Nuclear Boom in Asia Could Reboot Uranium Mining in Australia

Mineweb reported that the increase in nuclear power from Asia is set to increase prices and cause a rebound of mining in Australia, which contains the world’s largest uranium reserve.

As quoted in the market news:

Almost $800 billion of new reactors are under development in the region, driven by China and India where demand is climbing for the emission-free energy.

The value of uranium plunged in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Now, with contract prices forecast to jump more than 60 percent, suppliers in Australia are planning about half a dozen new mines.

“Australia is very well placed,” said Brian Reilly, managing director of Canadian miner Cameco Corp.’s local unit, in a telephone interview. “China and India will be very significant customers down the track.”

The mines on the drawing board in Australia, which holds a third of the world’s known uranium reserves, include the Kintyre project, a joint venture between Cameco and Mitsubishi Corp., that won government approval last month.

Click here to read the full Mineweb report.