Is Uranium a Great Investment Opportunity, With Stocks, Spot Price, Funds, Growth Trends, the Russia-Ukraine War, Climate Change, France and Niger, China, US, UK and Haleu?

Feb 29, 2024

11 People Read

By Leroy A Brown

Uranium is a radioactive chemical element that is an essential component of nuclear operators.

Because uranium itself doesn’t produce carbon dioxide, it is being considered to achieve net zero emissions and climate change targets.

Also, as Europe weans from Russian gas, countries like Germany may consider returning to nuclear power plants.

Nevertheless, there are always two (2) concerns with nuclear power – the cost and the radioactive nature of uranium.

With at least ten percent (10%) of the world’s electricity generated from nuclear plants, which is over 2,500 terawatt-hours (TWh) each year, uranium is in demand.

Countries like the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Sweden, Finland, and Slovenia receive at least thirty percent (30%) of their electricity from nuclear operations.

The United States of America (U.S.A.) and France receive at least ten percent (10%) and seventy percent (70%), respectively, of their electricity from nuclear reactors.

After a coup in Niger and the junta rulers evicting the French army from Niger, France is one of the European countries in a peculiar position.

According to Bloomberg, “yellowcake” uranium has hit a high streak, as prices increased to $80 per pound.

The price of uranium has risen by over one hundred and twenty percent (>120%) since late 2020.

This drive-in demand is a result of more nuclear power plants being built.

Over fifty (50) nuclear reactors are reportedly under construction, requiring at least twenty-five million pounds (25,000,000 lbs) of uranium per annum.

Companies that produce uranium are up in value by at least forty percent (40%).

Some hedge funds participating in this demand for uranium are TerraCapital, Argonaut Capital Partners, and Segra Capital Management.

Europe’s First Haleu

The U.K. or Britain is on its way to becoming the first European country to launch a high-tech, high-assay, low-enriched uranium (Haleu).

The Haleu is enriched uranium with a concentration of the fissile isotope U-235, between five percent (5%) and twenty percent (20%) of the mass of the fuel.

The U.K. government has allocated three hundred million pounds (£300 million) to this advanced reactors program to stop importing Haleu from Vladimir Putin’s Russia by the early 2030s.

Russia, China, US Haleu

Currently, Russia and China can produce Haleu at scale.

The Russian company Tenex supplies Haleu commercially.

Centrus Energy Corp, through its subsidiary American Centrifuge Operating, produced the first twenty kilograms (20 kg) of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (Haleu) in the United States of America (U.S.A.).

Examples of Uranium Hedge Funds

TerraCapital’s Natural Resources Fund and Green Metals Fund

Segra Capital’s Segra Future Energy Fund

Argonaut Capital Partners

Anaconda Invest

Examples of Uranium Companies

Cameco Corporation (C.C.J.)

NYSE

January 6, 2023, $24.44 January 5, 2024, $42.25

Joint Stock Company National Atomic Company Kazatomprom (K.A.P.)

OTCMKTS

January 6, 2023, $28.86 January 5, 2024, $41.15

Energy Fuels Inc. (UUUU)

NYSE American

January 6, 2023, $6.40 January 5, 2024, $6.72

Ur-Energy Inc. (U.R.G.)

NYSE American

January 6, 2023, $1.20 January 5, 2024, $1.46

NexGen Energy Ltd. (NXE)

NYSE

January 6, 2023, $4.40 January 5, 2024, $6.73

Denison Mines Corp. (D.N.N.)

NYSE American

January 6, 2023, $1.22 January 5, 2024, $1.66

Uranium prices

Uranium price as of January 5, 2024, $92.35/Lbs

Uranium questions

Is there a uranium index fund?

There are funds that invest in uranium and other commodities.

Examples of funds that invest in uranium are exchange-traded funds (ETFs) such as VanEck Uranium, Nuclear Technologies ETF, Global X Uranium ETF (U.R.A.), and Sprott Physical Uranium Trust ETF.

What are the best uranium stocks to buy?

There are several companies that are involved in uranium production, such as Cameco (C.C.J.), Constellation Energy (C.E.G.), NexGen (N.X.E.), Uranium Energy Corp (U.E.C.), and Yellow Cake (Y.C.A.).

Can you buy uranium as an investment?

Even though uranium is a commodity, it cannot be traded directly because it is radioactive.

However, investors may invest in uranium through funds like TerraCapital’s Natural Resources Fund, Sprott Physical Uranium Trust ETF, and stocks like Cameco Corporation (C.C.J.) and NexGen (N.X.E.).

Which countries are the largest producers of uranium in the world?

The top ten (10) uranium-producing countries globally as of 2022 are:

Kazakhstan 21,227 (tonnes U)

Canada 7,351 (tonnes U)

Namibia 5,613 (tonnes U)

Australia 4,553 (tonnes U)

Uzbekistan 3,300 (tonnes U)

Russia 2,508 (tonnes U)

Niger 2,020 (tonnes U)

China 1,700 (tonnes U)

India 600 (tonnes U)

South Africa 200 (tonnes U)

Ukraine 100 (tonnes U)

Which companies are the largest producers of uranium in the world?

The top ten (10) uranium-producing companies globally as of 2022 are:

Kazatomprom 11,373 (tonnes U)

Cameco 5,675 (tonnes U)

Orano 5,519 (tonnes U)

CGN 4,627 (tonnes U)

Uranium One 4,454 (tonnes U)

Navoi Mining 3,300 (tonnes U)

CNNC 3,247 (tonnes U)

BHP 2,813 (tonnes U)

ARMZ 2,508 (tonnes U)

General Atomics/Quasar 1,740 (tonnes U)

Which mines are the largest producers of uranium in the world?

The top ten (10) uranium-producing mines globally as of 2022 are:

Cigar Lake in Canada

Husab in Namibia

InKai, sites 1-3 in Kazakhstan

Olympic Dam in Australia

Karatau in Kazakhstan

Rossing in Namibia

Somair in Niger

Four Mile in Australia

Central Mynkuduk in Kazakhstan

South InKai in Kazakhstan

Which countries have the largest uranium resources in the world?

The top ten (10) countries with the largest uranium resources in the world as of 2021 are:

Australia

Kazakhstan

Canada

Russia

Namibia

South Africa

Niger

Brazil

China

Mongolia

You may discover more at Leroy A. Brown at https://leroyabrown.ca/.

Leroy A Brown is an author, speaker, and consultant who helps clients increase, maintain, and grow their money while being healthy and mindful. You may follow Leroy A Brown on LinkedIn at https://ca.linkedin.com/in/leroy-a-brown-268ba850.