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After reaching a 17 year high of US$106 per pound in early January, the uranium spot price has spent the rest of the year consolidating, remaining rangebound between US$79 and US$85 since June.
‘The uranium markets continue to digest last year’s 88.54 percent gain and have remained apathetic to ever-strengthening fundamentals,” wrote Sprott Asset Management’s Jacob White in a July market update.
White, who is the company’s exchange-traded fund product manager, went on to note that Kazakhstan’s tax hikes, increased M&A activity and geopolitical risks are adding volatility to the supply side.
Meanwhile, nuclear power growth and US legislation are supporting uranium demand.
‘We believe these developments should support the physical commodity and uranium miners but have been overshadowed by seasonal softness and broader commodity weakness,’ he wrote. In his view, the current price correction is a natural part of the ongoing bull market and is a ‘healthy sign’ that the sector is functioning properly.
Below are the best-performing Canadian uranium stocks by share price performance so far this year. All data was obtained on September 16, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener, and all companies had market caps above C$10 million at the time. Companies on the TSX, TSXV and CSE were considered, but no TSX stocks made the list this time.
Read on to learn what factors have been moving their share prices.
1. CanAlaska Uranium (TSXV:CVV)
Year-to-date gain: 79.22 percent; market cap: C$107.25 million; share price: C$0.69
CanAlaska Uranium is a self-described project generator with a portfolio of assets in the Saskatchewan-based Athabasca Basin. The region is well known in the sector for its high-grade deposits.
The company’s portfolio includes the West McArthur property, which is situated near sector major Cameco (TSX:CCO,NYSE:CCJ) and Orano Canada’s McArthur River/Key Lake mine joint venture. In 2018, Cameco signed on as a joint venture partner for CanAlaska’s West McArthur project, and it retains a 16.65 percent stake.
In mid-April, CanAlaska acquired the Intrepid East and Intrepid West projects in the Northeastern Athabasca Basin. The two projects cover a combined 58,747 hectares and are 20 kilometers north of the high-grade Hurricane uranium deposit.
During the second quarter, CanAlaksa conducted airborne surveys at its projects near Cameco and Orano’s Key Lake mill — the Key Extension, Enterprise, Voyager and Nebula projects — as well as at its Frontier project.
In July, a summer drill program at West McArthur’s Pike zone made two significant intersections.
On July 9, hole WMA082-7 intersected 3.44 percent equivalent U3O8 (eU3O8) over 21.6 meters, including 10.9 percent eU3O8 over 5.4 meters. Then, on July 16, CanAlaska reported that hole WMA082-8 had intersected 6.87 percent eU3O8 over 16.9 meters, including 11.62 percent eU3O8 over 9.3 meters.
In mid-September, CanAlaska raised C$5 million through a non-brokered private placement.
2. Greenridge Exploration (CSE:GXP)
Year-to-date gain: 74.47 percent; market cap: C$24.48 million; share price: C$0.82
Canada-focused Greenridge Exploration is engaged in the exploration of the Nut Lake uranium project in the Thelon Basin in Nunavut, Canada, and has acquired several uranium projects this year.
According to the company, Nut Lake is strategically positioned near the Angilak uranium deposit, which was recently acquired by Atha Energy (TSXV:SASK,OTCQB:SASKF) as part of a three way merger with Latitude Uranium and 92 Energy.
Nut Lake is a new property for Greenridge. On January 18, the company entered into an option agreement with three parties to acquire a 100 percent stake in the asset. Historic drilling at the polymetallic deposit has identified “significant” uranium mineralization, with intersections of up to 9 feet containing 0.69 percent U3O8.
Nut Lake isn’t Greenridge’s only addition this year. In May, the company acquired the Carpenter Lake uranium project, which covers 13,387 hectares near the Athabasca Basin’s southern margin. Greenridge ended the quarter by acquiring the Snook Lake and Ranger Lake uranium projects in Ontario. The Ranger Lake project covers 20,782 hectares in the Elliot Lake region, while the Snook Lake project spans 4,899 hectares in Northwestern Ontario.
In mid-August, the company released an updated technical review for Nut Lake. For the new review, Greenridge focused on gathering and analyzing historical data for the project, including digitizing drill hole information, georeferencing maps and extracting data from historical reports related to the Nut Lake property.
Shortly after, Greenridge announced plans to acquire Canadian uranium company ALX Resources (TSXV:AL,OTC Pink:ALXEF). The merger will create a major Canadian uranium exploration company with 15 projects across 276,000 hectares in key uranium districts, along with interests in 13 other resource properties.
3. District Metals (TSXV:DMX)
Year-to-date gain: 68.75 percent; market cap: C$35.18 million; share price: C$0.27
District Metals is an energy metals and polymetallic explorer and developer with a portfolio of nine assets, including five uranium projects in Sweden. It’s currently focused on its Viken property, which hosts a uranium-vanadium deposit.
Historic estimates conducted in 2010 and 2014 peg the indicated resource at 43 million metric tons with an average grade 0.019 percent U3O8, with another 3 billion metric tons with an average grade 0.017 percent U3O8 in the inferred category. According to the company, Viken is one of the “world’s largest in terms of uranium and vanadium mineral resources.’
