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Very cheap. And quiet. The best time to buy if you believe in the prospects. And I do.
When this sleepy giant wakes up and the U community starts to glow again there will be significant upside.
GLTA & JMO
No, but sounded like everything was going as planned.
I talked to Todd awhile back and he seemed quite confident on UAX's progress. Wondering, did he mention or hint at anything that might be on the horizon in terms of JV or financing? UAX sits in a prime spot to be taken over by Denison or Cameco? If they hit on a couple drills, it will be swallowed up immediately. Look forward to hearing about their summer drill program. GLTA
I am really new here and only bought because of Doubloon writing about this stock and others in the Valley. I like the ones I bought it is just problematic with the almost complete lack of interest or volume. One of them, GGIFF does not even get any volume in Canada and I like it the most. Hoping as weather permits and things get underway in several ways everything will start to wake up. These stocks are very cheap and even if only half of what is thought turns out to be true a lot of money can be made. IMO of course.
Yes that Todd. He is now their Corporate something or other and he was the one that answered my e-mail. I did not realize he was the former etc. etc..
Thanks for posting. Calm before the storm here.
Got my position sorted. Looking forward to "full blast".
GLTA
I agree. I heard from "Todd" and everything as soon as weather gets a little better will be going full blast. Sounded very positive and I believe him.
Wasn't there supposed to be a winter drilling program???
Japan approves energy plan reinstating nuclear power
The start of a renewed market enthusiasm for uranium?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/11/us-japan-energy-nuclear-idUSBREA3A02V20140411
In my opinion UAX is one of the most under the radar U stocks out there. When reserves get proven it may push the PPS up much farther than the recent appreciation.
Buying at .05 and below.
GLTA
Conjuring Profits From Uranium's Resurgence: David Sadowski
It doesn't take a Ouija board to predict a rebound in the price of uranium: Global fuel stocks are insufficient, and unmet demand for uranium is growing. In this interview with The Energy Report, David Sadowski, a mining research analyst at Raymond James, explains the forces that will push the price of uranium, and the companies that are likely to benefit. Being selective, he says, will provide the greatest rewards.
The Energy Report: David, the uranium price remains below the cost of production for many producers and the forecasts for uranium production are flat. Why are you optimistic about the uranium space?
David Sadowski: In the current price environment, supply won't be able to keep up with demand growth. That's really the core to the uranium investment thesis. The cost of uranium production spans a pretty wide range, from the mid- to high-teens per pound for the cheapest in-situ leach mines in Kazakhstan, to $50–60/pound ($50–60/lb) for some of the lower-grade, conventional assets in Africa, Australia and East Asia. So we're looking at about $40 to produce your average pound of uranium. That number is climbing on cost inflation and depletion of the best mines.
The current spot price is under $36/lb, so many operations are underwater right now. That's why we've seen numerous deferrals of projects and even shutdowns of existing mines, the most significant of which was Paladin Energy Ltd.'s (PDN) Kayelekera at the beginning of February. That's on top of operations that are at risk for other reasons. In just the last few months, we've seen four of the world's largest mines owned by Rio Tinto Plc (RIO) and AREVA SA (AREVA) shut down on operational and political hiccups. Then you look at where the supposed growth is coming from over the next several years — Cameco Corp.'s (CCJ) Cigar Lake and China's Husab. Those are technically very challenging, too. All of this is occurring in a world no longer benefitting from a steady 24 million pounds per year (24 Mlb/year) supply of uranium from downblended Russian warheads. In short, the supply side is a basket case.
Yet demand growth keeps chugging along. European Union (EU) and North American growth perhaps isn't what it was a couple of decades ago. Pressure from competing energy sources like liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the U.S. is causing some operators to switch off their older, smaller reactors. But reactor retirements are being more than offset by new reactor construction not only in the U.S. and EU, but much more important, in Asia and in Russia. China, India, Korea and Russia are collectively constructing 70 reactors right now.
TER: Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) just announced a program to cooperate in developing nuclear technology. What's the market significance of that?
DS: There is a push toward nuclear in many of these nations in the Middle East. Not only do they have pretty strong population growth and urbanization, thus electricity growth is strong, but some of those oil-rich nations have cited a preference to sell their petroleum into the international markets rather than domestically.
The UAE is a very large potential source of demand growth. It is constructing two nuclear power plants at the moment and is imminently going to break ground on two more. There are an additional 41 new nuclear reactors on the drawing board in the Middle East. So in the context of 434 operable reactors today, that's a very meaningful amount of growth potential.
Demand growth remains resilient, and supply is lagging behind. In just a few years, we think this will lead to a deficit that will quickly grow to crisis levels. That's why we're bullish. Uranium prices have to go higher to incentivize more supply to meet this looming supply gap.
TER: Why hasn't that happened yet?
DS: There are just a few forces working against the price. Since the Fukushima accident in Japan, there has been a supply glut in the marketplace. There has been a decrease in demand, with a lower level of buying by some countries, like Germany, Switzerland and, of course, Japan. Additionally, some extra supply was coming out of the U.S. government. There is an extra amount coming from enrichment underfeeding. If you add all that up, there has been essentially more supply than is required, and that puts downward pressure on prices. It's caused the utilities to take a step back from the market.
TER: So do you think conditions in the market itself will materially improve? What will that look like?
DS: For us, it comes down to when the utilities start getting involved again. While the utilities have been sitting on the sidelines over the last couple of years, high-fiving each other for not buying uranium in a declining price environment, their uncovered requirements in the future have actually risen quite dramatically. At some point, they have to resume long-term contracting to cover all those needs. Japan is a key catalyst.
Japan's reactors were slowly shut down after the Fukushima accident. Right now, none of them are operating. The country's inventories have piled up to probably around 100 Mlb. Many of these utilities have asked their suppliers to delay deliveries of fresh uranium. That material ends up in the marketplace one way or another, so it's having a price-dampening effect. In late February, however, the Japanese government announced its final-draft energy plan. Japan will restart at least some of its reactors to stop spending a ludicrous amount of money on imported fossil fuels. There are other economic and environmental benefits, but it’s the country's trade balance that is really driving the restart push.
It's these restarts that we think will spur global utilities outside Japan to resume buying. The signal will be sent that Japan won't be dumping its inventories, it won't be deferring deliveries anymore and, by the way, there is not enough supply to go around in just a few years so you better start contracting again. That's what we think is going to support prices.
TER: That basic energy plan in Japan is a draft, but there is a lot of public opinion against it. You do think its prospects are good?
DS: Consensus is that the plan is going to be approved by the cabinet by the end of March. The opposition is highly regionalized, and many pockets of the country are actually very pronuclear. Nuclear, obviously, provides a lot of jobs and generates a lot of tax revenue in these regions.
TER: Raymond James has revised its uranium supply-demand balance and anticipates a growing supply deficit beginning in 2017. What is the case for investing in the industry today with a payoff so far in the future?
DS: A shortfall beginning in 2017 doesn't mean prices don't move until 2017. In fact, in a healthy market, they should have moved already. But, again, it comes back to the utilities. They view the nuclear fuel market and their own fuel requirements as a game of risk management.
Today, many utilities are sitting on near-record piles of material, so there's not a great deal of risk to the utilities with respect to supply availability over the next couple of years.
However, as these groups start to look out beyond that period to 2017, 2018 and so on, they'll realize that it could become more challenging to get the uranium they need. Given that the utilities typically contract three to four years in advance, we're very close to that window where we expect buying to ramp up again and prices to move upward. Again, critically, we expect Japanese restarts to be an important catalyst in that resumption of buying. We expect first restarts in H2/14 with a half-dozen units online by Christmas. So from an investor's point of view, we're already seeing the benefit of this outlook. That's been driving the uranium equities upward over the past couple of months.
TER: You're forecasting spot uranium prices averaging $42/lb in 2014, but three months into the year, the price is still struggling to break $36. What will drive it over $42? When do you expect that to happen?
DS: We think the move this year is likely to happen toward the end of this year, as Japanese restarts spark a return of normal buying levels by utilities. The uranium price should really start moving in 2015.
TER: What indicators should investors look for in watching the uranium price trend?
DS: One of the best indicators is Uranium Participation Corp. (U:TSX). Since the fund's inception, this stock has been a remarkably accurate predictor of where the uranium spot price is headed. When Uranium Participation's share price is above its net asset value (NAV), the market is baking a higher uranium price into its valuation of the stock because the NAV is calculated at current uranium prices. For even more precision, you can divide the company's enterprise value by its uranium holdings for a rough dollar/pound estimate on what the market is ascribing. So right now, we calculate the fund is implying $40/lb, and that's over $4 above the current spot price. This is by no means a bulletproof measure, but absent a black swan event, history tells us that this could be the destination for the price in the near future.
TER: You have said you see $70/lb as the price that will incentivize new mining. What should investors do while they're waiting for the price to reach that level?
DS: Buy uranium equities. It's that simple. We think prices are going higher, so buy uranium stocks well ahead of the upswing.
TER: Do you have a target time that you expect the price to reach that level?
DS: We're looking for the price to reach $70/lb in 2016. We forecast prices flat forward at $70 from that year onward.
TER: Which mining companies are the best investment prospects in this environment? Which are the weaker ones?
DS: They say a rising tide floats all boats. We think all the uranium stocks are probably going higher, or at least the vast majority of them. But we also believe being selective will provide the greatest rewards. Most investors should be looking at names with quality assets, management teams and capital structures.
Among producers, our preferred companies are focused on relatively high-grade projects with solid balance sheets and fixed-price contracts that can buffer them against near-term spot price weakness. After all, we think the spot price could remain weak for most of the balance of 2014.
On the explorer and developer side, the theme is the same—companies with cash and meaningful upcoming catalysts and, again, in good jurisdictions. But if you can tolerate an increased level of risk, I'd be looking at companies with lower-grade assets in Africa. Those are probably the highest-leveraged names out there.
TER: What other favorites can you suggest?
DS: Our top picks at the moment in the space are Fission Uranium Corp. (FCU:TSX.V) and Denison Mines Corp. (DML:TSX; DNN:NYSE.MKT).
Fission has been a top pick in the space for some time. We have a $2/share target and a Strong Buy rating. We view Patterson Lake South as the world's last known, high-grade, open-pittable uranium asset. It has immense scarcity value. There are not very many projects in the world that can yield a drill intersection of 117 meters (117m) grading 8.5% uranium, as hole 129 did in February. There is only one project in the world where you would find an interval like that starting at 56m below surface, and that's Fission's Patterson Lake South. It's in the best jurisdiction, has a management team that has executed very well and has huge growth potential. We think that property probably hosts over 150 Mlb uranium. We would be very surprised if the company was not taken out at some point in the next two years.
