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Mar. 07, 2013 04:15AM PST
Uranium spot prices may be stuck in a slump post-Fukushima, but the nuclear power industry is showing signs of recovery.
The two-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster is approaching, and Japan’s idled nuclear power plants aren’t expected to come back online in 2013. That’s because “broader safety measures under the new standards are expected to make it difficult for inspections to be completed by the end of the year,” MarketWatch reported.
Backing that statement up, Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, told parliament on Tuesday, “[t]here won’t be any resumption of nuclear power plants without safety approval.”
Uranium spot prices may be stuck in a slump post-Fukushima, but the nuclear power industry is showing signs of recovery. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a report that marks 2012 as a year of renewed growth in global nuclear power generation capacity. The IAEA notes in the report that it did expect growth to slow following the disaster, but not to “reverse” direction. The agency’s report shows that this prediction turned out to be apt: total nuclear power electricity generation for 2012 was 372.5 gigawatts, up 3.7 gigawatts from 2011. A total of seven new reactors are presently under construction in China, South Korea, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. The IAEA forecasts that by 2030, nuclear power capacity will grow by between 23 and 100 percent.
Westinghouse, which is owned by Toshiba (TSE:6502), and Russia’s Rosatom are competing for a contract to build two new reactors at the Temelin plant in the Czech Republic. Projected to cost at least $10 billion, the project is considered “the most lucrative [nuclear] contract on offer anywhere in the world,” reported Alaska Dispatch.
Vietnam’s Song Da, which is overseeing the construction of the nation’s first nuclear power project, announced that it will soon send 2,000 employees, including engineers, to Japan and Russia for training. Vietnam plans to build 13 nuclear power reactors by 2030, according to Energy Business Review, with an anticipated capacity of 15,000 megawatts. The first two plants, Ninh Thuan 1 and Ninh Thuan 2, are slated for operation by 2021.
France’s GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ) and Japan’s Itochu (TSE:8001) and Mitsubishi (TSE:8058) have placed a joint bid to construct Turkey’s second nuclear power plant, and may bid on the third plant as well, reported the Hurriyet Daily News. Companies from South Korea, China and Canada are also in the running for the $25-billion contract, with China and the French-Japanese group being the “front-runners.” The 5,000-megawatt power plant will be built in the Black Sea province of Sinop.
Jordan is set to award a nuclear reactor construction contract next month to either Rosatom or a another French-Japanese consortium led by AREVA (EPA:AREVA) and Mitsubishi, reported the Financial Times on Wednesday. The contract involves building two 1-gigawatt nuclear reactors near Jordan’s capital city.
Canada and India are soon expected to sign a nuclear cooperation agreement that will include the sale of high-quality Canadian uranium, reported The Times of India. The two countries entered into a Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2010, and in November 2012, prime ministers Stephen Harper and Manmohan Singh decided to start implementing the agreement. The uranium sales arrangement is awaiting India’s approval, but Canadian officials are confident that will come through in the near future. India also reached a similar agreement with Kazakhstan this week; it allows for sales through 2014.
The long-awaited opening of Cameco’s (TSX:CCO,NYSE:CCJ) Cigar Lake uranium project is finally on the horizon, reported The Globe and Mail on Tuesday. Mining is slated to commence in mid-2013 and will be followed by first production from the mill, according to Cameco’s CEO, Tim Gitzel. Cigar Lake has an expected mine life of 20 to 30 years, with grades upwards of 100 times the world average.
Company news
Last week, a US district court denied a conservation group’s request to halt construction at Ur-Energy’s (TSX:URE,AMEX:URG) Lost Creek uranium project in Wyoming. The company plans to begin production this year. The case was brought by the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, which has also filed a suit against the Bureau of Land Management High Desert District. Ur-Energy announced on Tuesday that construction plans remain on schedule.
Uranium Energy (AMEX:UEC) announced an inferred resource estimate for its Burke Hollow ISR project in Texas. Drill results show an inferred resource of 3.03 million tons grading 0.047-percent U3O8 and containing an estimated 2.9 million pounds of U3O8 at a U3O8 cut off of 0.02 percent.
Forum Uranium (TSXV:FDC) commenced a 3,000-meter drill program at its NW Athabasca joint venture project located in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. “To date, uranium mineralization has been intersected at the historical Zone 2A (2.48% U3O8 over 1.5 metres) and on two gravity targets (Opie and Barney) out of five targets investigated by two drill campaigns in 2012. There still remain 12 untested targets on the property,” states the news release.
Kivalliq Energy (TSXV:KIV) filed a revised NI 43-101 independent technical report updating the resource on its Lac 50 Trend project in Nunavut, Canada.
Kivalliq also announced preliminary metallurgical test results for the Lac 50 Trend uranium deposits. “Optimized results from alkaline leaching indicate that 94.1% of uranium can be extracted in 48 hours and 95.9% of uranium extracted in 72 hours,” states the press release.
Energy Fuels (TSX:EFR) reported that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) “affirmed the decision of an appointed hearing officer in an administrative process required for the reissuance of the radioactive materials license for the Company’s Piñon Ridge Mill.” The company expects the CDPHE to issue a new license decision on the Piñon Ridge mill by the end of April 2013.
