Background

The demand for uranium is increasing radically. In the last four years, the price of uranium has increased more than 700% from US$12 per pound to the US$90 per pound of today. An end to the increase is not in sight. This is the result of the renaissance of the nuclear industry. At this time, there are a total of 440 nuclear power plants on the grid. In addition to that, there are currently 208 new nuclear power plants under construction or in planning.

In addition to China and India with their exponentially growing economies, the emerging third-world countries are also increasingly turning to nuclear power. According to estimates, the world-wide electricity requirement will double within the next twenty years. At the same time, climate protection efforts are increasing. The dependence on fossil fuels for the production of energy is due to decrease; affordable sources of energy should be created.

The rising price of the heavy metal uranium makes it even more attractive to exploit reserves that would have been considered poorly profitable several years ago. The search for uranium is intensifying, and the more we search for it, the more we find. Many deposit beds remain yet unknown; Russia, South America and Canada have an especially high potential.

Even today there is already a deficit in the uranium supply since the current consumption of 67,000 tons per year is faced with the production of only 50,000 tons. The difference of 17,000 tons is being covered from strategic reserves. This is, however, slowly running out. It is doubtful that the development of new deposits will be completed in time to bridge this gap so that even just the 440 nuclear power plants currently operating receive sufficient uranium.