Denison is another story we like a lot. We have a $2/share target and Outperform rating on the stock. Denison has the most dominant land holding of all juniors in the world's most prolific uranium jurisdiction, the Athabasca Basin in Canada, the same region as Fission Uranium's Patterson Lake South. The company will run exploration programs at 20 projects in Canada this year, including an $8 million ($8M) campaign at Wheeler River, the world's third-highest-grading deposit, which continues to grow in size, and with a new understanding of its high-grade potential uncovered last year.
Denison has a stake in the McClean Lake mill, which is also one of its crown jewels. It's the world's most advanced uranium processing facility, and it's located a stone's throw from hundreds of millions of pounds of high-grade Athabasca uranium deposits. It's a big part of the reason why we think Denison will get bought out at some point, particularly given that to permit and construct a new mill in the basin would be a herculean task. Denison has a very strong management team and cash position and, once again, big-time scarcity value. It's one of the only three North American uranium vehicles exceeding a $0.5B market cap. Denison has been and will continue to be a go-to name in the space.
TER: What is another interesting name in your coverage universe?
DS: UEX Corp. (UEX:TSX) owns 49% of the world's second-largest undeveloped, high-grade uranium asset in Shea Creek and 96 Mlb in NI-43-101-compliant resources. It's the biggest deposit with that kind of junior ownership in the Athabasca Basin. It's a strategic asset and the company's main value driver. But with the uranium price where it is, the company is also focusing on shallower assets near what is now the southern boundary of the Athabasca Basin, closer to Fission's Patterson Lake South. We're really interested to see what comes of the Laurie and Mirror projects this year.
We have a $0.60 target price on shares of UEX.
TER: Is any of that influenced by the fact that it has a new CEO?
DS: The target price is not heavily influenced by the recent change in CEO. I think the outgoing CEO, Graham Thody, did an excellent job. I'm very hopeful that Roger Lemaitre will continue that trend. Under the new CEO, I would anticipate that the company may ramp back up the level of work intensity at Shea Creek, to build on the achievements of AREVA and the UEX team as well as Thody. But given Lemaitre 's background, including his experience as head of Cameco's global exploration, I wouldn't be surprised to see UEX extend its view beyond the Athabasca Basin as a potential consolidator in some other jurisdictions that may be lagging behind a bit on valuation.
TER: You raised your target for Cameco from $25/share to $26/share. Are you expecting the rise to continue there?
DS: Despite the recent run-up in shares, we think there's a good chance of further strength. Cameco is the industry's blue-chip stock. It's the one everyone thinks of when they think of uranium. Given its size and liquidity, it is the only stock many of the big institutional fund managers can invest in. With that backdrop, we think it's going to be the first stock for fund flows as the space continues to rerate, especially as we get more confirmatory news about Japanese restarts and as Cigar Lake passes through the riskiest part of its ramp-up. We think it should be a very good 24 months for the company.
TER: What other companies do you like in the uranium space?
DS: We recently upgraded Kivalliq Energy Corp. (KIV:TSX.V) to an Outperform rating. Our target price there is $0.50/share. The company has been a laggard in the last few months, but it has Angilak, a solid asset in Nunavut with established high-grade pounds and huge growth potential. Current resources stand at 43 Mlb, but we think there is well over 100 Mlb of district-scale potential. The company is derisking the asset by moving forward with engineering work, like metallurgy and beneficiation, ahead of a preliminary economic assessment potentially later this year. We're also excited to see what comes with the newly acquired Genesis claims that sit on the same structural corridor that hosts all the mines of the East Athabasca Basin.
We also like Ur-Energy Inc. (URE:TSX; URG:NYSE.MKT), on which we have an Outperform rating and $2.20/share target price. This stock has been on a major tear. We continue to expect great things from Lost Creek in Wyoming. Early numbers from the mine, which just started up in August, have been hugely impressive to us, a testament to the ore body and execution by management. And the financial results should be equally strong, given the company's high fixed-price contracts. In all, it's a solid, low-cost miner in a safe jurisdiction, which we think should be in a good position to grow production organically or, using cash flow, buy up cheap assets in the western U.S., a region ripe for consolidation of in-situ leach uranium assets.
TER: Do you have any parting words for investors in the uranium space?
DS: I would just say we think the uranium price is going higher over the next 12–24 months. So in anticipation of that upswing, we recommend investors take a hard look at high-quality uranium stocks today.
TER: You've given us a lot to chew on. I appreciate your time.
DS: It's my pleasure, as always.
David Sadowski is a mining equity research analyst at Raymond James, and has been covering the uranium and junior precious metals spaces for the past seven years. Prior to joining the firm, David worked as a geologist in western Canada with multiple Vancouver-based junior exploration companies, focused on base and precious metals. David holds a Bachelor of Science in Geological Sciences from the University of British Columbia.
Not a fan of it myself.
Quiet time is buying time for me usually.
Dont like piling on when there's noise.
Going dark doesnt get you attention but it does conserve cash.
Timing is everything..
JMO & GLTA
Hate that word. Maybe an update; or something!
Still waiting for the sector to turn.
That rich basin will payoff big some day, for somebody.
Back to standby mode for now.
Hard to get eyes in this market when the company is so quiet.
That should change soon..
Good time to pick up a few.
GLTA
Getting close to a golden cross here.
Low floater in the Uranium sweet spot.
Do some DD and see if you can get in before it really catches fire.
GLTA
Something is ready to happen here. The next 12 months will be interesting, especially with spot ready to start heading higher. I think they have something big and are waiting for things to start heating up. This has potential to be a big multi-bagger.
.08 today was the HOD.
Some good churn in the .07 area.
Looks like someone has a big bid of over 300K shares at .065
When the golden cross happens this will be hot. Probably not for another month or so depending on volume. Could be sooner.
NEWS changes everything.
JMO & GLTA
.075 HOD and looks thing heading higher.
Uranium stocks are heating up.
Uranium uptick with new reactors coming online and Japan okaying the restart of TEPCO.
UAX has some world class assets and staked claims close to the big boys. The drill dates are approaching.
Athabasca Uranium In the News
Athabasca Uranium was featured on page 2 of the following article:
Athabasca Basin and Beyond: Uranium News from Saskatchewan and Elsewhere for December 14-20, 2013
http://goo.gl/yXJkkp
by ResourceClips
Imagine finding you here! SE told me to take a starter position here along with several other Uranium miners / explorers..
ATHABASCA URANIUM PROVIDES EXPLORATION & CORPORATE UPDATE
Athabasca Athabasca Uranium Inc. (“Athabasca” or the “Company”) is pleased to report the completion of a multiphase airborne V-TEM survey on its McGregor Lake, Fisher River and Keefe Lake uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan.
The airborne electromagnetic survey consisted of a 539 line-kilometer heli-borne V-TEM Mag/EM survey, a leading-edge technology particularly efficient at identifying conductive anomalies at depth. Conductive anomalies existing within magnetic discontinuities are key exploration indicators for graphitic layers and altered sandstones which are often associated with mineralized zones. The survey employed 100 and 200 meter line-spacing, and was conducted by Geotech Ltd., under the supervision of Canexplor Exploration Management.
At McGregor Lake, 52 line-kilometers were flown to investigate five discrete targets, identified previously by interpretation of pre-existing ZTEM and GEOTEM datasets. All of the targets, which are shallow and generally adhere to the Basin edge, are interpreted as subsurface conductors coincident with magnetic breaks.
At the Company’s newly-acquired Fisher River Project, 253 line-kilometers were flown to investigate two subsurface conductive zones which span over 4 kilometers and were first identified by a GEOTEM survey commissioned by International Uranium Corp. in 2006. The two zones trend northwest and appear to intersect the northeastern lineaments, suggesting the presence of a cross fault.
At Keefe Lake, a highly-focused 234 line-kilometer survey was flown to identify the presence of subtle and midrange conductors in order to demonstrate a relationship between the Keefe Lake Zone, a system of profoundly altered basement and sandstone formations with anomalous radioactive intervals at depth, and Cameco Corporation’s Harrigan Deposit, which lies immediately to the southwest. Results will be correlated with the existing 3-D structural model recently completed by the University of Saskatchewan (USASK) Geosciences team led by Zoltan Hajnal, Ph.D (Geoph) to further refine high priority targets for the Company’s upcoming Keefe Phase Three diamond drilling. At Keefe Lake, the Company expects to commence drilling a 30-hole program developed with the assistance of the USASK team once its exploration funding is in place.
Gil Schneider, Athabasca Uranium’s CEO stated “In the Basin, numerous uranium mines and deposits such as Wheeler River and Rio Tinto’s Roughrider Zone are associated with subsurface graphitic conductors. The V-TEM results will be available shortly and we expect to be adding targets to the significant group that we already possess. As the uranium sector again begins to heat up, UAX is extremely well-positioned to capitalize with its suite of prime Basin properties and copious datasets.”
About V-TEM
The V-TEM system is an innovative airborne electromagnetic (EM) system which uses the natural or passive fields of the earth as the source of transmitted energy. The earth and ionosphere, both conductive, act as a waveguide to “transmit” the source energy great distances. Due to the manner in which they propagate, these natural fields are planar and horizontal. Any vertical field is caused by conductivity contrasts in the earth. The vertical EM field is referenced to the horizontal EM field as measured by a set of horizontal base station coils. The proprietary receiver design using the advantages of modern digital electronics and signal processing delivers exceptionally low-noise levels.
Corporate Update
Completion of the recent V-TEM survey means that the Company has now met its flow through exploration obligations for the 2012-2013 period. Additionally, once its assessment report is filed, Athabasca will have performed sufficient work for its McGregor Lake and Fisher River claims to remain in good standing to 2015. Each of the Company’s other properties in the Athabasca Basin are in good standing until at least 2016 as a result of its prior and on-going exploration work.
Additionally, the Company announces that its Board of Directors has granted incentive stock options to purchase up to 1,250,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.10 per share for a period of five years to its directors, officers, consultants and employees. The grant of stock options is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
About Athabasca Uranium
Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 70,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan. The Company’s stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company. Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company’s website at www.athabascauranium.com.
Marin Katusa: Time to Invest in Uranium
Tuesday May 14, 2013, 4:45am PDT
By Vivien Diniz - Exclusive to Uranium Investing News
Casey Research will be hosting a webinar on May 21 entitled The Myth of American Energy Independence to discuss the nuclear power industry and offer their insights into what's shaping up to be the kind of speculative opportunity contrarians live for.
As a precursor to the event, Uranium Investing News spoke with Marin Katusa, chief energy investment strategist at Casey Research, who believes that uranium is the most contrarian investment in all of the resource sector today.
