Park last month without committing to a waste water treatment plan. The company had to stop processing uranium ore for five months during the Northern Territory wet season because its radioactive tailings dam got too close to capacity. Image of Ranger Uranium Mine in Kakadu National Park, east of Darwin, Australia was uploaded to Wikipedia by Stephen Codrington

Two reports out on Thursday suggest better times ahead for the uranium mining industry. The Globe and Mail quotes Tim Gitzel the new chief executive of Cameco Corp. – the world’s largest producer – who is taking the job on Friday as saying the current slump in uranium prices is a chance for the company to take another look at acquisitions. The Financial Post reports that RBC Capital Markets believe uranium price weakness will be shortlived and that China, India and South Korea are maintaining their nuclear build plans while Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Vietnam have all announced new nuclear plans.

BusinessDay reports on Wednesday Rio Tinto vowed not to abandon its uranium ambitions, despite conceding the recent crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant would slow growth in the uranium mining and nuclear power sectors for several years. Nuclear energy represents about 14% of global electricity and is set grow: 25 new plants are currently under construction in China and some 100 are on the drawing board to add to the 400 operating around the world. Uranium prices fell immediately following the Japan earthquake, but have since recovered to around US$55 per pound.