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Uranium revival excites industry veterans By JEFFREY JACQUET Star-Tribune correspondent Sunday, June 26, 2005 LARAMIE -- It is a radioactive metal with a funny name that is fetching 20-year-high prices, reopening mines across the West and catching the attention of everyone from Wyoming mining veterans to Wall Street stockbrokers. It was back in the 1970s when uranium last garnered this much interest, back before the Three Mile Island accident, and back when more than 5,000 Wyomingites had jobs extracting the yellowish, radioactive ore from the ground. Now a number of Wyoming industry analysts and veterans -- many of whom began their careers during the uranium heyday -- say they are excited as high prices and global demand are likely here to stay. They also say Wyoming -- already the nation`s top uranium producer -- is in an excellent position to reap the rewards of this upward trend. " This is very definitely an exciting time," said Robert Maxwell, a Casper-based consulting geologist for the industry. " We are looking at a long-term trend (in prices) based on a number of long-term factors." Maxwell is helping organize the upcoming Global Uranium Symposium, set for Casper July 11-13, which he says will help showcase the state`s attributes. " Wyoming is in a very good position," he said. " Wyoming and Texas are the most likely areas in the country for upgrading current operations and beginning new (operations)." Ray Harris, a senior staff geologist and uranium expert for the Wyoming Geological Survey, agreed, explaining the Cowboy State`s reserves are not only the nation`s largest, but also the most accessible. " The advantage is that Wyoming`s proven reserves can be mined by in-situ methods, where other reserves (in other states) have to be mined by conventional means," Harris said. " So our production is more accessible and more environmentally friendly. And these will be the districts of the most interest." Harris, an industry veteran who will publish a memoir on the history of Wyoming`s uranium industry later this year, said interest in the metal is greater than he has seen in decades. " Just this year, I`ve had a lot of people in this office asking about Wyoming uranium," he said. In the past few months alone: -- Riverton-based US Energy Corp. announced it will reopen the Sheep Mountain mine near Jeffrey City. -- CAMECO announced it will expand uranium production at its Smith Ranch-Highland mine north of Douglas. -- COGEMA Inc. is restoring its Irigaray and Christensen mines near Kaycee. -- Canada-based Energy Metals Corp. acquired and plans to develop the Nine Mile Lake uranium deposit north of Casper. -- Canadian-based Tournigan Gold Corp. acquired uranium deposits in the Great Divide and Shirley basins. Uranium fever has even begun to sweep Wall Street, where two new uranium investment funds have emerged to immediate success, as the price of uranium has doubled in the last 18 months. Investment advice articles with titles such as " Why we are buying uranium stocks" have started to sprout up in the business press. It`s unlikely that the uranium mining industry in Wyoming would match the other extraction industries in dollars or jobs anytime soon. According to the Wyoming Mining Association`s Web site, in 2003 the uranium industry employed 120 workers in Wyoming, while coal production employed more than 4,700. Nevertheless, when all the effects on employment are tallied -- ranging from geologists to dump truck drivers -- the impact could still be substantial. " All the geologists are tied up right now," said Robert Odell of the Rocky Mountain Uranium Scout. Odell, who has been a Wyoming uranium geologist for more than 51 years, will present a history of Wyoming`s uranium industry at the Casper Symposium. " There are a lot of young companies trying to buy up land here and set up shop," he said. Some have wondered if Wyoming has enough uranium milling capacity to remain competitive -- uranium ore must be processed to produce uranium oxide, or " yellowcake" -- but Harris said milling problems are " happening all across the country" and Wyoming is no worse off than any other state. The ‘new` nuclear Charles Mason, a University of Wyoming professor of economics who wrote his dissertation on the uranium industry bust in 1983, explained that it is a slow-moving industry dependent on long-term forecasts and trends. " My impression is what`s driving the optimism is the expectation ... there will be a global, large-scale push into alternative kinds of power," Mason said. " We could be seeing a kind of sea change (in energy use), and if that happens it could really radicalize the market." The price of uranium plummeted in the 1980s, as nuclear power became politically unfavorable, while the price bubble of the `70s caused an excess supply. But in today`s world of global warming, nuclear energy is seen around the world as becoming once again in vogue. Electricity from nuclear reactors produces no carbon dioxide, and nuclear power advocates contend that troubles containing harmful radioactive waste and reactor meltdowns are problems of the past. President Bush recently called nuclear power " one of the safest, cleanest sources of power in the world," and nuclear power is even being heralded as " the new green energy" by a number of European environmental groups. " It`s kind of thrilling to know industrial nations are beginning to realize they can cut down on CO2, and still keep the industrial base," said Odell, echoing Mason`s assessment. " Uranium is here to stay. All the developing nations are trying to get to where we are, and we`re going to need all the power sources we can get. It`s such a cheap source of power." http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2005/06/26/news/bu… Man darf hier auf die weitere Entwicklung bei Tournigan gespannt sein! Erste Ressourcenschätzungen sollten sicherlich auch bald verfügbar sein! |
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| aus der Diskussion: | DIE AKTIE 2005 - TOURNIGAN GOLD COR |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | bodypainter (26.06.05 18:32:37) |
| Beitrag: | 62 von 246 (ID:17004140) |
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