Uranium Investing News: Marin, I want to start off with something easy - why is uranium considered a contrarian investment?
Marin Katusa: Well, first of all, most recently because of the Fukushima disaster of 2011, it's seen as a no-go. Right now, globally, the theme that you hear is that nuclear is dying or is dead. But yet, that couldn't be further from the truth. On top of that, companies cannot produce the material for what it's selling for right now. Uranium exploration has almost come down to a snail's pace because there's no capital that is being attracted to it.
That being said, the stars are lining up quite nicely for uranium. By that we I mean we have proved that nuclear is not dying, nor is it dead. If anything, it's growing at a rapid pace globally. For example, one in five houses in the US is powered by nuclear energy. China plans on having twice as many nuclear reactors as the US has, and the US has 104- most in the world right now. And China is committed to that program. Furthermore, the spot price of uranium, eventually, with this HEU agreement, which is expiring at the end of this year, there's going to be a race to acquire a stable, long-term supply of uranium. So, those are the two main reasons why uranium is, of all the commodities globally, the most contrarian investment.
UIN: Uranium prices haven't taken off so far this year as analysts had hoped - what has led to this slowdown?
MK: Well, a few things have happened. Because of the Fukushima disaster, remember: look how many nuclear power plants went offline in Japan.
After Fukushima, there was a huge amount of uranium that hit the market. And it was absorbed quickly. What people fail to understand is that the Russians were one of the biggest buyers of the uranium from the Japanese - which very few people have ever commented on. And, more importantly, the Russians are one of the largest producers of it. You know, they provide almost half of America's uranium.
Then there was Germany saying that, "well, we're not going to produce; we're going to slow down our nukes." So, there's been a slow transition.
On top of that, in the US, ConverDyn, which takes the U3O8 and converts it to UF6, was also shut down. So, all of the things were built up to create a stockpile of U308. That in reverse is now changing. ConverDyn can come back online; the Japanese are basically saying, "we're putting these reactors back online." And Germany really has no choice. After this election you'll see that - they're basically importing French nuclear energy.
So all these factors are coming in. The Chinese are building these reactors. They're not talking about them now, they're building them. Even countries like Saudi Arabia, which is the number two in oil in the world; they're building 16 nuclear reactors.
So those are the reasons why U308 hasn't taken off yet. And you know, we've talked about this in our newsletter for a while, saying "look: it's not going to take off until the end of 2013, early 2014, before we start seeing it slowly move up."
UIN: The Megatons to Megawatts program has helped moderate prices over the last 20 years or so - will the end of this program be a positive catalyst for the market?
MK: Definitely. That agreement has already ended; that's expired. Final shipments are coming at the end of this year. There's something called the Transitional Agreement, which is where the Russians said, "hey, don't worry, we'll bring you guys uranium, but it's not going to be from downgraded from nuclear warheads anymore, it's going to be from reprocessed tailings."
Uranium is now going to be a higher cost, because now, unlike when the original HEU agreement was done - in 1992 when Russia was in chaos- the game has changed and the Russians are building nuclear power plants around the world, and with that comes a long-term supply contract at the feed.
UIN: What are the costs associated with nuclear versus other types of energy?
What people have to understand is if you look at Japan, they were paying over $17 per mcf in gas. Why? They had to produce more gas for their electricity grid because the nuclear plants were down and they couldn't even provide enough for the gas.
Uranium on the other hand, the big cost is building these nuclear power plants. And if you're to take a triple in the spot price of uranium, it would make an insignificant cost to the overall electricity production. So the nuclear power plants, whether they're paying $40 or $100, it makes no difference to them. It changes the actual electricity costs marginally. Whereas natural gas, the biggest cost is actually the commodity. It's not the actual physical natural gas plant or coal plant.
So the elasticity of the electricity cost is way different, much higher for the coal and gas plants because their biggest cost is the actual commodity, the natural gas or coal. Whereas for the nuclear power plants, once you build that plant, your spot price, your commodity makes less than a 3 percent difference to your cost of electricity. That's an important thing for people to understand.
And literally, we're going to wake up one day, and you know, when the Russians do an agreement with the Chinese; the Chinese are investing the equivalent of over $400 billion into the nuclear sector. The price for uranium is irrelevant to that amount. Getting a long-term, stable supply of that material is what's important. And I think you'll see the Russians do an agreement, probably by the second quarter of 2014. And if you look at the marginal costs of reprocessing tailings and tails, you're probably looking at north of a $60 spot price for a contract.
UIN: Uranium is currently sitting at around $40 per pound, which isn't making it an attractive space to be producing. What price does the market need to see in order to bring more uranium mines into production?
MK: First off, we we should clarify that we're talking talking about conventional uranium production. It depends a lot on the existing infrastructure; so let's take Africa, for example. You need $75 to $80 uranium to bring any new uranium conventional production in Africa.
If you want to take Europe, that's just a non-starter. Australia, you're looking, depending on where you want to go, you're looking at about $65 to $70 per pound, you would need to bring it on production.
In the US, if you're looking at any new production, you're going to probably need $65 to $70 uranium. If it's ISR in the US, you're going to need $45, $50. And the one place where you would, the cheapest price would be the Athabasca Basin.
Only because rates there are literally order of magnitude differences of two times anywhere in the world. And you still need about $50 for any new production to come online.
UIN: Though the spot prices have dropped, long-term prices have remained relatively consistent. How can investors use long-term prices to understand the uranium market?
MK: For example, look at it this way. In 1960, America was the largest producer of uranium in the world. It produced over 36 million pounds of uranium. In 2012, America produced less than 3.5 million pounds of uranium, yet they are the world's largest consumer of uranium. And on top of that, they import over 95 percent of the uranium they have, that they consume.
That, as you'll see in our seminar, we talk with the Energy Secretary of America about how this is one of the riskiest situations in America. And it's not like this is a small niche market. If the Russians wanted to, they could pull the plug on 20 percent of the homes in America.
That would be equivalent to the biggest blackout ever in the history of a developed country. Now, if the spot price of uranium went from $40 to $60, it would make less than a 5 percent difference to the electricity cost, the total electricity cost. Do you think the Americans are going to care?
Do you think that the nuclear power plants, the utilities, will care? What they care about is keeping the lights on!
Whereas if the natural gas price went from $4 to let's say, $6, you're looking at over a 30 percent increase in your electricity bill. The same is not true for nuclear.
UIN: You've mentioned natural gas and coal a few times. What is the relationship between uranium and natural gas or coal?
MK: Well, they're not tied together. That's what I'm trying to get at. When you look at coal, coal and natural gas are tied together because they're competing against each other.
You see, a coal plant, when you've got these, they're called bi-generational plants, where you can have a coal plant and a natural gas plant in the same facility.
It would take about an eight- to 12-hour shift to convert from coal to natural gas. So, part of the reason why coal prices have been so slaughtered in North America is because the natural gas success of the shale, they're competing for each other. Right?
Whereas, you cannot convert a nuclear reactor. Nuclear reactors provide 20 percent of base load power. Even if natural gas went to $2, it still can't compete with nuclear energy. Like, nuclear energy is the cheapest form of electricity in the world. Once the power plant is built, it's the cheapest form of power. So coal and natural gas are competing, so they'll be capping each other. You know, once natural gas gets to about $4 a MCF, it's cheaper to use coal, so the now those electric generators are going to switch from natural gas to coal. Once it goes below that, they switch back to natural gas.
UIN: The domestic market in the US for nuclear power is expanding at a very slow rate. What are the underlying issues causing this?
MK: That's my whole point. We're saying that it's going to be zero growth in North America.
But you still have to feed 104 reactors just in the US, and America imports 95 percent of what they consume. And the contract that they've been importing is expiring; it's done.
You can't get enough elsewhere. And now that amount that's been contracted out to the Americans from the Russians, the Russians can now go to Saudi Arabia, they can go to China, they can go to South Korea, they're going to go to India - nevermind the other 'stan countries, the other CIS countries. And now there's a lot more competitors for the fixed supply.
UIN: So what is the U.S. going to do to? Obviously you're saying they can't just turn off all the lights.
MK: Exactly. They have no choice but to do what? Pay more. Because they can't produce more themselves.
UIN: AREVA (EPA:AREVA) secured a $70-million multi-year contract to supply uranium to an undisclosed U.S. utility. Is this type of transaction indicative of the state of the nuclear industry in the US?
MK: Yes, definitely. That's telling you right now that the utilities can't get the feed, so they're buying future contracts. Let's look at AREVA's costs. Where is AREVA getting it from? AREVA's costs are north of $50, $60 right now, in existing production. And on top of that they're having issues with some of their production.
So despite all of these things are; the utilities are now going up to the companies directly to get offtakes.
UIN: So I guess we're looking at a race for uranium supply?
MK: This is a race for energy security. First of all, your GDP is directly correlated to your electricity generated. If your cost of electricity is too high, you cannot grow your GDP. And every country is well aware that to be a successful country, you need a diversified energy matrix. You need coal, you need natural gas, you need uranium, nuclear. And then, to keep all the environmentalists happy, you need a small portion of green energy. Because you're looking at three cents for nuclear power. The same amount of electricity generation would cost about 12 to 15 cents for green energy - you're looking at four or five times the cost.
So at the end of the day, when China is now putting up hundreds of billions of dollars to build this nuclear matrix, the fuel, it's irrelevant to them. So it's a major race, and the Americans already have their nuclear power plants built. So whether they pay $60 is irrelevant to them. They just need a supply.
So people ask me, "well, what does this mean?" Well, in 2018, if you were to buy uranium today to secure it for 2018, it's over $60 right now.
Why would a utility pay over $60 if they didn't think that it's going to be harder to get uranium in the future?
The forward curve is over 50 percent higher than where the spot is today.
Another reason why we're bullish: I wrote a report about showing how the 2018 future curve was $68 per pound, U.S.
Uranium is not something like gold that you can take to the bank and put it in a vault, and you know, use it when you want to. It's such a strategic component of America's energy security. It's going to become a strategic metal; it is a strategic metal. And it's going to become strategic for China, for Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the world.
UIN: Japan is going to be restarting its reactors at the end of the year; how is that going to impact demand?
MK: They've already made the decision; it's moving forward. And on our, this is on our webinar, which I highly recommend people see. The person who's advising Japan is on our seminar, and that's Lady Barbara Judge. And she's telling you exactly what's going to happen, because she's the one who's telling them what to do. And it's going to happen, Japan has no choice but to do this.
A country cannot afford the highest energy costs in the world and still expect their economy to be competitive. That's what it comes down to.
UIN: Can you tell our readers a little bit more about the webinar that you have coming up?
MK: Yeah. Never before have we put together a group of such an established crowd from the government side.
