IT has been a long time since anyone whispered the word “uranium” on the stock market. But listen closely and you can hear a few excited conversations about the great uranium revival.
IT has been a long time since anyone whispered the word “uranium” on the stock market. But listen closely and you can hear a few excited conversations about the great uranium revival. With a bit of luck, game investors might even be offered a new uranium float.
Dream on. Uranium in Australia remains a tough road. There’s no doubt much more could be produced, but the politics are all wrong.
What’s driving the current uranium revival is the change in US Government policy, which says it’s time to build more nuclear reactors. Power blackouts in California and an over-reliance on coal and natural gas for electricity production has led to the rediscovery of uranium.
Since January, the price of uranium has risen by about 30 per cent, admittedly off a very depressed base caused by the nuclear fuel market being flooded by reprocessed warheads.
In what must be the Green movement’s worst nightmare, there is even talk of uranium being the “new green” power source, a comment on nuclear reactors only producing steam during their operation (if you overlook the problem of storing spent fuel rods).
A handful of Australian uranium hopefuls have seen their share prices enjoy a useful upward kick in recent weeks.
Sedimentary Holdings, which has gold assets as well as plans to mine uranium in South Australia, has almost doubled from 6.5c to 12c since April.
Paladin Resources, which is tinkering in technology as well as holding a broad spread of uranium exploration claims, is up from 3c to 4.5c over the past few weeks. The move looks modest but equates to a 50 per cent rise, which probably helped Paladin get away a $1.6 million placement to keep the wheels turning over.
Silex Systems, which has a unique isotope separation technology, has risen from $1.50 a year ago to about $4.50 today, which is very good news for local investors and major Silex shareholders Barry Patterson and his son-in-law, Michael Boyd. It might even be enough to qualify Bazza for next year’s list of Australia’s richest people.
Behind this market excitement is the reality of Australian politics and the fact that no government, mindful of the growing Green vote, will want to stir the uranium pot.
Interest in Australian uranium is low, as Rio Tinto has discovered in its efforts to sell a controlling stake in Energy Resources of Australia (ERA). No serious bidders emerged.
So, if a friendly stockbroker offers you the chance to jump on board the great uranium revival, think carefully before pulling out your chequebook. The sales spiel might sound good but it will probably never happen.
Logistics can’t dampen nickel excitement
IF uranium remains on the nose, nickel is another matter. Despite the well-publicised problems of Anaconda and its smaller relations in the laterite nickel business, there is enormous interest growing in exploration around the West Musgrave ranges on the South Australian border.
WMC has already reported thick and rich drill intersections at its Babel and Nebo discoveries and last month re-started drilling on its claims.
The return of drill crews was enough to spark a flood of interest and rekindle talk of new nickel floats with a West Musgrave flavour.
Don’t be surprised if, over the next two months or so, you hear talk of Re-Lode Nickel as one of the new nickel floats, followed swiftly by the aptly-named West Musgrave Mining.
All of the new boys hope to cash in on WMC’s discovery and drilling program, which, it is said, could reveal a massive orebody.
Development, however, will take years and possibly decades. WMC has just scratched the surface of its claims and faces a tortuous path through the Native Title process.
Then there is the small problem of logistics. The West Musgraves are one of the most remote places in the world.
Those issues will, of course, be easily forgotten when WMC releases its next set of drill results in about five weeks.
That’s when the hard marketing can really start.
Dream on. Uranium in Australia remains a tough road. There’s no doubt much more could be produced, but the politics are all wrong.
What’s driving the current uranium revival is the change in US Government policy, which says it’s time to build more nuclear reactors. Power blackouts in California and an over-reliance on coal and natural gas for electricity production has led to the rediscovery of uranium.
Since January, the price of uranium has risen by about 30 per cent, admittedly off a very depressed base caused by the nuclear fuel market being flooded by reprocessed warheads.
In what must be the Green movement’s worst nightmare, there is even talk of uranium being the “new green” power source, a comment on nuclear reactors only producing steam during their operation (if you overlook the problem of storing spent fuel rods).
A handful of Australian uranium hopefuls have seen their share prices enjoy a useful upward kick in recent weeks.
Sedimentary Holdings, which has gold assets as well as plans to mine uranium in South Australia, has almost doubled from 6.5c to 12c since April.
Paladin Resources, which is tinkering in technology as well as holding a broad spread of uranium exploration claims, is up from 3c to 4.5c over the past few weeks. The move looks modest but equates to a 50 per cent rise, which probably helped Paladin get away a $1.6 million placement to keep the wheels turning over.
Silex Systems, which has a unique isotope separation technology, has risen from $1.50 a year ago to about $4.50 today, which is very good news for local investors and major Silex shareholders Barry Patterson and his son-in-law, Michael Boyd. It might even be enough to qualify Bazza for next year’s list of Australia’s richest people.
Behind this market excitement is the reality of Australian politics and the fact that no government, mindful of the growing Green vote, will want to stir the uranium pot.
Interest in Australian uranium is low, as Rio Tinto has discovered in its efforts to sell a controlling stake in Energy Resources of Australia (ERA). No serious bidders emerged.
So, if a friendly stockbroker offers you the chance to jump on board the great uranium revival, think carefully before pulling out your chequebook. The sales spiel might sound good but it will probably never happen.
Logistics can’t dampen nickel excitement
IF uranium remains on the nose, nickel is another matter. Despite the well-publicised problems of Anaconda and its smaller relations in the laterite nickel business, there is enormous interest growing in exploration around the West Musgrave ranges on the South Australian border.
WMC has already reported thick and rich drill intersections at its Babel and Nebo discoveries and last month re-started drilling on its claims.
The return of drill crews was enough to spark a flood of interest and rekindle talk of new nickel floats with a West Musgrave flavour.
Don’t be surprised if, over the next two months or so, you hear talk of Re-Lode Nickel as one of the new nickel floats, followed swiftly by the aptly-named West Musgrave Mining.
All of the new boys hope to cash in on WMC’s discovery and drilling program, which, it is said, could reveal a massive orebody.
Development, however, will take years and possibly decades. WMC has just scratched the surface of its claims and faces a tortuous path through the Native Title process.
Then there is the small problem of logistics. The West Musgraves are one of the most remote places in the world.
Those issues will, of course, be easily forgotten when WMC releases its next set of drill results in about five weeks.
That’s when the hard marketing can really start.
