Atomic power is back in fashion, boosting mining firms as the price of uranium soars, according to this recent London Times article.
Last week Kalgoorlie was, briefly, the rip-roaring centre of the world’s mining industry. All the big names were in town for Diggers and Dealers, an annual conference (and extended party) for mining executives and the industry’s money men.
The town was at the heart of the 1890s Australian gold rush, and has since produced about a fifth of the country’s total gold output.
But now there is a new rush in progress — not for gold, but for a rarer, less obviously precious metal: uranium. All the talk in the bars of Kalgoorlie last week was about the uranium boom, and how mining companies and banks can jump on the bandwagon.
Uranium has already proved a good investment in recent years, with a shortfall in supply sending prices on the Nuexco exchange from a plateau of $10 a pound in 2002 and 2003 to nearly $30. The miners hope that this tripling of prices is just a taste of things to come. They believe that a surge of interest in nuclear power in America, Britain and China, as well as a host of other countries, could send prices much higher.
It is a simple argument. Uranium is the fuel for nuclear power stations, and if the host of new reactors planned comes to fruition, then those companies with access to uranium supplies will be sitting pretty.
Last week Kalgoorlie was, briefly, the rip-roaring centre of the world’s mining industry. All the big names were in town for Diggers and Dealers, an annual conference (and extended party) for mining executives and the industry’s money men.
The town was at the heart of the 1890s Australian gold rush, and has since produced about a fifth of the country’s total gold output.
But now there is a new rush in progress — not for gold, but for a rarer, less obviously precious metal: uranium. All the talk in the bars of Kalgoorlie last week was about the uranium boom, and how mining companies and banks can jump on the bandwagon.
Uranium has already proved a good investment in recent years, with a shortfall in supply sending prices on the Nuexco exchange from a plateau of $10 a pound in 2002 and 2003 to nearly $30. The miners hope that this tripling of prices is just a taste of things to come. They believe that a surge of interest in nuclear power in America, Britain and China, as well as a host of other countries, could send prices much higher.
It is a simple argument. Uranium is the fuel for nuclear power stations, and if the host of new reactors planned comes to fruition, then those companies with access to uranium supplies will be sitting pretty.