We've put together actually a pretty impressive list or panelists. We've got the former secretary of energy for the U.S., Spencer Abraham. Lady Barbara Judge, who is absolutely one of the most impressive people you'll meet. She is the head of the UK Authority for Nuclear Power. She runs the UAE's Nuclear Authority and is one of the three counselors of the Japanese Fukushima Disaster Advisory Council. So, very impressive. Then we've got Canada's former energy minister on, who ran all of Canada's nuclear programs, Rick Rule. And then Amir Adnani, who's on our Next 10 List, who built the most recent uranium mine in North America.
There will be some shocking statements made from the people who ran the countries' energy programs. So, you know, it's easy to get comments from market players. But to have the guys who were the absolute policy makers. You know, it's pretty big stuff. It's going to be a good one.
UIN: Well, I look forward to checking it out. Thank you for joining us today Marin.
MK: Thank you.
The Casey Research webinar will take place on May 21 at 2pm Eastern.
Athabasca Uranium Inc.
email : info@athabascauranium.com
# 1200 - 570 Granville St. Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada, V6C 3P1
Toll-Free: (866) 869-8072
Athabasca Uranium options Fisher River Property & Provides Exploration Update
Athabasca Athabasca Uranium Inc. (“Athabasca” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement by which the Company has the option to purchase a 100% interest in the Fisher River Property in northeast Saskatchewan.
Comprised of two contiguous claims on the eastern margin of the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin, the 10,157 hectare Fisher River Property lies 3 kilometers north of the Company’s Keefe Lake Project, and is contiguous with the southern portion of its McCarthy Lake Project. It is also contiguous with claims held by Denison Mines and Pitchstone Exploration. The primary target on the property is the Fisher River Zone, which is comprised of three related EM anomalies, lying within a magnetic discontinuity, defined through interpretation of a GEOTEM airborne survey completed in 2006 by Denison. The most prominent of the anomalies is interpreted as a strong subsurface, northeast trending conductor covering an extent of approximately 4.5 kilometers. Conductive targets near or at the unconformity and associated with faulting (appearing as a break in the magnetic response) are typically the mainstay of uranium exploration in the Athabasca Basin. Of particular interest, the Fisher River Zone appears to be crosscut by a series of northwest lineaments, which is significant as secondary faulting greatly improves a target’s quality - deposits such as Shea Creek and McArthur River are unequivocally associated with cross-faulting. Unconformity depths at Fisher are shallow, estimated to be between 125-170 meters.
The Company will pay an initial $10,000 and issue 3,000,000 common shares to the Vendor on regulatory approval. To exercise the option to purchase 100% of Fisher River, the Company must make an additional cash payment of $500,000 on or before the fourth anniversary of the Agreement. A 1% net smelter return royalty has been granted to the Vendor, of which one-half may be purchased by the Company for $1,000,000. The Agreement is subject to regulatory approval.
Regarding the acquisition, Gil Schneider, CEO commented, “Given the rarity of quality ground remaining in the Basin, the Company was very eager to acquire this premium property. Fisher River lies strategically between two of the Company’s primary exploration sites and its investigation can be easily facilitated as part of any work at Keefe or McCarthy Lakes. With this acquisition, Athabasca now controls over 70,000 hectares of premium, shallow target claims in the most prolific uranium-producing region in the world.”
Exploration Update
The Company is also pleased to report the completion of comprehensive modelling of the Keefe Lake Project by the University of Saskatchewan (USASK) geophysical team under the direction of noted geoscientist Dr. Zoltan Hajnal, PhD (Geoph). The Company is currently reviewing the model, which incorporated Full Wave Sonic (FWS) logs of Holes KEF 12-08 and KEF 12-09, related geology, PIMA (Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer) and whole-rock geochemistry, and was then correlated with seismic data to develop a detailed understanding of the Keefe Lake 3D structural complex, assess major structural and tectonic trends and generate targets for the Company’s upcoming Keefe Phase 3 drill program.
About the USASK model, Gil Schneider, CEO stated “We are now armed with possibly the most scientific data ever compiled for exploration in the Basin, developed by arguably the foremost proven (Roughrider, Shea Creek, P2-McArthur Deposits) geosciences team working in uranium today. We are extremely excited about launching our Phase 3 program.”
About Athabasca Uranium
Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 70,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan. The Company’s stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company. Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company’s website at www.athabascauranium.com.
Looks like the ASK is thinking out.
If we get some volume we can see a quick and deliberate uptick.
Great post. Thanks!
Relevant News:
Russia’s Buyout of Uranium One Positive Signal for Uranium Market
Thursday, January 31, 2013 At 06:37PM
http://www.uranium-stocks.net/home/russias-buyout-of-uranium-one-positive-signal-for-uranium-ma.html
Athabasca Uranium Announces Private Placement & Appointment to the Board
Thursday 31 January 2013
VANCOUVER, Jan. 31, 2013 /CNW/ - Athabasca Uranium Inc. ("Athabasca" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an engagement letter regarding a brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000 (the "Offering"), and the appointment of Kim Goheen to its
Board of Directors.
Brokered Private Placement
The Offering will be conducted on a best efforts basis and co-led by MGI Securities Inc. and D&D Securities Inc. (together the "Lead Agents"). The Offering is comprised of up to 18,750,000 flow through shares (the "FT Shares") at a price of $0.12 per FT Share for gross proceeds of up to $2,250,000 and up to 7,500,000 non-flow through units (the "NFT Units") at a price of $0.10 per NFT Unit for gross proceeds of $750,000. Each FT Share will be designated as a flow-through share pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada). Each NFT Unit will consist of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"), each whole Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.16 per share for a period of one year from the closing of the Offering. The Offering is also subject to a 15% over-allotment option to be exercised by the Lead Agents at anytime up to 30 days following Closing.
The proceeds from the Offering will be used to fund the Company's exploration program at its prospective uranium properties located in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan and for general working capital and corporate purposes.
Closing of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including that of the TSX Venture Exchange. Closing is expected to occur on or about February 28, 2013. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.
Appointment to the Board
The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Kim Goheen, MBA, CMA, ICD.D to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.
Mr. Goheen's business career spans over 30 years, with extensive experience in major publicly listed companies in both the mining and oil and gas sectors, including the uranium industry. Prior to retiring in 2011, he was the Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Cameco Corporation, one of the world's largest uranium producers. At Cameco, he led in establishing the financial platform that supported its growth plans and in building its formidable position of financial strength.
As Senior Vice-President at Cameco, Mr. Goheen played a key role in overseeing Cameco's investment in Bruce Power and in determining and implementing Cameco's plans for its future with the partnership. Bruce Power is a private partnership that operates four nuclear power reactors in Ontario. Mr. Goheen also served as a Director of Centerra Gold, a company controlled by Cameco. He directed the creation and listing of Centerra in 2004, with a market capitalization in excess of $1 billion and oversaw its evolution as a public company. Its market capitalization at the time of Cameco's exit in December 2009 was approximately $2.4 billion.
On his appointment Mr. Goheen commented: "The outlook for nuclear energy continues to improve and I look forward to helping UAX grow in the highly prolific Athabasca Basin."
Gil Schneider, Athabasca CEO commented: "We are very excited at Kim's decision to move up to our Board from our Advisory Committee. He brings a wealth of direct uranium experience to the Company, and we feel his joining us on the Board is a re-affirmation of his strong endorsement of the Company's vision. We look forward to continuing to capitalize on his considerable experience in the uranium field."
Mr. Goheen's appointment follows the resignation from the Athabasca board of long-time director Mr. Steven Bruk. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Bruk for his dedicated service to the Company through its early development.
About Athabasca Uranium
Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 60,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan. The Company's stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company. Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company's website at www.athabascauranium.com.
Thanks for posting this. I saw the release but didnt get a chance to post.
cheers.
Dear Shareholders and Friends,
In a recent interview with Streetwise Reports, S&A Resource Report Editor Matt Badiali comments on Athabasca Uranium Inc. What's the easiest way to track the ups and downs of energy markets? Watch what governments are doing rather than what they are saying, says Matt. He has been watching behind-the-scenes nuclear energy importing in Germany and Japan and has concluded that the uranium market has hit bottom and is coming back up. What companies could benefit from these gyrations? He has an answer to that one in this Energy Report interview, plus some words of wisdom on U.S. oil and gas bottlenecks.
We thought you'd be interested in reading Matthew Badiali's comments on Athabasca Uranium Inc. Scroll Down to see these comments.
Regards,
Gil Schneider
President & CEO, Director
Matthew Badiali's Comments:
""I'm interested in companies with assets in the Athabasca Basin. . .I told my readers about the big, safe assets first and looking back, we did a pretty good job, timing wise. Now that we have established the trend, we will start to pick off the best of the exploration plays because I think that that's a good place to make some money over the next year or two. I will definitely look at Athabasca Uranium Inc." View Article
Athabasca Uranium Inc.
email : info@athabascauranium.com
# 1200 - 570 Granville St. Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada, V6C 3P1
Toll-Free: (866) 869-8072
Good buying coming in and pps is up.
HOD .12
Looks like Seeking Alpha opened a few eyes.
Nuclear power’s poised to grow, along with Alpha Minerals and Fission Energy
by Greg Klein
A unique geological legacy has given northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin a pivotal role in the world’s energy future. Currently about a fifth of global uranium supply comes from two mines in the basin’s eastern section. But west side drilling has two companies excited about a new discovery. Joint venture partners Fission Energy TSXV:FIS and Alpha Minerals TSXV:AMW first announced their Patterson Lake South find on November 5, with results for four holes released over the subsequent 10 days.
As Fission president/COO/director Ross McElroy explains, “We stretched an eight-hole program into nine holes. On the sixth hole we hit mineralization. The next three holes also hit the same zone. Each of them were 10-metre step-outs. They’re all looking very strong.”
At this point the core has been tested by a hand-held scintillometer prior to assays, when actual grades will be determined. The device assesses radioactivity by measuring gamma ray particles in counts per second. The discovery hole featured a 21-metre interval with readings from below 300 cps to over 9,999 cps, the highest measurable reading. The best hole, one of two announced November 12, showed similar readings for a 24-metre interval. A fourth hole, announced November 15, gave similar numbers for a 22.5-metre interval.
All this bodes well for grades, the JV partners believe. So does the visible mineralization. “We can actually see the pitchblende, which is the uranium oxide mineral, when it’s high grade,” adds Ben Ainsworth, Alpha’s president/CEO/director. “The biggest we’ve seen so far is 21 centimetres, which gives you an off-scale reading on the scintillometer.”
Jody Dahrouge, Fission director and president of Dahrouge Geological Consulting, adds, “There aren’t many one-off holes in the basin. These discoveries tend to have size to them. If you’re looking for gold you can often drill 10 metres of gold, then drill 50 more holes and never hit it again. We know that we’ve hit significant uranium in these holes.”
But impressed as they find this discovery, it wasn’t their objective. “The target we’re looking for is basement rocks, the old, old, Archean rocks that underlie the Athabasca Basin, with no Athabasca rocks on top,” Ainsworth points out. “We’re looking for that because the boulder field we found had uranium that was associated only with basement-type rocks.”
That boulder field includes surface rocks as small as pebbles that have drifted with glacial till. High radioactivity seems to indicate a high-grade motherlode somewhere, probably within kilometres. According to Dahrouge, “In terms of area, magnitude and size, it’s probably the largest-known boulder field in the basin.” That’s what prompted the drilling which found mineralization, but not its source.
“We hit a snag with the drilling, but it’s a very nice snag,” says Ainsworth. “The mineralization didn’t come from the basement rocks we’re looking for, it came from another piece of basement. So we got a discovery of mineralization that we wouldn’t have otherwise anticipated.”
That’s what makes it so exciting—number one, you have the potential for an absolutely fantastic high-grade deposit. Number two, it’s literally within 50 metres of the surface. And it’s in Saskatchewan, which is a wonderful place to do business.—Fission Energy director Jody Dahrouge
McElroy adds, “This boulder field shows high-grade mineralization with assays of up to almost 40% U3O8 [triuranium octoxide], which is terrific by any measure.”
So what’s all this you-three-oh-eight stuff?
Dahrouge replies, “It’s kind of a grab-bag of pitchblende and a whole bunch of uranium minerals that average out at U3O8. Uranium can occur as UO2, UO3, U2O5. So what the industry’s done is taken this term U3O8 because in a very general sense it’s the average.”
McElroy says the boulder field shows “massive pitchblende. We knew the boulders had been transported by the last glaciation so we spent last year trying to figure out the ice direction, tightening up our geophysical targets and drill-testing, looking for what we believe to be a still-undiscovered deposit in situ. With our success this winter, we think our model’s been validated.”
Dahrouge puts the grade in context. “If you took away the Athabasca uranium deposits, which in the case of Cigar Lake and McArthur River are up to 20% U3O8, the highest deposits in the world would be in the 1% or 1.5% range.”
McArthur River, the world’s largest uranium mine, is operated by Cameco Corp TSX:CCO through a JV in which AREVA Resources holds a 30.2% interest. Cigar Lake, slated for operation in mid-2013, is the world’s largest undeveloped high-grade uranium deposit. Cameco holds a 50% interest, AREVA 37% and two other companies a total of 13%. Cameco holds a 100% interest in the Rabbit Lake mine, currently Canada’s other uranium producer.
Dahrouge emphasizes, “To me, absolutely the most exciting thing about Patterson Lake is it’s 50 to 60 metres deep. And it’s overlain with sand that you can move without blasting. This is one of the shallowest discoveries in the basin to date. Drilling costs a fraction of other projects. If it turns out to be a deposit, mining costs would be a fraction of other projects too. That’s what makes it so exciting—number one, you have the potential for an absolutely fantastic high-grade deposit. Number two, it’s literally within 50 metres of the surface. And it’s in Saskatchewan, which is a wonderful place to do business.”
Fission now operates the 50/50 JV, but swaps the duty with Alpha every two years. “It’s been a huge team effort, a very pleasant joint venture,” says Ainsworth. “I’ve worked on some where it was hard to keep everyone working towards the same goal.”
Despite its remote location, the project has an all-weather highway running right through it, connecting the historic Cluff Lake mine 80 kilometres north with civilization to the south. With surprisingly shallow water of only five or six metres’ depth, Patterson Lake allows drilling from barge or ice.
So work will resume in mid-January after solid ice settles in. “We plan an aggressive program for winter, at least two drills,” McElroy says. “There’s always a lot of excitement going into a new season, particularly for us with this target.”
Fission Energy’s team examines drill core at the Waterbury Lake uranium project.
On the east side of the basin, Fission holds a 60% interest in the 40,256-hectare Waterbury Lake uranium project. The remainder is held by a consortium headed by Kepco, the Korean power utility. Fission retains a 2% net smelter return, after which the 60/40 split would take effect.
The property’s J-Zone has a May 2012 resource estimate showing an indicated category of 163,335 tonnes grading an average 1.99% U3O8 for 7.37 million pounds U3O8. The inferred category shows 149,626 tonnes grading 0.46% for 1.51 million pounds.
The J-Zone sits on a trend that includes Cameco’s McArthur River and Rabbit Lake mines, as well as its Millennium deposit, McElroy says. “The J-Zone is an extension of the Roughrider deposit of Hathor Exploration, which was bought out by Rio Tinto earlier this year for $654 million. Hathor outlined 58 million pounds. We’re still in an earlier stage of building up the resource.” McElroy hopes to release an updated estimate by year-end, possibly followed by a PEA.
The neighbourhood includes an airstrip, a power grid up to the property boundary and two mills within five kilometres of Waterbury Lake.
“Between Patterson Lake South and Waterbury we have the two most exciting plays in the basin,” he says. “We’re in a part of the world where significant discoveries are made about every 10 years and we’ve made two major discoveries in only two and a half years. We’ve put together a technical team that’s second to none and it’s showing its merit.”
On uranium supply and demand
In Western countries many people look on nuclear energy with fear. But it has the support of some prominent environmentalists including Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore.
Now responsible for roughly 15% of global electricity generation, nuclear power continues to expand. After the earthquakes and tsunami that caused Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, uranium prices fell from a 2011 high of $72.63 a pound to a November 12, 2012, level of $41.25. But countries like China, Korea and India plan to add significantly more nuclear generation, while even Japan is re-starting some of its reactors.
Cameco’s October 31 Q3 report acknowledged uncertainty which “led us to review and adjust our outlook.” The company says 64 reactors are now under construction and it now predicts 80 new reactors by 2021, down from a previous projection of 95 reactors.
“Most of this change is due to the retirement of some reactors and new reactor builds being pushed out beyond the 10-year period,” the company stated. “As a result, we have revised our cumulative world uranium demand forecast to 2.1 billion pounds for that period, down 50 million pounds from our previous expectation. As always, we will continue to evaluate the effects on demand as the nuclear market evolves.”
The following week the federal government announced a tentative agreement in which Canada would export uranium and nuclear reactors to India for the first time since 1976. India plans to expand its nuclear-generated electricity from 4,780 MW to 63,000 MW by adding nearly 30 reactors over 20 years, according to Reuters.
Current mining operations can’t keep up with current demand. A shortfall of at least 20% is made up by the megatons-to-megawatts program, in which Russia supplies the U.S. with very high-grade uranium from warheads dating back to the Soviet Union. The program ends next year.
Price vagaries would normally affect low-grade deposits the most. “Athabasca Basin deposit grades are 10 to 20 times better than any other deposits around the world,” says McElroy.
http://resourceclips.com/2012/11/16/scintillating-results/
Athabasca Uranium engages renowned USASK team to lead Keefe Lake phase 3 exploration
EXPERTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NUMEROUS BASIN DISCOVERIES
VANCOUVER, Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Athabasca Uranium Inc. is pleased to announce that it has engaged the renowned uranium exploration geophysical team at the University of Saskatchewan (USASK) to conduct Phase 3 interpretation and exploration at its flagship Keefe Lake Project, effective immediately.
The USASK team, led by Dr. Zoltan Hajnal, PhD (GeoPh) will be analyzing shear wave data in conjunction with other datasets, which is an innovative approach to seismic interpretation in the Athabasca Basin. Dr. Hajnal commented "Several of the seismic profiles at Keefe Lake show anomalous basement structures, comparable to features of known prominent mineral deposits such as McArthur River and Shea Creek. The objective of the investigation is to detect indicators of mineralization within these anomalous structural settings." The intent of the analysis is to exploit both P and S waves of surface seismic surveys to determine the above anomalous spatial petrophysical properties of rocks within a larger area of interest.
Dr. Hajnal is a leading expert in the application of seismic methods in uranium exploration and is credited, amongst many accomplishments, with having analyzed seismic data at Rio Tinto's Roughrider Project (former Hathor Exploration), contributing to its discovery, and with providing better definition of subsurface structures at MacArthur River, the richest uranium mine in the world. Gil Schneider, Athabasca Uranium president commented "Having the USASK team's attention is a major coup for us - they have helped discover or have analyzed most of the world-class deposits in the Basin, including MacArthur River, Shea Creek, Key and Moore Lakes, and the Roughrider deposit, not to mention their work on the Extech IV survey - and they're now very excited about our project. Our Keefe Lake dataset apparently bears an uncanny resemblance to that of MacArthur River - and with arguably the foremost experts in uranium discovery now interested in it, we're excited for our future. Dr. Hajnal will hopefully help prove our Keefe theories out, and launch Athabasca Uranium to becoming a world-class uranium company."
The USASK Geophysics Team
The USASK Geophysics team is led by Dr. Hajnal, a Ph.D. in Geophysics with a fifty-year history of studying and employing geophysics world-wide. His professional career in geophysical interpretation began with Chevron Standard in 1963, and his recent implementation of modern applied seismology in the Athabasca Basin has led to recognition of the immense importance of spatial understanding of basement structures, and their originating lithospheric processes in selection of exploration area and subsequent drilling targets. He and his USASK laboratory are involved in the adaptation of more effective data acquisition systems in the rugged environment of the basin and development of data-specific signal enhancement software systems. Dr. Hajnal has also recently led the geophysical team at Athabasca Uranium to reanalyze the HD seismic and airborne AeroTem data for Keefe Lake.
On the engagement, Gil Schneider commented, "The work of the USASK seismology team has been superb and is largely responsible for the identification of the Keefe Lake Alteration Zone and our success in drilling the numerous intersections of uranium mineralization. This new investigation, which will be a synthesis of a host of datasets, should help unlock Keefe Lake and pave the way to discovery."
Keefe Lake Phase 3
UAX has initiated a full scale interpretation of data from its work to date at Keefe Lake, stimulated by the connection between the anomalous uranium signatures in the KEF 12-08 borehole, the seismic signature of a laterally traceable pegmatite dyke and favorable clay mineral alterations within the unconformity zone.
Full Wave Sonic (FWS) logs, of KEF 12-08 and KEF 12-09, related geology, PIMA (Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer) and whole-rock geochemistry will be correlated with the seismic data to develop a detailed understanding of the Keefe Lake 3D structural Complex, assess major structural and tectonic trends and generate propitious targets for the Company's upcoming winter drilling program. Optical Tele-viewer Images (OTI) from both boreholes will also be utilized to determine variations of dips and their azimuth with depths for all disturbances (fractures, faults, schistosity, dykes etc.) and thus help to define the prominent structural framework of the prospect area. In addition, combined analyses of sonic longitudinal and shear wave data, allows computation of rock properties such as density, Poisson's ratio, Lambda and Mu. Anomalous variations of these parameters facilitate the recognition of the location of alteration zones, and definition of fracture intervals, which are primary indicators of mineralization.
About Athabasca Uranium
Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 60,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan. The Company's stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company. Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company's website at www.athabascauranium.com.
Make that 580K sharse at the Bid and now its up to .135
Something is UP.
Make that 500K shares on the Bid.
Thats potentially 700K shares up for Bid today at .13
Anybody know whats up?
410K shares just came up on the BID @ .13
Looks like someone is loading the boat.
Volume just spiked on 200K shares aswell.
ATHABASCA URANIUM COMPLETES PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Athabasca Uranium Inc. has completed its private placement of flow-through shares and non-flow-through units of the company for aggregate gross proceeds of $636,000.
The company has closed the offering and has issued 3.2 million flow-through common shares at a price of 15 cents per FT share and 1.3 million non-flow-through units consisting of one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant at a price of 12 cents per NFT unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $636,000. Each whole NFT warrant issued entitles the holder thereof to purchase one common share at a price of 25 cents per share until Aug. 24, 2013. The company will renounce an amount equal to the gross proceeds derived from the sale of the FT shares to the purchasers thereof in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
The company paid certain finders a total cash commission of $41,408 equal to 8 per cent of the proceeds of the sale of certain FT shares and NFT units by such finders and issued 289,387 finders' compensation warrants equal to 8 per cent of the number of FT shares and NFT units sold by such finders. Each finder's warrant entitles a finder to purchase a common share of the company at an exercise price of 25 cents per share until Aug. 24, 2013.
All securities issued in the offering will be subject to a hold period, which expires Dec. 25, 2012. Proceeds of the offering will be used to finance exploration programs on the company's prospective uranium properties located in the Athabasca basin in Saskatchewan and for general working capital and corporate purposes.
A Great Read:
Spot Uranium Sleeping Beauties Before the Market Wakes Up: Jeb Handwerger
Source: Peter Byrne of The Energy Report (7/19/12)
Pundits may have closed the book on the so-called nuclear renaissance, but the story is far from over. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Gold Stock Trades Editor Jeb Handwerger names the "sleeping beauties" quietly proving their worth. A new generation of nuclear energy must be part of a diversified happy ending, Handwerger says, but by that time, merger and acquisition activity may have already rewarded the investors who believed in a brighter future. Read on.
The Energy Report: Jeb, at the turn of 2012 you were bullish on junior uranium mining stocks. It's halfway through the year and a lot of these stocks have still underperformed. Is this the result of continued economic fallout after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, or perhaps a consequence of the availability of cheap natural gas?
Jeb Handwerger: We had a really difficult year for uranium equities in the aftermath of both Fukushima and the end of QE2. The whole resource sector went, and uranium was hit extra hard. Cameco Corp. (CCO:TSX; CCJ:NYSE) and Uranium One Inc. (UUU:TSX) declined more than 50%.
However, we are beginning to see a notable improvement in the supply-and-demand fundamentals with more institutional investor interest in uranium. Year-to-date, Cameco is up close to 21%, making a higher low than in late 2011 and holding the 200-day moving average. It seems that the bottom we predicted in uranium miners in late 2011 is still holding. Compare that to the gold miners' ETF (GDX:NYSE), which is down 17% and to the rare earths ETF (REMX), which is down about 12%. The uranium ETF is down only 10%. That shows me that uranium miners are relatively strong in a weak, panic-driven natural resource market where investors are hoarding cash and treasuries.
TER: So what's breathing life into the uranium sector now?
JH: In 2011, nuclear energy had a lot of competitors from alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and natural gas. Since then, the challenges for each of these sources have become more apparent and the entire energy sector has undergone an outright selloff. A lot of articles have talked about cheap natural gas taking the place of nuclear. What the pundits don't say is that natural gas has plenty of its own issues, ranging from the environmental downsides of hydraulic fracturing to greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, service stations and natural gas liquefaction plants must be set up along the chain of supply from mine to consumer. Major costs are involved and there is no assurance that the price of natural gas will remain at these low levels. Plus, some parts of the world don't have abundant natural gas. The cost of liquefying it and shipping it can be extravagant. Japan, for instance, tried importing natural gas, but eventually gave up and recently reactivated nuclear plants amid growing fears of power outages affecting industry.
The short position in nuclear miners has increased even as money is being directed toward construction of new nuclear power plants globally. The shorts use the stories of cheap natural gas to depress the uranium sector. This means uranium miners may even have additional upside because of the large short position that may soon have to run for cover in the event of a turnaround. We have seen short covering rallies before in the uranium miners. In the summer of 2010, after QE2 was announced, the sector experienced major gains. The same was true in 2007/2008 before the credit crisis. We saw a huge exponential move. These moves came out of nowhere and were very powerful, with miners moving up 10–20% a day.
We must not tar nuclear energy with the broad brush of the entire resource sector malaise. Construction of new nuclear plants proceeds steadily and the media is not emphasizing that. The U.S., for the first time in three decades, announced the approval of plans for nuclear reactors in Georgia and South Carolina. Even Japan is reactivating nuclear reactors. India and China are moving full speed ahead, and this alone will require an additional 40 million pounds (40 Mlb) of uranium annually by the end of this decade. We must remember that the underperformance right now in junior uranium miners is transient. Nuclear power is here to stay. All energy sources have their own sets of cost and environmental issues. No one source can fulfill everyone's needs for the next 30 years. Nuclear will always be part of the long-term energy mix, and when the market turns, long-term uranium investors have the potential to experience exponential profits.
TER: Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission published its report on the 2011 accident. It largely blamed the Tokyo Electric Power Co. operators for administration and operational failures. What did these findings mean for the future of nuclear power in Japan and around the world?
JH: Many countries are still stuck with the old, 40-year-old nuclear reactors, which is what Fukushima was. A renaissance has since occurred in nuclear engineering. The next generation of reactors has a fraction of the risks involved with the old reactors. That is what is being built in China, India and Russia. Even Saudi Arabia has 16 plants under serious consideration. Four are in the works in the United States.
TER: Given that more than 500 new reactors are in some phase of the building pipeline right now, how attractive are investments in the engineering and contracting firms that design and build reactors?
JH: Investors are looking into the companies that build the reactors. The Shaw Group Inc. (SHAW:NYSE) is building the South Carolina reactors. Babcock & Wilcox Co. (BWC:NYSE) used to build nuclear submarines, but has also moved into small modular nuclear reactors. Fluor Corp. (FLR:NYSE) and General Electric Co. (GE:NYSE) are other names with exposure to nuclear power. One can also look at utilities like Exelon Corp. (EXC:NYSE) who are major players in nuclear power generation in the United States.
TER: If this is where the increased demand for uranium will come from, what about the supply? The large producers will probably deliver, but will the explorers eventually benefit as they find the fuel for the future? From an investment point of view, what is the best way to capitalize on this coming trend? Is it through the big companies or the juniors?
JH: To answer that, I think we need to take a look at what happened in 2011. One of the biggest deals was that Hathor Exploration, which owned the Roughrider deposit up in the Athabasca Basin, was bought up for multiples by the giant Rio Tinto Plc (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK). Rio Tinto's stock price did not move nearly as much as Hathor's price. Hathor received over $11/lb uranium. If you are looking to leverage the sector, a good way to play it might be to find a suitable candidate for the major uranium miners, many of which are trading at one-tenth of that value right now. Cameco and Rio Tinto have expressed ongoing interest in further acquisitions of juniors. That is why we are specifically looking at areas that are in mining-friendly jurisdictions where the majors are going to be looking to develop economic resources. The undervaluation of quality uranium miners is creating a possible once-in-a-lifetime buying opportunity.
TER: Do you see other buying opportunities in the Athabasca Basin?
JH: Following the Hathor buyout, we expect even more consolidation in the Athabasca Basin. When a company that large sinks $650 million into an area, we don't think that's the end. It is just the beginning. Rio Tinto will want to build resources and consolidate its position. We also think Cameco and possibly BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP:NYSE; BHPLF:OTCPK) is going to try to build a larger position in the basin. Target candidates include Denison Mines Corp. (DML:TSX; DNN:NYSE.A). It has the Wheeler River deposit, which is one of the best undeveloped projects in the basin. UEX Corp. (UEX:TSX) has a large resource base in the basin and is already 22% owned by Cameco. Fission Energy Corp. (FIS:TSX.V; FSSIF:OTCQX) has the J Zone, which is pretty much a continuation of the Roughrider deposit.
Athabasca Uranium Inc. (UAX:TSX.V; ATURF:OTCQX) is an early-stage company in the area, but it has some great prospects at Keefe Lake. Athabasca has an interesting team with Dr. Zoltan Hajnal from the University of Saskatchewan, who is an expert at using seismic data for uranium exploration. He did this successfully for Hathor. He is a world-class seismic expert and he has joined Athabasca's advisory board, along with Kim Goheen, who recently retired as CFO for Cameco. The company also came out with spring drilling program results that showed some very promising early-stage success using that seismic data. The second half of 2012/2013 may be interesting.
TER: Could Athabasca Uranium or any of these be standalone projects, or are they mainly acquisitions targets?
JH: In time, there won't be many juniors in the Athabasca Basin. The high-quality ones will be a part of Rio Tinto or Cameco. The same thing will happen in the U.S., where we follow three juniors who are currently very active. Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC:NYSE.A), Ur-Energy Inc. (URE:TSX; URG:NYSE.A) and Uranerz Energy Corp. (URZ:TSX; URZ:NYSE.A) are going to be U.S. producers who are part of the solution to the U.S. supply crisis. Just under 20% of U.S power comes from nuclear reactors, however more than 95% of the uranium is imported. The U.S. used to be one of the largest uranium exporters. Now it produces less than 4 Mlb of uranium.
As part of a plan to meet that demand, in the near term Uranerz, could be a takeover target for Cameco or Uranium One. It already has a processing agreement with Cameco and an off-take agreement with Exelon Corp. Uranerz has an incredible land package right between the two majors in the Powder River Basin, which has been producing uranium for five decades. The company employs in-situ mining, which also has many benefits over conventional mining when it comes to environmental issues and costs.
TER: How soon might a takeover happen? Is there some catalyst in the wings?
JH: You just never know when it's going to happen, although I do know it will be sooner rather than later. I think as we get closer to 2013 there's going to be more pressure. Over the next 6-18 months a huge amount of consolidation could come to the industry.
