Yellowcake Fever set to Ramp up in 2007Yellowcake Fever set to Ramp up in 2007
21-December-06 by AAP
https://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/en-story.php?/1/47442/Yellowcake-fever-set-to-ramp-up-in-2007
Hotter summer days and drier winter months has pushed climate change to the forefront of the political and social agenda, with the quest for cleaner energy heralding a renaissance for the once unfashionable uranium.
Earlier this year, UK-brokerage Hargreave Hale released a report titled Too Hot to Handle or Just Warming Up that stated nuclear energy is the only credible base load for electricity with a proven track record that can compete, economically and environmentally, with fossil fuels.
"The case for nuclear energy is strengthening day by day," Hargreave Hale said.
The drivers for nuclear energy growth are well documented - they include increasing global electricity demand and global warming concerns, and point towards an increasing demand for nuclear energy and therefore uranium.
The demand for uranium is also expected to be driven by the proposed construction of 178 new nuclear reactors, a 40 per cent increase on the current global fleet of 441.
Hargreave Hale said the lack of investment in the uranium industry over the 20 years was resulting in an ever increasing power supply deficit and forecast demand for global electricity would double within the next 25 - 30 years.
Daiwa Securities analyst Mark Pervan said the uranium supply market is positioning itself for what is likely to be very strong conditions going forward.
"Uranium is gearing up for the next new wave of demand coming through in the next two to three years," Mr Pervan said.
"The real beauty on the supply side is for every one tonne of highly enriched uranium that is lost or reduced, you have to replace it with ten tonnes of lowly enriched uranium or mined uranium.
"There is a big multiplier effect in there, this is why there is going to be a big demand for mines and new supply."
Currently, mine production accounts for about 60 per cent of the total nuclear reactor requirements, with the balance coming from secondary sources, such as government and commercial inventories. ...