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RECENT trading in the uranium market shows more buyers are expecting prices to rise.
Uranium miner Paladin Energy’s chief executive John Borshoff noted a shift to long-term contract buying while announcing a jump in the company’s quarterly sales revenue and production.
A move from spot buying to long-term contracts indicates buyers want to lock in current prices because they expect the value of uranium to increase.
The term contracting market exceeded 80 million pounds of uranium oxide in 2014, up from 20 million pounds in 2013, Mr Borshoff said.
‘‘The majority of the long-term agreements involved non-US utilities, which were predominantly located in the Asia Pacific region,’’ he said.
Global uranium production is also expected to have fallen as low as 145 million pounds in 2014, from the previous year’s 155 million pounds, further supporting a price rise.
Uranium’s price plunged in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.
Prices were volatile in the final three months of 2014, having jumped from $US28.10 a pound in mid-2014 to $US44 by mid-November, before sliding back to $US35.50.
Australia’s Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics is predicting a stronger average uranium price in 2015 of $US39.50, and continued rises on the back of growing demand in China and Japan.
Paladin’s sales revenue of $US69.9 million in the December quarter was up 79 per cent from the same period a year ago.
Production was up 27 per cent to 1.3 million pounds at its Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia, with an average selling price of $US36.58 a pound.
Fat Prophets resource analyst David Lennox said Paladin was operating well considering the price volatility.
‘‘Through various cost cutting measures they are now enjoying significant benefits from just a marginal rise in the uranium price,’’ he said.
‘‘China are still happily building quite a substantial nuclear power station program ... but it’s really the only country that is.’’
Paladin lowered its full year guidance by less than five per cent to a range of 5.2 million to 5.5 million pounds.
Explorer Summit Resources is 82.5 per cent owned by Paladin Energy and has indicated hundreds of jobs would be created once exploration turns to production at uranium deposits near Mount Isa.
Summit Resources has been granted four mineral development licences, and has spent more than $40 million across the Mount Isa region in exploration in the past eight years.
Summit’s main project is Isa North, covering about 1460km2 with a number of uranium prospects including the Valhalla, Skal and Bikini deposits.