Read the full article at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Excerpt below:
Saskatoon-based mining giants Cameco Corp. and Orano Canada Inc. (formerly AREVA Resources Canada), have three active mines and mills in the region, with numerous other companies staking claims and prospecting. Thousands of people are working in the hectic mining zone.
“All of these projects are largely buoyed by the rising commodity price,” said Situm, adding there are three major drivers of uranium’s value.
“The two big ones that are very concrete are a very large reactor build out in China and other middle-income countries,” he said. “China alone is building 30 reactors right now – 30 big gigawatt-plus scale reactors. These are not small modular reactors. These are full-scale big boys. That is a massive increase in raw demand for uranium.”
The frantic pace of building full-scale reactors follows the Chinese program to decarbonize its energy grid, he said. Renewables are a growing source of power in that country, but Situm said nuclear reactors provide a stable source of energy when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
Companies are also building new power plants in North America, with Ontario putting up small modular reactors, and politicians in the United States “making a lot of noise” about building advanced reactors, Situm said.
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, doesn’t produce any nuclear power, despite its massive uranium reserves, but the province’s Crown corporation SaskPower says it’s looking at potentially adding nuclear to its supply mix in the mid-2030s.
Rising demand is not the only factor driving uranium prices higher. Situm said Western countries are attempting to exclude supplies from Russia — a major producer of the metal — from their uranium markets.
A 2023 agreement between Canada, Japan, France, the United Kingdom and the United States is meant to “shove Russia out of the uranium supply chain in the West,” he said.
The agreement is a joint recognition of the “global aspirational goal” to triple nuclear energy production by 2050.
The countries agreed to “promote public-private investment in enriched uranium production capacity free from Russian material” and to “establish a resilient global uranium supply market free of Russian influence.”
“Now they are looking to essentially shove (Russia) out from both the U.S. and Europe,” Situm said. “So that means you’re turning to non-Russian supplies. Canada ends up being one of those go-to places for that supply. This is all part of a geopolitical conflict with the Russians.”