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NeWs

The long bake warms up

ll eyes were on London for the World “When you see a company like that, ground in the US.
ANuclear Association (WNA) annual which was a producer, now preparing “Scott knows all the guys in the States;
symposium last month as sentiment to- themselves for the market to improve it is that is our key market. With Bacchus list-
wards the uranium sector continued to always a good sign; that’s action. That is ing Yellow Cake the people we saw were
improve. really positive for them to get that money already across it [uranium market] for
Uranium prices remained low and flat – and, as far as we can tell, none of the three years. The speculative guys were
about $US25/lb in late September – how- people we spoke to were involved in that. looking shorter-term, but everybody we
ever there are a few reasons for those There is a pool of capital there waiting spoke to understood the uranium macro
within the sector to be feeling good. to get into the uranium space, that is for which was quite different to previous
Clarity on Section 232 in the US and a sure,” Vimy Resources Ltd managing di- road trips,” Young said.
positive outlook in the WNA’s bi-annual rector Mike Young told Paydirt. Part of the narrative investors are in-
Nuclear Fuel Report has energised the Following the “bullish” WNA sympo- creasingly coming to terms with is the dy-
market. sium and meeting with investors in Lon- namics of uranium contracts, which right
Furthermore, Cameco Corp’s dec- don, on the heels of Bacchus Capital, now are pointing to a big rush of demand
larations that it needs to purchase 12 Young flew to New York where the ura- coming from the US.
mlb uranium in the spot market to com- nium story was also well received. “The US utility coverage as a per-
pensate for some of the supply from its He said the experience of Bacchus, centage of requirements drops off quite
mothballed Macarthur River project adds which listed Yellow Cake plc on AIM last quickly. From 2020 coverage is 83% and
to what Paladin Energy Ltd is describing year after raising $US200 million, to pro- by about 2023 it is 36%, which goes fur-
as a compelling story unfolding in the vide the secret handshakes with the right ther down to 11% in 2025, so you have
uranium sector. type of people in London and New York this massive requirement in the US for
Paladin itself is looking to reboot oper- was beneficial and found that investors uranium,” Young said.
ations at Langer Heinrich, Namibia, from were more in tune with the macro view “They need the right contracts and the
early to mid-2021, depending on funding on uranium these days. way that US contracts work is that they
and uranium prices. Bacchus brought Yellow Cake to the are all long term and due for delivery in
Paladin is working on a rapid restart market to give “investors direct exposure 2-3 years.”
PFS expected to be finished this month, to the anticipated structural improvement Post the North American summer holi-
while a PFS into a processing upgrade in the price of uranium, through the ac- day season, the contracting season has
is expected to be completed in March quisition and storage of physical uranium started and this year the 18-month over-
2020. in specialist facilities around the world” hang of Section 232 is not there.
Langer Heinrich has been on care- and now has about 9 mlb uranium. Young said the US and other countries
and-maintenance since August last year, Vimy also has vice president sales around the world would be busily filling
with Paladin recently completing a $30.2 and marketing Scott Hyman, formerly their open requirements in the next 12-18
million placement to drive a second com- engaged with Dominion Energy and months.
ing at its Namibian asset. Cameco, positioning the company on the While uranium buyers will look to fill

Page 10 OCTOBeR 2019 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT