Weekly Reports | Sep 24 2019
While there are many and complex reason why the world’s uranium and nuclear energy markets remain in a state of uncertainty, some buyers have decided they can’t wait any longer.
-Three Mile Island retires after 45 years
-Uranium market uncertainty compounded
-Buying interest emerges nevertheless
By Greg Peel
The film The China Syndrome premiered in March, 1979, at the Cannes Film Festival. Jack Lemon portrayed a supervisor at the fictitious nuclear plant who discovered that what appeared to be a pending meltdown was in fact due to a stuck dial on the instrument panel.
Twelve days later Three Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania started leaking radiation. A relief valve had become stuck open, and control room indicators were deemed to have been “ambiguous”. Three Mile Island became the world’s first “nuclear accident”, ultimately dwarfed by subsequent accidents in 1986 and 2011.
Last Friday Three Mile Island was shut down, for good, after 45 years of operation. The decomissioning process will take 60 years.
Meanwhile last week Duke Energy announced it would seek a second licence renewal for its eleven reactors across six sites in North and South Carolina, which would see those reactors operating up to 80 years by 2066.
Duke Energy, which also generates electricity via coal-fired and gas-fired plants, last week revealed a plan to cut its carbon emissions by -50% by 2030 from 2005 levels and be zero-carbon by 2050, noting nuclear energy will be an important factor.
Nice timing. Go Greta.
Not Waiting Around
The US uranium/nuclear energy market remains in a state of flux as it awaits the recommendations of President Trump’s Working Group, and uncertainty has now been further compounded by additional sanctions being placed on Iran.
Were the White House to go further and levy sanctions on countries providing nuclear fuel products and services to Iran, this would rope in Russia, and already there is uncertainty around existing sanctions on Russia and the Russian Suspension Agreement, which limits US imports of Russian nuclear fuel to 20% of US requirements, and expires at the end of next year.
While such a level of uncertainty has put off many utilities from entering the uranium market, it has not deterred all. Last week several parties concluded transactions in the mid-term delivery market, industry consultant TradeTech reports, and several more are exploring potential purchases both formally and informally.
Those deals sparked buying interest in the spot market, leading to over 1mlbs U3O8 equivalent being purchased over the course of the week by a variety of buyers. Traders were the primary sellers, and backed off their offers as the week progressed.
TradeTech’s weekly spot price indicator rose US55c to US$25.80/lb.
TradeTech’s term priced indicators remain at US$28.00/lb and US$30.00/lb respectively for medium term and long term delivery contracts.
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