Uranium miners seek to cash in on soaring market

LONDON – Mining firms are in a hurry to get the finance they need to start new uranium projects and take advantage of a booming world market, a London conference heard last week.

“That’s the goal of our company – to take advantage of that window and get this thing into production as quickly as possible,” Laramide Resources president Marc Henderson told the Mines and Money conference. With other firms, Henderson presented details of his project, Westmoreland in Australia, to an audience that included fund managers, private investors and bankers.But some said it would be hard to find qualified engineers for all the various projects in the pipeline and that small operations might be forced to close if the uranium price fell.”The uranium industry is being born again,” Semafo Inc.director Patrick de Saint Simon said on the sidelines of the conference.The gold miner is embarking on uranium operations in Niger, which is one of the world’s five largest producers of uranium along with Namibia, Kazakhstan, Australia and Canada.”But there is a lack of experienced people in the industry, many guys will have difficulties to get skilled staff and with very low grades – they are all looking at below 0,5 per cent – it will be tough if the price drops,” de Saint Simon said.The price of spot uranium has risen to US$125 per pound from US$7 in 2000 on strong demand from the nuclear industry given high oil prices and a global effort to clamp down on carbon dioxide emissions blamed for climate change.Production problems due to flooding at two major production sites, Australia’s Ranger and Cigar Lake in Canada, and low investment in exploration and production since the mid-1980s have also fuelled prices.Low prices during the 1990s forced many firms to close and few then wanted to embark on a career in uranium mining.”There is a real shortage of engineers and technical experts so it may be difficult for many to ever get into production,” consulting geologist Richard Parker said on the sidelines of the conference.Nampa-ReutersWith other firms, Henderson presented details of his project, Westmoreland in Australia, to an audience that included fund managers, private investors and bankers.But some said it would be hard to find qualified engineers for all the various projects in the pipeline and that small operations might be forced to close if the uranium price fell.”The uranium industry is being born again,” Semafo Inc.director Patrick de Saint Simon said on the sidelines of the conference.The gold miner is embarking on uranium operations in Niger, which is one of the world’s five largest producers of uranium along with Namibia, Kazakhstan, Australia and Canada.”But there is a lack of experienced people in the industry, many guys will have difficulties to get skilled staff and with very low grades – they are all looking at below 0,5 per cent – it will be tough if the price drops,” de Saint Simon said.The price of spot uranium has risen to US$125 per pound from US$7 in 2000 on strong demand from the nuclear industry given high oil prices and a global effort to clamp down on carbon dioxide emissions blamed for climate change.Production problems due to flooding at two major production sites, Australia’s Ranger and Cigar Lake in Canada, and low investment in exploration and production since the mid-1980s have also fuelled prices.Low prices during the 1990s forced many firms to close and few then wanted to embark on a career in uranium mining.”There is a real shortage of engineers and technical experts so it may be difficult for many to ever get into production,” consulting geologist Richard Parker said on the sidelines of the conference.Nampa-Reuters