- Two primary uses: Civilian Power Plants & Defense
- As of 2018, the USA imports over 90% of its uranium
- This could be a security risk as this is used for nuclear power reactors and nuclear powered navy ships
- Much of the USA's imported uranium comes from Russia, Kazakhastan, Australia and Canada
- Uranium prices in the United states could jump if laws/restrictions/tariffs are put in place to spur US production
- Uranium Junior Mining is a Relatively Small Industry
- ~ 5 Uranium mining companies in the late 1990s
- Grew to roughly 500 during the last bull market in Uranium
- ~20-25 Uranium mining companies in the late 2010s
- very political & emmotion commodity
- nuclear power is regulated, so regulation can hugely impact uranium demand
- emotions + politcs = high volatility
Nuclear Scares & Disaster Can Negatively Impact Uranium Prices
- These events cause publish disfavor and protests
- Can even cause closure of nuclear plants and/or cancellation of new nuclear project
- Examples include:
- Three Mile Island
- Chernobyl
- This results in reduced demand and a fall in prices
- Uranium prices tend to follow cyclical patterns
- Rise very high when nuclear power is in favor
- Fall below production costs when nuclear power is out of favor
- 20 year bear market from early 1980s to early 2000s
- Bull market till mid 2000s
- Bear market from mid 2000s to current (2018)
-
Setup for a potential price increase in 2018 & beyond
- The number of uranium miners is shrinking
- Globally the number of nuclear power plants is increaseing