Uranium decades away from major new production
By: By Dorothy Kosich
Posted: '26-JAN-05 03:00' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2004



VANCOUVER--(Mineweb.com) Gerald Grandey, President and CEO of major uranium miner Cameco, declared Tuesday that his industry "has been starved for exploration for three decades."

Meanwhile, one of the biggest challenges faced by uranium mining companies is how quickly new projects can be permitted, developed and brought in production. In a presentation to the Mineral Exploration Roundup and a subsequent news conference, Grandey insisted that the uranium mining industry is "decades away from having significant new production."

"The essential issue about nuclear power is not whether it will grow, but how fast," Grandey declared. "Will it grow fast enough to meet the world's urgent need for clean energy? And will exploration for uranium fuel keep pace?"

Three years ago, only ten junior uranium exploration companies were seeking uranium worldwide, he said. "Today, there are over 45 in Saskatchewan, many more in the world and new ones being created every day." Cameco has budgeted C$22 million for exploration in 2005, he added.

Annual world consumption of uranium is 180 million pounds while mines are only producing 100 million pounds yearly, according to Grandey, despite the fact that uranium is 40 times more common than silver. Meanwhile, the spot price of uranium has doubled within the past decade.

Grandey insists that the nuclear power industry "is in the early stages of a renaissance, leading someday to a complete transformation of world energy supply. ...The issue, quite simply is how to meet the world's energy needs in the coming decades."

"In the years to come, all forms of energy will be required--renewables, fossil and nuclear," Grandey explained. "The world is rediscovering the benefits of nuclear energy and so are investors. Nuclear energy is no longer in the proverbial woodshed."

Grandey said more than 440 nuclear power reactors generate 16% of the world's electricity. "These reactors avoid the emission of over two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and large quantifies of toxic air pollutants. ...We will require hundreds of new nuclear power plants by mid-century, producing not only electricity--but clean water and, most like hydrogen," he insisted.

The decision of two significant environmental activists, global warming expert James Lovelock and Bishop Hugh Montefiore, to support nuclear power to reduce global warming is significant in Grandey's opinion. "Studies by MIT, the University of Chicago and projections by the International Energy Agency and the World Energy Council all point to the same conclusion. Our need for clean energy on the scale required cannot be met without increased use of nuclear power," he declared.

"The value of uranium, discovered and yet to be discovered, could be magnified many times over by emerging technologies like hydrogen," according to Grandey. "Hydrogen technology offers a means to store enormous quantities of electricity which can be used, on demand, in cleanly powered transportation and in homes and industry."

Even nuclear waste may prove to be the "strongest singular asset of our industry," Grandey claimed. Used nuclear fuel is a resource, which will retain 90% of its energy after decades.

Grandey noted that very little uranium is hedged, estimating that hedge funds trade about one million pounds annually. Meanwhile, considerable capital is being directed for uranium projects in Australia and Africa. Meanwhile, Cameco is contemplating restarting reactors which belonged to Bruce Power. Within the next six months, Grandey said Cameco will decide if it will get into power generation.

Cameco does not fear being a potential takeover target for the Chinese or other international companies because of Canada's limitation on foreign ownership, he added.