Shares of District spiked to a year-to-date high of C$0.49 on May 21. The jump coincided with the company announcing that its subsidiary, Bergslagen Metals, had received final approvals for its mineral license applications in Jämtlands and Västerbottens Counties in Sweden to explore for metals including vanadium, nickel, molybdenum and rare earths.
“We are very pleased with the timely approvals for our eight mineral license applications that cover a total of 91,470 hectares of ground that is highly prospective for Alum Shale deposit targets,” said Garrett Ainsworth, CEO of District. “Alum shales are the host rocks of our Viken Energy Metals Deposit, which represents a potentially significant source of critical and strategic metals and minerals for the green energy transition.”
4. Myriad Uranium (CSE:M)
Year-to-date gain: 45.95 percent; market cap: C$13.75 million; share price: C$0.27
Myriad Uranium is an exploration company with a 75 percent earnable interest in the 1,911 acre Copper Mountain uranium project in Wyoming, US. The property holds several known uranium deposits and historic mines, including the past-producing Arrowhead mine, which previously produced 500,000 pounds of eU3O8.
The company also holds a 50 percent interest in the Millen Mountain property in Nova Scotia, Canada, alongside Probe Metals (TSX:PRB,OTCQB:PROBF), as well as an 80 percent interest in uranium exploration licenses in Niger.
Focusing on its Copper Mountain asset, Myriad conducted a geophysical survey targeting the Canning deposit in July. The goal of the survey was to update the resource potential and lay the early groundwork for further exploration.
That was followed by a magnetometer survey in September, an important precursor to a maiden exploration drill program and subsequent maiden mineral resource estimate, slated for completion by the end of Q1 2025.
As Myriad worked to advance its US asset, the company announced it was exiting Niger. In a July 23 statement it said that it would immediately ‘quit or relinquish, as appropriate,’ any interests in the country.
CEO Thomas Lamb explained the decision to leave the African country.
“Myriad has been prevented by reasons beyond its control from conducting operations in Niger since the July 2023 coup d’etat,” he said. “We are now focusing all our attention on the Copper Mountain uranium project in Wyoming, USA., a project with significant past production, a large historical uranium resource, and exciting exploration upside.”
5. Premier American Uranium (TSXV:PUR)
Year-to-date gain: 16.13 percent; market cap: C$69.96 million; share price: C$1.80
Premier American Uranium is engaged in consolidating, exploring and developing uranium projects across the US.
The company holds large land packages in two major uranium-producing areas: Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin and Colorado’s Uravan Mineral Belt. Additionally, Premier took over control of the advanced Cebolleta uranium exploration project in New Mexico when it acquired American Future Fuel in June of this year.
Other highlights from the first nine months of 2024 include the closing of a C$5.77 million private placement in May, and the commencement of an inaugural drill program at the Cyclone in-situ recovery uranium project in Wyoming.
FAQs for investing in uranium
What is uranium used for?
Uranium is primarily used for the production of nuclear energy, a form of clean energy created in nuclear power plants. In fact, 99 percent of uranium is used for this purpose. As of 2022, there were 439 active nuclear reactors, as per the International Atomic Energy Agency. Last year, 8 percent of US power came from nuclear energy.
The commodity is also used in the defense industry as a component of nuclear weaponry, among other uses. However, there are safeguards in effect to keep this to a minimum. To create weapons-grade uranium, the material has to be enriched significantly — above 90 percent — to the point that to achieve just 5.6 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium, it would require 1 metric ton of uranium pre-enrichment.
Because of this necessity, uranium enrichment facilities are closely monitored under international agreements. Uranium used for nuclear power production only needs to be enriched to 5 percent; nuclear enrichment facilities need special licenses to enrich above that point for uses such as research at 20 percent enrichment.
The metal is also used in the medical field for applications such as transmission electron microscopy. Before uranium was discovered to be radioactive, it was used to impart a yellow color to ceramic glazes and glass.
Where is uranium found?
The country with the greatest uranium reserves by far is Australia — the island nation holds 28 percent of the world’s uranium reserves. Rounding out the top three are Kazakhstan with 15 percent and Canada with 9 percent.
Although Australia has the highest reserves, it holds uranium as a low priority and is only fourth overall for production. All its uranium output is exported, with none used for domestic nuclear energy production.
Kazakhstan is the world’s largest producer of the metal, with production of 21,227 metric tons in 2022. The country’s national uranium company, Kazatomprom, is the world’s largest producer.
Canada’s uranium reserves are found primarily in its Athabasca Basin, and the region is a top producer of the metal as well.
Why should I buy uranium stocks?
Investors should always do their own due diligence when looking at any commodity so that they can decide whether it fits into their investment plans. With that being said, many experts are convinced that uranium has entered into a significant bull market, meaning that uranium stocks could be a good buy.
A slew of factors have led to this bull market. While the uranium industry spent the last decade or so in a downturn following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, discourse has been building around the metal’s use as a source of clean energy, which is important for countries looking to reach climate goals. Nations are now prioritizing a mix of clean energies such as solar and wind energy alongside nuclear. Significantly, in August 2022, Japan announced it is looking into restarting its idled nuclear power plants and commissioning new ones.
Uranium prices are very important to uranium miners, as in recent years levels have not been high enough for production to be economic. However, in 2024, prices spiked from the US$58 in August 2023 to a high of US$106 per pound U3O8 in February 2024. They have since consolidated at around US$85, meaning this could be a buying point for those looking to get into the sector.
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.