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Uranium prices hit pre-Fukushima levels back in October – something we’ve been writing about a lot here at The Market Herald.
Then in mid-November, prices for uranium on the NYMEX went up further to match a 15-year high.
And the price of uranium has hit US$80/lb this week.
Just take a look at this chart:
What’s more, while more than one hundred nuclear power plants are currently under construction or planned, much of uranium’s price rise is a supply-side story.
The commodity, having been dismissed since 2011, has suddenly come back into favour – and there’s not enough of it to go around.
Bullish sentiment
The impact on uranium stocks has been predictable – everybody wants a share.
That’s as true for stocks on the NYSE and TSX as it is for those here at home on the ASX.
The much-watched Global X ETF has gone for an uphill run. YTD performance is up 49.9 per cent.
Also on an uphill run is the general mood in the room towards uranium.
At this year’s RIU Resurgence conference in Perth, uranium is hot on the brain among attendees.
Uranium in the engine room
METS Engineering Principal Consulting Engineer Damian Connelly took the stage on the Thursday session to discuss the future of uranium mining in Australia’s resources engine, WA.
While the State Government currently has uranium mining banned, Mr Connelly noted WA’s energy costs are internationally higher than usual.
But industry continues to decarbonise regardless – so far, without nuclear power, which can be one of the greenest types on earth.
And with uranium prices above pre-Fukushima levels, suddenly, uranium mining can be profitable.
Connelly also pointed towards the large volume of nuclear reactors coming online and under construction, with China dominating.
Mr Connelly also highlighted there are some 12 uranium projects in WA that could be developed – should the ban be removed, per South Australia.
He called on the industry to pressure the WA Government, noting big opportunities and a change in the public’s views.
WA’s Government is out of step with the rest of the world, Mr Connelly concluded.
Top 5 stocks to watch
All data is accurate as of 11:00 am AEDT on Thursday, November 23.
Boss Energy (ASX:BOE)
- Share price: $4.28
- Market cap: $1.5 billion
- One broker rates ‘Buy’; five rate ‘Hold’; six rate ‘Sell’
- YTD performance is up 102 per cent
- Four-week average turnover of 2.036 million shares
Boss Energy is by far the largest market cap company on this list at $1.5 billion.
It’s also seeking to domestically produce uranium in South Australia from the Honeymoon project.
The stock expects first domestic uranium production to kick off this quarter.
Domestic shareholder interest in the stock is clear – YTD performance is up 102 per cent.
One thing to note is that brokers aren’t so sure – six are, or recently were, rating the stock as a ‘Sell’.
Most recently, Boss has kicked off a fresh late 2023 drill run at the Jason’s deposit on-site, a satellite asset to the Honeymoon mine.
Haranga Resources (ASX:HAR)
- Share price: 18 cents
- Market cap: $11.8 million
- No brokers cover this stock
- YTD performance is up 50 per cent
- Four-week average turnover of 111,196 shares
Haranga Resources is a uranium explorer based in the West African nation of Senegal.
One of the safer jurisdictions in West Africa, Haranga has in recent weeks kicked off fresh drilling.
It published a maiden JORC resource back in the September quarter for 16 million pounds (~7300 tonnes) of uranium.
Following the discovery of fresh uranium anomalies at the Sanela prospect in October, Haranga is looking to close out the year with upside for its existing JORC.
Aurora Energy Metals (ASX:1AE)
- Share price: 7.6 cents
- Market cap: $12.09 million
- Brokers do not cover this stock
- YTD performance is down 49.3 per cent
- Four-week average turnover of 521,272 shares
Aurora Energy Metals owns a unique lithium-and-uranium play in Oregon, USA.
Notably, the company has recently moved to sell off 85 per cent of its lithium interests on-site, pivoting towards sole uranium exploration.
Macro Metals (M4M) has picked that interest up, a former Nigerian iron ore miner.
1AE stands poised to benefit from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, in truth, a climate change policy overhaul funding package.
Both lithium and uranium are considered critical minerals by the US. It’s still fairly early days for 1AE on-site.
92 Energy (ASX:92E)
- Share price: 39.5 cents
- Market cap: $42.08 million
- Brokers do not cover this stock
- YTD performance is down 8.14 per cent
- Four-week average turnover of 369,986 shares
92 Energy is based in Canada’s Athabasca Basin where it’s exploring for uranium across multiple prospects.
It owns the Gemini uranium discovery, where high-grade and thick intercepts have been extracted more than once.
Concentrations of up to 9.7 per cent uranium have been detected in some samples with large sections of strike still untested.
And Gemini isn’t the only thing 92E has going for it. The company owns no less than ten tenement packages in the Athabasca.
Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN)
- Share price: $2.76
- Market cap: $415.5 million
- Five brokers rate ‘Buy’; one rates ‘Hold’; zero rate ‘Sell’
- YTD performance is up 53 per cent
- Four-week average turnover of 475,316 shares
Bannerman Energy is a uranium explorer dual listed on both Australia’s and the Namibian stock exchange.
Namibia is a country in Sub-Saharan Africa with no shortage of Australian explorers in the jurisdiction.
Its flagship project is the Etango play which it has been developing for a number of years.
The JORC for that project boasts 225 million pounds of uranium with another 59.9 million pound ore reserve also inked.
The company ended the September quarter with $39.8 million in cash.
Disclaimer:
This article is not financial advice and shareholders ought to do hours of research before deciding whether or not to purchase a share.
This content may contain references to partnerships, but it is not directly sponsored. Our editorial team selects content based on its relevance and value to our readers.
