en.Wedoany.com Reported - At the AFR Mining Summit in Perth, nuclear energy and uranium demand became hot topics, despite not being on the formal agenda. In her opening keynote address, BlackRock portfolio manager Olivia Markham stated that the war in Iran and the resulting energy crisis would only strengthen the case for nuclear energy and uranium. Cerutty Macro Fund founder Chris Judd echoed similar sentiments, noting that the capital expenditure on data centers and the energy demands of artificial intelligence are incredible, with nuclear power and uranium playing a significant role. Over time, countries embracing nuclear power will clearly see the economic advantages of stable baseload electricity.
Chris Judd believes small modular reactors (SMRs) could be a game-changer for the U.S. power generation sector. He argued that if AI is existential for determining which superpower dominates the next 100 years, and China currently generates twice the electricity of the U.S., then restricting China's access to chips makes sense. He sees solving the U.S. power generation issue not just as an economic problem but as a national security concern, with uranium and SMRs being a logical path to bridge the electricity generation gap between the U.S. and China.
Judd pointed out difficulties in bringing new uranium supply online, noting that any new developer is far from reaching nameplate capacity. About 50% of the market is held by Kazatomprom and Cameco. Kazatomprom already has serious issues with sulfuric acid, and the situation could worsen; Cameco has hedged a large amount of uranium and is buying in the spot market. Even with NexGen Energy (ASX:NXG) and other developers coming online, he is skeptical about their ability to reach nameplate capacity, predicting a structural shortage in uranium pound sales lasting 10 years or more.
Morgans analyst Chris Creech agreed, stating in a recent report that the uranium market has shifted to being structurally constrained. Two decades of low prices have depleted supply, leaving the industry lacking capital, development-ready projects, and spare capacity, while reactor demand is beginning to accelerate. He believes this cycle is fundamentally different from previous ones, which were driven by sentiment and temporary supply distortions. Today's rally is fueled by forces harder to reverse: structural supply shortages, geopolitical reshaping of the nuclear fuel chain, and a surge in demand with no reliable non-nuclear alternatives. Morgans has initiated coverage on existing producers Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) with Buy and Accumulate ratings, respectively, and a Buy rating on Canadian major developer NexGen Energy. In May, analysts also began covering several emerging developers.
Argonaut analyst Jon Scholtz initiated coverage on Alligator Energy (ASX:AGE) with a Speculative Buy rating and a A$0.07 price target. Alligator is developing the Samphire uranium project in South Australia. Last month, it completed the first well pattern as part of a field recovery trial, achieving a 70% recovery rate after 70 pore volume exchanges. In pumping tests, extraction well flow rates exceeded 5 liters per second, surpassing typical global in-situ recovery well flow rates; the average uranium grade in solution within the trial pattern was 115 ppm, exceeding the scoping study assumption. Scholtz stated that the successful field recovery trial and pilot plant have de-risked the project technically and economically, paving the way for production, which is expected to commence in 2031. Significant exploration potential remains around Samphire, with upside to the current 18 million pound resource estimate, providing upside to the base case of approximately 1-1.2 million pounds per year at a cost of US$33.31 per pound over a 12-year production life.
Shaw and Partners Head of Research Andrew Hines recently initiated coverage on Atomic Eagle (ASX:AEU) with a Buy rating and a A$1.40 price target. The company owns the advanced Muntanga project in Zambia. The latest feasibility study, completed in March 2025, outlined a 12-year operation producing 2.2 million pounds per year, with a capital cost of US$282 million and an operating cost of US$32 per pound. The study's feed was limited to measured and indicated resources from the Muntanga and Dibbwi East deposits and does not fully reflect the project's potential scale. Atomic Eagle launched a 30,000-meter exploration program in April, aiming to double the current 58.8 million pound resource and expand future operations to 4-5 million pounds per year. Initial results from the 9.7 million pound Chisebuka target included 12.7 meters grading 673 ppm eU3O8 from 18 meters depth. The results confirmed the extension of the Chisebuka target, which may now reach approximately 15 million pounds, making it a convenient satellite deposit to the main Muntanga and Dibbwi East deposits. The company also secured an option over the Sitwe project, which is on strike with the Kayelekera mine, increasing its landholding in Zambia by 38%.
Argonaut's Scholtz initiated coverage on earlier-stage but well-funded explorer DevEx Resources (ASX:DEV) with a Speculative Buy rating and a A$0.45 price target. Under the leadership of Chairman Tim Goyder and Managing Director Marnie Finlayson, DevEx is preparing for aggressive exploration advancement in the McArthur River Basin in the Northern Territory, as part of its long-term goal of a 10 million pound per year uranium operation. The region hosts other major uranium deposits, Ranger and Jabiluka, and is prospective for unconformity-related deposits. The only other region with potential for unconformity-related uranium deposits is the Athabasca Basin in Canada. DevEx has consolidated a significant landholding in the northwest (Nabarlek) and southeast (Murphy West) of the basin and will commence extensive exploration activities shortly, with A$36.7 million in cash, providing ample funding. Argonaut has set an initial exploration target of 40 million pounds, comprising 25 million pounds at Nabarlek and 15 million pounds at Murphy West. This target is considered reasonable given the ~33 million pound resource at Angularli, resources exceeding 300 million pounds at both Jabiluka and Ranger, and the previous production of ~24 million pounds at Nabarlek.
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