Paladin shares sink as it cuts uranium output
The uranium miner revised down its production forecast for the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia.
Artist impression
Uranium is having the worst start to a year in a decade.
U3O8 is down more than 25% in 2016 with the UxC broker average price sliding to $25.45 a pound last week. Current levels are the cheapest spot uranium has been since 2005. The long term price, where most uranium business is conducted, has fallen to unprecedented levels below $40 a pound.
Uranium’s weakness persists despite strong fundamentals with only reactors already being built – mostly in China – expected to increase the global need for uranium by a fifth from today’s levels.
An announcement by the UK government may go far in returning some confidence to the market.
After years of uncertainty, Prime Minister Theresa May gave the go-ahead for a $24 billion nuclear power station at Hinkley Point – Europe’s biggest energy project and the UK’s first nuclear project in a generation.
French company EDF is building the facility and putting up two-thirds of the funding for the project, which will create more than 25,000 jobs. Jean-Bernard Lévy, EDF CEO said “The decision of the British Government to approve the construction of Hinkley Point C marks the relaunch of nuclear in Europe.”
China is investing the remaining $8 billion to build Hinkley Point reports the BBC:
“The Chinese agreed to take a stake in Hinkley and at Sizewell in Suffolk on the understanding that the UK government would approve a Chinese-led and designed project at Bradwell in Essex, which has raised questions over national security.”
2 Comments
MiniBulk Inc.
This is great news for our Saskatchewan friends!
Malcolm2001
Just like the rest of the world the UK has come to the realization that you cannot operate a modern economy on wind and solar. It took a generation and the loss of almost all of its nuclear expertise but I suppose better late than never. It will not affect Uranium prices in the short term -this project is years away from requiring fuel but it will finally dawn on the utility buyers that the number of mines to produce Uranium is getting fewer by the day. The commodity is like a coiled spring. The longer that prices stay this low and the more the draw down on above ground supplied the tighter this spring is wound. When it unwinds anyone holding any quantity of Uranium stock is going to be very well rewarded. My best of the bests right now are Cameco (a steal at $12), NexGen and Paladin. I own all three but make your own choices. Also remember that most of the worlds supply of Uranium is via Kazakhstan. Cut that off or interrupt it and you have the makings of a Uranium panic. You must have Uranium to run nuclear plants or you shutdown. I would not want to be the fueling engineer that has to say that to his CEO.