U3O8 (TSX:UWE,OTCQX:UWEFF) signed a joint venture agreement with Avocet Resources (ASX:AYE) to explore U3O8’s wholly owned Sierra Cuadrada project, which is located in Argentina. Avocet, which will manage the project, may earn a 51-percent interest by contributing $1 million in exploration expenditures over a maximum four years.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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Investor Insight
Generation Uranium offers investors high-leverage exposure to a potential major discovery in Canada’s underexplored and resource-rich Thelon Basin, led by a management team with a proven track record of securing high-value exits.
Overview
Generation Uranium (CSE:GEN, OTCQB:GENR, FRA:W85) is a Canadian exploration company focused on wealth creation through discovery within the uranium sector. The company’s primary strategy is to build a high-caliber exploration team that can rapidly test and drill high-potential targets, de-risking projects for potential takeover by larger producers. Currently centered in the prolific Thelon and Angikuni Basins of Nunavut, the company is also actively evaluating additional project acquisitions in the Athabasca Basin to expand its portfolio.
The company is led by a veteran management team with nearly 30 years of experience in mineral development. CEO Michael Collins has a significant track record of building and exiting public companies, including the co-founding of Bluerock Resources, a conventional uranium producer during the 2000-2008 cycle. This expertise is paired with a focused business model that leverages modern geophysical targeting to accelerate exploration timelines and reduce costs, ensuring the company can deliver results quickly in a bullish uranium market.
Company Highlights
- Strategic Location in a Premier Uranium District: The flagship Yath Project is located in Nunavut’s Thelon Basin, contiguous to ATHA Energy’s Angilak Project, which hosts the high-grade Lac 50 deposit.
- High-Grade Discovery Potential: Historical surface sampling at the Yath Project has yielded exceptional uranium grades, including boulders testing at 9.81 percent, 3.95 percent, and 2.14 percent U3O8.
- Expert Management with Exit Experience: Led by CEO Michael Collins, the team has decades of experience in mineral exploration and a history of co-founding companies that were later acquired, such as Prime Mining and Nuclear Fuels.
- Low-Cost, Rapid Exploration Strategy: By leveraging modern geophysics and extensive historical data, the company aims for a "short road to discovery," de-risking projects quickly to maximize shareholder value.
- Bullish Market Fundamentals: Generation Uranium is well-positioned to meet the growing global demand for carbon-free nuclear power, supported by a projected supply deficit and increased interest from major tech companies seeking clean energy.
Key Project
Yath Project - Nunavut, Canada
The Yath Project is Generation Uranium’s flagship project. This 100 percent owned property covers about 120 square kilometers within the underexplored Thelon Basin in Nunavut, Canada. The project is located where the Yathkyed and Angikuni sub-basins meet, which is a region known globally for high-grade uranium potential. It sits directly along the same trend as the Angilak Project owned by ATHA Energy (TSXV:SASK, OTCQB:SASFK, FWB:XSU.F), which contains the Lac 50 deposit, one of the highest-grade uranium resources found outside of the Athabasca Basin with a historical mineral resource estimate of 43.3M lbs at an average grade of 0.69 percent U3O8.
The Yath Project is contiguous to the Lac 50 trend and is crossed by several regional faults and basin boundaries. Past exploration work has already identified high priority targets, while surface sampling in the area has produced uranium grades from boulders, with some testing at 9.81 percent, 3.95 percent, and 2.14 percent U3O8.
The company has commenced its initial field program at the site, set to define and rank drill targets. Historic showings will be combined with new anomalies from the MMT geophysics survey, preparing the project for an anticipated drill permit.
Management Team
Michael Collins - CEO & Director
Michael Collins is a professional geoscientist with nearly 30 years of experience in mineral exploration. He has co-founded several public companies, including Exploits Discovery, Prime Mining (acquired in 2025), and Nuclear Fuels (merged with Premier American Uranium in 2025). He is also currently a director of First Atlantic Nickel.
Christoph Bruening - Director
Christoph Bruening is the founder and managing partner of Value Relations GmbH, a full-service investor relations and public relations agency in Frankfurt with over 25 years of excellence, focusing on mining, exploration, biotech and health care. In addition, he has listed over 600 companies on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is a speaker and author of several publications, including on rare earths and uranium.
Dallas Miller - Director
Dallas Miller has been working within the international mining industry for over 15 years, working with BHP and Santos Ltd. He has experience on the ground from an operational standpoint, as well as being an integral part of raising millions of dollars in capital funding for both private and public companies in recent years.
Roger Leschuk - VP Corporate Development
Roger Leschuk has been in corporate management for over two decades, with the past 15 years dedicated to corporate development and investor relations. He has experience participating in and assisting with mergers and acquisitions, and was an investment advisor for various services such as stocks, mutual funds and tax-sheltered investments. He is a Chartered Investment Manager and a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute.
Monty Sutton - CFO
Monty Sutton brings over 35 years of experience in public markets and corporate governance. He previously served as CFO for Nuclear Fuels from its IPO through its acquisition.