TER: Has the market already priced in these takeovers?
JH: No, no, no. Uranerz is trading near three-year lows. Investors have a chance to get into these companies on historic lows.
In South America, a company I like is U3O8 Corp. (UWE:TSX.V; OTCQX:UWEFF) in Colombia, Guyana and Argentina. The main project is Berlin in Colombia. The company has shown incredible resource growth during the past year. It has increased the Indicated and Inferred resource sevenfold, from 7.1 Mlb to 47.6 Mlb, and it has only documented the three southern kilometers (km) of a 10.5 km mineralized trend. The Berlin deposit is also home to phosphate and vanadium and has shown some very positive metallurgical recoveries. U3O8 is rapidly growing and derisking its resources in South American countries that are mining friendly. I understand the company will be completing a PEA in the second half of 2012. The company thinks it can potentially grow this asset in the near term to 40–50 Mlb uranium.
U308 already has a strong cash position with institutional support. What is really interesting is that the phosphate, vanadium and rare earths may pay the way with the uranium as pure profit. That is what we are looking for in the second half of the year from this company.
TER: U308 Corp is trading at $0.33 right now. How much could it go up from there?
JH: Right now, U3O8 is priced at about $0.77/lb uranium; Hathor was bought out for $11/lb and Mantra for $10/lb. That is almost a potential tenfold increase. As the project is derisked in the second half of the year, the stock should get to at least a comparable value to some of its current competitors, at over $1/lb.
TER: Are you looking at any uranium companies in Europe?
JH: Yes. We have one that we really like in Slovakia called European Uranium Resources Ltd. (EUU:TSX.V; TGP:FSE). First of all, it has a great management team. Plus, Europe is the largest user of nuclear power per capita. There is only one operating uranium mine in Slovakia at the moment and that is rapidly depleting. European Uranium Resources is really Europe's next answer for uranium production. The deposit may be one of the lowest-cost uranium mines in the world. The prefeasibility study is very impressive from an environmental and economic perspective. The real momentous catalyst is if the company can sign an off-take agreement with the Slovakian government, with a surplus going to other EU nations.
AREVA (AREVA:EPA), the third-largest uranium producer in the world, already took a 10% position at approximately $0.35 a share and is on the European Uranium board giving technical expertise. The company is now trading at three-year lows of $0.22 per share. This may be a real undervalued situation in Europe.
Overall, Europe and the Americas are much better mining pictures than Africa and Australia right now. Rising resource nationalism in Africa and rising costs in Australia make these other stories much more attractive.
TER: So, is the overarching story mergers and acquisitions?
JH: I think so. There is going to be a dramatic change of landscape in the uranium sector. As the high-quality juniors come closer to production, they'll be taken over by the majors. We saw the beginnings of that in 2011 and we will see it continue. One needs patience and fortitude and the ability to go against the consensus.
TER: Thank you for your time and your insights, Jeb.
JH: Thank you.
Athabasca Uranium Announces $750,000 Private Placement
Athabasca Uranium Inc. (“Athabasca” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has arranged a private placement in the capital of the Company (the “Offering”) for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $750,000.
The Offering is comprised of up to 3,000,000 flow through shares (the “FT Shares”) at a price of $0.15 per FT Share for gross proceeds of up to $450,000 and up to 2,500,000 units (the “NFT Units”) at a price of $0.12 per NFT Unit for gross proceeds of $300,000. Each FT Share will be designated as a flow-through share pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada). Each NFT Unit will consist of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant (a “NFT Warrant”). Each NFT Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.25 per share for a period of one year from the closing of the Offering.
The proceeds from the Offering will be used to fund exploration programs on the Company's prospective uranium properties located in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan and for general working capital and corporate purposes.
The Company may pay finders’ fees on the Offering within the maximum amount permitted by the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Closing of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including that of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.
About Athabasca Uranium
Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 60,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan. The Company’s stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company. Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company’s website at www.athabascauranium.com.
Athabasca Uranium Appoints new Director and Audit Committee Chair
Athabasca Uranium Inc. (“Athabasca” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Paula Rogers, CA as a member of the Board of Directors and as Chair of the Company’s audit committee, effective immediately.
Ms. Rogers is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years of experience at Canadian-based international public companies in the areas of treasury, mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting, and tax. She is currently Director and Audit Committee Chair for TSX-listed Timmins Gold Corp. and Chief Financial Officer at Castle Peak Mining. As the former Vice-President, Treasurer of NYSE-listed Goldcorp Inc. and Corporate Treasurer of Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. until its 2005 merger with Goldcorp, she was instrumental in financing the growth of both companies during her six-year tenure, successfully raising over $4 billion in bank credit facilities, convertible notes and project financing for the companies. Prior to Wheaton River and Goldcorp, Ms. Rogers spent nine years in senior finance roles at Finning International Inc., including as Assistant Treasurer, Corporate Reporting Manager and Tax Manager.
"We are pleased to welcome to our Board a director with Ms. Rogers' qualifications and experience. Her involvement with our team will definitely help in the ongoing growth of Athabasca Uranium" stated Barry Lee, Chairman of the Athabasca board. "Her track record in the mining industry and experience with Goldcorp and Wheaton River will be a valuable asset to Athabasca at this exciting time in our development."
Additionally, the Company announces that the Board of Directors has granted incentive stock options to purchase up to 550,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.15 per share for a period of five years to its directors, officers and consultants. The grant of stock options is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
About Athabasca Uranium
Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 60,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan. The Company’s stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company. Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company’s website at www.athabascauranium.com.
FYI.
Dear Reader,
Before we get into today's dispatch on North America's natural gas future, I'd like to comment on breaking news in another energy sector: uranium. You may have seen that President Obama just declared a national emergency "to deal with the threat posed to the United States by the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation in the Russian Federation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material."
Isn't the Cold War over?, you ask. Don't we now work with the Russians in dismantling nuclear warheads? The answers are yes and yes. Moreover, there is absolutely no reason to be concerned about this "national emergency," because with this order President Obama is not trying to rile up old tensions or threaten Russia in any way. In fact, what he's doing is lobbing a conciliatory ball into Russia's court in the hopes that Putin will pick it up and play a game called "Let's Trade Uranium."
Here's the deal. The United States relies on Russia for half of the uranium that feeds US nuclear reactors. That uranium comes from a deal called "Megatons to Megawatts," struck in 1993, that saw Russia agree to dismantle some 20,000 old nuclear warheads and downblend the highly enriched uranium (HEU) in those warheads into the low enriched uranium (LEU) that is used to power nuclear reactors.
It has all gone very well so far. Since the first downblended LEU arrived in the US in 1994, both parties have honored their sides of the deal; the US has gone so far as to thrice declare that Russian goods on American soil related to the Megatons deal are protected, by order of the president. Today's executive order was the third iteration of that order of presidential protection.
Why is Obama reiterating that Megatons-related payments and properties are off-limits to all? Because Megatons is set to expire in about a year, and the United States is desperate to convince Russia to extend the deal. And we don't think Putin is interested at all.
You see, Megatons provides the US with a reliable source of inexpensive nuclear fuel. That's a hard thing to come by today. Global demand for uranium is set to climb 33% from 2010 to 2020, and then will climb almost that much again in the next ten years. Can production keep up? Not likely. That means prices are going up. Putin know this - in fact, he's been working for several years to position Russia to profit from the looming uranium-supply crunch.
Not only does Russia produce a fair bit of uranium, Putin also carries a fair bit of clout in neighboring Kazakhstan, the world's top uranium producer. So Russia already controls a lot of primary production... but that's just the start. Since primary production (from mines) will not be able to meet demand, secondary sources will become extra-important. There is only one significant secondary source - downblended warheads - and Russia operates some of the only facilities in the world that can downblend HEU into LEU.
Putin has positioned Russia to capitalize on the looming global uranium-supply crunch. That's why he will not be at all interested in extending the Megatons deal - why agree to old terms when the global uranium scene is now on a completely different stage? Instead, Putin will be more than happy to sit down and hammer out a new uranium supply deal.
Obama knows this. This executive order is his nod to Putin, his acknowledgment that Putin has the upper hand but the US still wants to play, and his underlying plea to Putin that he play nice. Because if he doesn't, the United States will find itself scrambling for a new uranium supplier.
Our subscribers are already familiar with this topic - we have written about what we're calling the Putinization of resources several times already. Vladimir Putin is a smart, savvy leader who has long believed that natural resources can be a source of great power. After analyzing Putin's moves to corner the uranium market, his efforts to control Europe's natural gas supplies, and his use of Russia's oil wealth to gain international heft, we laid out a plan letting our subscribers know how to profit from Putinization.
So, in summary, there's nothing to worry about in this "national emergency"... for now, at least. We'll continue to watch the cat-and-mouse activities between the countries in order to stay on top of the trends.
Marin Katusa
Chief Energy Investment Strategist
Casey Research
Athabasca Uranium encounters additional uranium intervals at Keefe Lake
Press Release: Athabasca Uranium Inc. – 2 hours 7 minutes agoCompanies:Athabasca Uranium Inc.RELATED QUOTESSymbol Price Change
UAX.V 0.135 0.00
TSXV: UAX
OTCQX: ATURF
VANCOUVER , June 26, 2012 /CNW/ - Athabasca Uranium Inc. ("Athabasca" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Keefe Lake Uranium Project in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. The Company has received the results of the lithogeochemical and PIMA/clay alteration samples and has conducted further analysis on Hole KEF-12-08, which was drilled to a depth of 553 metres (374 metres beyond the unconformity), as first reported on April 30, 2012 . Basement alteration was found to continue beyond the expected regolith alteration to the bottom of Hole KEF-12-08, which was drilled to test the extent of alteration encountered at the bottom of Hole AU4-01, which was drilled to a depth of 402 metres in 2011.
Drill Hole KEF-12-08 confirmed the base metal enrichment (Lead, Cobalt, Arsenic and Nickel) in the sandstone, which was encountered in Hole AU4-01. In addition to confirming the elevated uranium enrichment (112ppm U* over 2 metres) at approximately 400 metres depth which was encountered in Hole AU4-01, two other zones of anomalous uranium mineralization were encountered at a greater depth. These additional intervals, listed below, are associated with hematite alteration and fracturing of altered quartzofeldspathic gneiss.
