Strathmore Minerals Corp STHJF

Uranium’s 27% Decline May Spur Mining Mergers, Str

[AfterGlow]

By Rajesh Kumar Singh
     March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Uranium’s 27 percent decline
following damage to a nuclear plant in Japan after last week’s
earthquake and tsunami may lead to takeovers of companies mining
the atomic fuel, Strathmore Minerals Corp. said.
     “There will likely be some mergers and acquisitions in the
aftermath of the Japan nuclear crisis,” David Miller, chief
executive officer at the Canadian uranium miner, said in
response to questions sent by e-mail.
     Uranium prices  have dropped to $50.01 a pound from $68.24
on March 11, according to data from energy broker MF Global U.K.
Ltd. China has said it will suspend approvals of new nuclear
projects as Japan battled to contain radiation at Tokyo Electric
Power Co.’s Dai-Ichi plant.
     Countries most likely to seek uranium assets are China,
Korea and India, according to Miller.
     “China has made a huge commitment to nuclear power and so
has South Korea,” Miller said. India “has little choice but to
embrace nuclear power for mass energy.”
     Strathmore Minerals , based in Kelowna, British Columbia,
has declined 40 percent since March 11 and has a market value of
$62 million. The miner has projects in New Mexico and Wyoming in
the U.S., according to the company’s website.
     The decline in uranium prices will affect the ability of
miners to raise capital in the financial markets to put projects
online, Miller said.
     “This is bad news for us and ultimately bad for the
consumers of uranium, the nuclear power industry, because fewer
companies will be producing and less uranium will be available
five to 10 years from now,” he said.