And more to come.....MINERALS – 2
Nearly 350 new nuclear reactors on horizon
‘Equivalent’ uranium price should be $120/lb, Wits prof tells conference
The current price of uranium would have to be $120/lb if it were to be economically equivalent to the price of two decades ago when uranium was in...
Uranium faces continued bumpy ride $90/lb-$100/lb uranium price outlook, says researcher.
As uranium stocks slip, Aussie researcher says spot price could recover to $120/lb by this time next year
The global nuclear energy outlook is becoming increasingly positive.
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) geologist Professor Judith Kinnaird, who chaired the IQPC uranium conference, points to a strong growth outlook for the building of additional nuclear reactors.
In outlining demand against a background of undersupply, Kinnaird says that 34 new nuclear reactors are being built, 93 are on order or planned and another 222 are being proposed.
These will be introduced in addition to 439 uranium-using nuclear reactors already operating in 41 countries, which, collectively, produce 16% of the world’s electricity requirement.
Although this strident programme has had a significant impact on uranium demand, Kinnaird says that the consensus of economists is that the current price of uranium would have to be $120/lb if it were to be economically equivalent to the price of two decades ago, when uranium was in the doldrums.
At the time of going to press, the uranium price was still far below that – in the $70/lb range.
With the current price of uranium and the scrabble in exploration, it is possible that planned resources are enough to meet these needs, says Kinnaird, who is deputy director of Wits University’s Economic Geo-logy Research Institute’s School of Geosciences.