RE:"China's nuclear programme has slowed considerably"There is a "sensationalistic" Subject line. And not accurate in terms of last couple of years in particular. True for the short and mid-term post Fukishima. Tons of evidence to the contrary for last 2-3 years.
Everything nuclear slowed considerably in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster.
So, things are just recovering now. BUT, i would argue that the expansion DESPITE a disaster in 2011 has been absolutely incredible. It just takes time to build reactors.
I have read that it is taking 2 years less to build reactors now. i will go out on a limb that says reactors built today are probably safer and better designed than ones from 40 years ago. There is a wealth more experience and regulation and safety measures and improved tech.
Despite Fukishima, the amount of approved reactor projects in China, India, Saudi Arabia, and UAE in particular is SHOCKINGLY high. 55 reactors are under construction now, and there should be another flurry over next year or two. I am actually super encourage by all the PLANNED/APPROVED staged reactors. Everything takes time.
I have said it again, the plan for Japan is to restart a couple of reactors a year from now on for about 15-20 years - there is no schedule to start the remaining idled reactors all at once, or over even a medium period of time. BUT, that schedule could be accelerated as political and legal barriers improve. It is the China and India stories that will control the demand side moving forward, as well as reassurance that many countries that were moving away from nuclear are at least delaying that, or changing course (France and US respectively are the big ones). At least it sounds like the supply overhang is less of an issue with respect to Japan stockpiles (I imagine what they wanted to and could get rid of is now likely gone).
The market is very fickle, and yes is trying. People what immediate returns, over short periods of time, that does not bode well for Junior miners. Pot stocks (in Canada in particular), and the FANG/growth stocks have dominated for years. AT some point the cycles change. That is no guarantee FCU will be a massive hit of course, but the world needs resource stocks and engergy.
There are 3major things going for U post Fukishima. There is a major mental shift to finally protect the environment and prevent further global warming (it doesn't matter whether one believes what the reasons are behind global warming - it is dangerous - so working to avoid anything that contributes to global warming, promotes nuclear as well as it is one of the few realistic parts of a solution). Solar and Wind haven't been able to reliably and cheaply replace nuclear. The Fukishima disaster has FORCED significantly improved safety measures and focus on improved technology, and as a result the world is getting safer nuclear, and things like SMA's and different designs, or even more massive and larger and more efficient reactors. That will improve demand - but all that takes time.
Historically we have evidence of slow drops in values of U companies and then super fast and extreme value increases. This type of scenario is building again. These are not slow and steady stock charts, these are explosive booms and busts.
But, DUH, yes, everything slowed after Fukishima 2011. That is Captain Hindsight and Captain Obvious talking together. What is actually amazing is that rather than shut down nuclear has never been bigger and is growing faster than it has for multiple decades. That is the important piece of news for the FUTURE. WE all KNOW the share prices have generally done very little positive for 7 years, unless you were astute or lucky enough to get an FCU or NXE in the very early stages.
It remains to be seen if purchasers of U go back to long-term contracting at historically average prices - or if the Spot market will continue to dominate as many of the pre-existing purchase/supply contracts expire.
There could be a number of factors all hit at the same time to cause an explosion in prices. No guarantees, but they are well documented these days.....Whether the figures are accurate, only time will tell.......
If FCU, and NXE, and DML as juniors can't eventually make money, then likely no Canadian or Australian company will likely be a multibagger. If the US requires home grown U for its plants, then there is poential there, because they have a large fleet. China and India will still want Canadian U, and I doubt the US will be able to pull enough U out of ground domesically for a long-time to satisfy the supply they need. Takes time...