Nuclear News

Geek out on financial analysis of Nuclear, Uranium and the future of energy

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Leftovers as fuel? Enrichment leaves behind "depleted" uranium, a by-product piled up for decades. Urenco and Thorizon will study if future molten salt reactors could burn it. It's only a study for now. Why it matters: turning a waste pile into fuel would stretch supply.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Uranium 101, part 4: enrichment. Natural uranium has only a tiny bit of the type that splits and makes power. Enrichment spins the gas in fast machines to raise that share to a few percent. Why it matters: few countries can do this, so it's a key choke point for fuel.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Why it matters: Kazakhstan mines more uranium than any other country, so who it sells to shapes supply for everyone else. Also yesterday: Urenco and reactor maker Thorizon agreed to study fuel for new molten salt reactors due in the mid-2030s.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Yesterday in nuclear: Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom, the world's biggest uranium miner, held a shareholder vote. Owners said yes to a deal to sell uranium to a Chinese state power company, and no to a deal with a unit of Russia's Rosatom. Terms were not made public.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Miner deep dive: $DNN (Denison). It's building Phoenix in northern Canada, the first big Canadian uranium mine OK'd in 20+ years. It'll use wells, not pits. Work ramped up in July; first uranium due mid-2028. Plan: ~8.4M lb/yr at first. Why it matters: big new mines are rare.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Uranium 101, part 3: conversion. Mines make yellowcake, a powder. Enrichment needs a gas, so conversion plants make the switch. Only 5 countries run them: Canada, the US, France, Russia and China. Why it matters: so few plants means one problem can slow fuel for many reactors.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Yesterday in nuclear: NASA and the US Energy Dept signed a deal to team up on nuclear power for space. Plans: a test reactor to push a spacecraft in 2028, and a small reactor on the Moon by 2030. Why it matters: solar fails in the 2-week lunar night; nuclear keeps lights on.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Also yesterday: Cameco stock fell 4% after Tuesday's jump, and Swiss voters may get a say on ending their ban on new reactors, as soon as Feb 2027. Why it matters: doors keep opening for nuclear.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Yesterday in nuclear: Last Energy's test reactor at Texas A&M passed the US Energy Dept's final safety review. Next comes one last readiness check, then it can start up. It uses the same core as the small 20 MW plants Last Energy wants to sell, so this is a real test run.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Miner deep dive: $UEC (Uranium Energy). It mines in Wyoming and Texas with wells, not pits. Year to Jul 31: made ~229,000 lb at ~$34/lb cash cost, sold 400,000 lb at $93. $495M cash, no debt. Why it matters: it's licensed for ~12M lb a year, so it's still early. NFA

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Uranium 101, part 2: mining. 3 ways to get it: dig a big pit, tunnel underground, or pump a liquid down wells to dissolve it and pump it back up. Wells now make 55% of world supply. Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia make about 75%. Why it matters: trouble in one place hits everyone.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Yesterday in nuclear: 1) Google's Constellation deal lifted stocks: Constellation rose 12%, Cameco 6%. 2) MARVEL, a tiny test reactor in Idaho, got its safety OK; first start due Dec. 3) India aims to double its uranium output by 2036. Why it matters: fuel demand is rising. NFA

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Uranium 101, part 1: rock to power. 1) Mine it, make yellowcake. 2) Turn it into gas. 3) Enrich: raise U-235, the atoms that split, from 0.7% to 3.5-5%. 4) Make fuel pellets. 5) A reactor splits atoms; the heat makes steam to spin a turbine. A holdup at any step slows the rest.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

A new buyer for US uranium may be coming. NNSA, the US agency in charge of nuclear weapons, asked suppliers about ~4M lb a year of US-mined uranium, maybe from the 2030s. US mines have made ~1M lb a quarter lately (EIA), so that's about all of it. Early research; no deal yet.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Google will buy power from upgrades at 11 Constellation reactors: +890 MW, 20 yrs, first by 2028. Monday the US offered Vistra up to $4.2B in loans for +433 MW. More power, more uranium needed. https://t.co/QAEHl50Y5E

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

2/ Why it matters: small reactors could be faster and cheaper to build than giant ones. More reactors means more power for homes and AI, and more need for uranium. Not built yet: TVA's board still has to give final approval, and there's no start date.

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

1/ On Sep 28, US regulators said TVA can build a small 300-megawatt nuclear reactor near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It's the first US OK for this design (GE Vernova's BWRX-300).

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

Uranium at Sept month-end: spot $89.63/lb, long-term $96.50/lb, the highest term reading in Cameco's series back to 1996. Term has been above spot every month since Feb. SPUT trades 11% below NAV, so the fund bid is quiet. The floor is term contracts, not funds. NFA

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

4/ The gap: US utilities paid an avg $58.46/lb for 2025 deliveries (EIA). Term is ~$96.50 now. At end-2025 they still had 186M lb of needs through 2035 uncovered. Older cheap contracts roll off, new ones reprice. The open question is timing, and that's set by utility buying. NFA

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

1/ Uranium, state of play (Oct 2026): the term market is pricing scarcity. Spot and the stocks aren't. Long-term price: $96.50-97/lb, a cycle high. Spot: ~$89.6. URNM, the miners ETF, is 44% below its Jan 29 peak and printed a 52-week low on Oct 1. NFA

[Nuclear News @DigitalFinan]

3/ Supply is slow and fragile. Kazatomprom's new acid plant slipped 6-12 months. Cigar Lake paused in July over a mill acid problem. New Canadian mines: Denison Phoenix targets mid-2028, NexGen Rook I late 2029-2030. WNA: reactor needs ~68,900 tU (2025) to 150,000+ by 2040.