Uranium reached a 12-year-high this week as countries scrabble for an alternative for power supplies after last year’s surge in oil and gas prices.
Prices are now above US$65 or levels not seen since the Fukushima disaster of 2011 in Japan, with the impetus being driven also by nuclear’s emergence as a key part of many countries' zero-carbon emission plans.
“You have a focus on energy security colliding with a focus on clean energy,” Grant Isaac, chief financial officer at Cameco, the world’s second-largest uranium producer, told the FT.
“The days of buying $40 uranium are over — and probably also for $50 or $60. We’re going to need new supplies,” he added.
READ: Uranium price at multi-year highs as nuclear option comes back onto the table
Uranium prices collapsed in the wake of Fukushima as many governments scrapped their nuclear plant build programmes over fears about the danger of a major accident.
Before the disaster, prices were above US$75. They have been rising steadily since Russia invaded Ukraine and traders now predict it won’t be long before they are back to that level again.