Keefe Lake Drilling 2011-2012
Hole Depth
from (m) Depth to
(m) Width (m) U (ppm)
KEF-12-08 470.9 471.5 0.54 116
KEF-12-08 546.9 547.9 0.5 175
AU4-01 (previously announced) 400 402 2 112
Despite the great depths of the mineralized zones, the Company continues to focus on an unconformity deposit model, believing that the deeper mineralized zone is the "plumbing system" for a shallower deposit; unconformity depths at Keefe Lake are typically at 170 metres. In addition, the discovery of base metal enrichment in the overlying sandstone, and uranium enrichment at depth, as well as the high degree of silicification (which has been repeatedly fractured and healed), is significant in that it indicates that the Keefe Lake Alteration Zone has been subject to multiple hydrothermal alteration events, typical of Athabasca Basin deposits. The target area, which is coincident with a magnetic low feature that extends for several kilometers to the northeast and southwest, appears to extend beyond 325 metres into the basement. All holes at Keefe Lake showed alteration that extended into the basement. The Company will examine petrographic thin sections of core taken in the basement rocks in the area in order to determine the qualitative mineralogical and alteration features of the basement alteration zone.
The Company continues to combine a diverse suite of leading-edge exploration techniques in order to provide direction for additional exploration targets at Keefe Lake. The University Of Saskatchewan Seismology Lab, under the direction of Dr. Zoltan Hajnal , is currently processing data derived from the borehole geophysical survey performed by SEMM Logging. Sonic data, examining the acoustical properties and responses of geological layers, will be used to calibrate and refine the 2D seismic dataset that was instrumental in identifying the high value targets at Keefe Lake.
With regard to the results, UAX President Gil Schneider commented: "The Company is extremely pleased with results to date: uranium grades encountered and the size and scale of the alteration zone at Keefe is remarkable, and are typical of those found in the outer envelopes of major Basin deposits. Athabasca's exploration team will further examine all results with an eye to making a world class discovery."
At Volhoffer Lake, assays determined that weakly radioactive samples encountered at the unconformity were due to thorium mineralization. The Company is evaluating data from the 2012 drilling program and picking new drill targets at Volhoffer that lie along the northeast trending conductor series.
Neil McCallum, P.Geo, of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a Qualified Person, has reviewed and approved the disclosure of technical information within this news release.
*2012 samples were analysed by SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories (an SCC ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 Accredited Facility) of Saskatoon for analysis. The uranium content above is by ICP-MS (partial digestion).
About Athabasca Uranium
Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 60,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan. The Company's stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company. Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company's website at www.athabascauranium.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
" Gil Schneider "
Gil Schneider , President & CEO
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/athabasca-uranium-encounters-additional-uranium-161800198.html;_ylt=Ak_vhOchHn6i0maxAxG9FEWiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTIxYmk3ZWwxBG1pdANXaWRlIFF1b3RlcyBNb2R1bGUEcG9zAzMwBHNlYwNNZWRpYVJlY2VudFF1b3Rlc1BvcnRmb2xpb3NXaWRl;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3
Awesome. Will do. Thanks.
Give my friend Todd Hanas a call, he is the one raising money for Athabasca Uranium and knows all the numbers and projections
his number is 604-689-8336 or 866-869-8072
http://www.firstmeritgroup.com/
Todd Hanas is a corporate finance and communications specialist in the resource sector, and has a fifteen year history working the public markets. As the founder and principal of Sky Blue Relations Inc., he has provided financial and marketing services for numerous public companies, including Banks Energy Inc., Choice Resources Corp. and Hawthorne Gold Corp. (TSXV: HGC). Todd is also the co-founder and former president and CEO of BOE Capital Corp., now Athabasca Uranium Inc. (TSXV: UAX).
Im accumulating but I guess I am still in the dark about the potential here even though I believe the pps should be much higher I dont really know how much higher.
Whats the best case scenario? a JV? a buyout for the properties and a royalty incentive?
Lots of coverage on this and the surveys from all major portals but investors arent buying in for some reason.
Warrants are even at .45 so this should trend higher with good news.
Thanks for your insight friend.
This is one of a few unsung hero's of the mining industry this year, it's too bad the market is full of lemmings that cannot think for themselves, gather shares and wait it out is the battle cry for this year
Sounds like a great buying opportunity here. 13cents is a steal based on the data in my opinion.
Athabasca Uranium Reports Encouraging Results From Keefe Lake Uranium Project; Shares Flat
Athabasca Uranium Inc. (UAX.V) has provided an update on the Keefe Lake uranium project in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan. While the company sounded upbeat about recent exploration results, investors appear to be taking a wait and see approach, with shares currently unchanged at 0.135.
The company has received the results of the lithogeochemical and PIMA/clay alteration samples and has conducted further analysis on Hole KEF-12-08, which was drilled to a depth of 553 metres, as first reported on April 30, 2012. Basement alteration was found to continue beyond the expected regolith alteration to the bottom of Hole KEF-12-08, which was drilled to test the extent of alteration encountered at the bottom of Hole AU4-01, which was drilled to a depth of 402 metres in 2011.
Drill Hole KEF-12-08 confirmed the base metal enrichment (Lead, Cobalt, Arsenic and Nickel) in the sandstone, which was encountered in Hole AU4-01. In addition to confirming the elevated uranium enrichment (112ppm U* over 2 metres) at approximately 400 metres depth which was encountered in Hole AU4-01, two other zones of anomalous uranium mineralization were encountered at a greater depth. These additional intervals are associated with hematite alteration and fracturing of altered quartzofeldspathic gneiss.
UAX President Gil Schneider commented: "The Company is extremely pleased with results to date: uranium grades encountered and the size and scale of the alteration zone at Keefe is remarkable, and are typical of those found in the outer envelopes of major Basin deposits. Athabasca's exploration team will further examine all results with an eye to making a world class discovery."
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2012-06/athabasca-uranium-reports-encouraging-results-from-keefe-lake-uranium-project-shares-flat.aspx?storyid=151240#ixzz1yv7N4GzS
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09/02/10
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Type
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Free
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Moderators |
Athabasca Uranium Inc. ( UAX.v / ATURF)
The CUSIP Number is 04682Q109 and the ISIN number is CA 04682Q1090
http://www.athabascauranium.com
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Share structure
Shares Outstanding Basic 15,000,000
Float 4,000,000
Shares Fully Diluted 20,325,000
Cash Position $ 800,000
Fully Diluted Cash $ 1,825,000
Debt $ 0
Insider Holdings ~ 27% 4,000,000
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NEWS
09 July 2010 BOE Capital Announces Closing of its Qualifying Transaction and Concurrent Private Placement
21 July 2010 BOE Announces change of name to Athabasca Uranium Inc. & New Symbol "UAX"
04 August 2010 Athabasca Uranium appoints Maddison as Director - Grants Options
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Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a Vancouver-based junior resource company focused on uranium exploration in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, home to some of the highest grade deposits and mines in the world.
Athabasca Uranium's strategy is to acquire and develop conceptual and early stage exploration opportunities and, through the use of cutting edge technology and geological understanding, advance towards resource development through the creation of strategic alliances or joint venture partnerships with major exploration and mining companies, investment funds and government agencies
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Applying Science
In 2001, Leonard Van Betuw founded Kinetex Resources Corporation as an “applied sciences" company rather than just another seismic company, by designing and bringing to market (with ION Geophysical of Houston) a new generation of seismic sensors - digital accelerometers called VectorSeis, incorporating advantages in miniaturization, digital signal capture, much higher resolution, and true spatial wave capture - basically a better mousetrap.
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Don McCarthy Property
The Don McCarthy claims (S-110884 & S-110885) cover 7,584 hectares (18,580 acres) and lie 40 kilometers east of the MacArthur River Mine and 29 kilometers southeast of the Cigar Lake Mine (both owned by Cameco Corp.) on the eastern edge of the Athabasca Basin in Northern Saskatchewan, the heart of uranium in Canada.
The Company owns 50% of the claims with no encumbrances save a 2.5% net smelter royalty. The property acquisition constitutes the Company’s Qualifying Transaction.
In 2007, a 4,600 kilometer airborne Tempest MAG/EM survey was flown over the Property to test for the presence and extent of graphitic zones that can host uranium mineralization, as well as to map contacts and faults on the property.
The results of the survey were extremely positive, mapping several large conductors identified at shallow basement depths that were coincident with magnetic lows and with faulting on the property. The survey also showed the northern and northwestern parts of the area to exhibit higher conductivity for the most attributable to conductive cover. A smaller area of higher conductivity with increasing conductivity at depth can be seen near the southeastern corner of the block, coincident with a small elongated magnetic high.
full profile
http://www.athabascauranium.com/projects/don-mccarthy-property.html
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MANAGEMENT AND BOARD
Gil Schneider - President & CEO , Director
•Founder / CEO / Director - Kinetex Resources Corporation
•32+ years senior management experience
•Director - AgriMarine Holdings Inc. / AXEA Capital Corp.
Leonard Van Betuw BSc - VP Exploration
•Founder / CEO / Director - Kinetex Multi-Component Services
•Geophysical experience – participation in over 100 projects world-wide
•20+ years technical experience - 3D seismic design, modeling & processing
D. Barry Lee, BA - Chairman & CFO
•Founder / former Co-Chairman - Canadian Phoenix Resources Corp.
•Co-founder / former COO - Choice Resources Corp
•20+ years senior management experience & resource sector M&A expertise
Ken Maddison, FCA - Director
•Former partner - KPMG (retired 1997) with 30+ years audit & business advisory experience
•Former Director & Officer - uranium explorer Northern Continental Resources
•Elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC in 1975
Steven Bruk, BA - Director
•Resource sector management expertise
•Co-founder / former President & CEO - Choice Resources Corp.
•Corporate finance for natural resource and hi-tech industries
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Power point presentation
(required reading)
http://www.athabascauranium.com/images/files/UAX-Corp-Presentation-August-2010.pdf
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Other Notes of Interest
Currently applying for pink sheets US ticker.
Property is situated in the middle of a heavy Uranium basin.
Property is 40KM from the largest Uranium mine in the world.
Shallow strike zone, means open pit mining potential
Property is 7,584 hectares (18,580 acres) in size
Radical new mobile imaging technology is holding a very high success rate on previous discoveries.
NI 43-101 has been completed on June 4th 2010.
Other properties to be announced shortly.
Extensive winter drilling program scheduled.
Complete financials and NI43-101 report at www.sedar.com
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Contact
Suite 1040, 885 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V6C 3E8
1-866-869-8072
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[chart]stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=ATURF&p=D&b=5&g=0&i=t04537810686&r=1638[/chart]
DISCLAIMER
Nothing in the contents transmitted on this board should be construed as an investment advisory, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. There is no express or implied solicitation to buy or sell securities. The author(s) may have positions in the stocks discussed and may trade in the stocks mentioned. Readers are advised to conduct their own due diligence prior to considering buying or selling any stock. All information should be considered for information purposes only. No stock exchange has approved or disapproved of the information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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