Currently, the price for uranium investments clearly shows an upward trend. Small investors in particular seem to be betting on a revival of nuclear power at the moment. In August and September, for example, a veritable rally was observed in the price of uranium futures, and the shares of uranium companies also shot up.
The idea behind this is that constant energy security can only be reconciled with climate protection if nuclear power makes a comeback and is used more in the future. However, the raw material uranium, which is essential for nuclear power, is also only available in limited quantities, so those who are now betting on uranium investments are also hoping for a shortage of the raw material.
The uranium fans among the small investors have corresponding role models and authorities for their theory, including Bill Gates. The Microsoft founder has been preaching for years that more nuclear power is necessary to avert a climate catastrophe. So the question is whether there can actually be a shortage of uranium as a raw material.
How rare is the raw material uranium?
Again and again, one hears the most varied forecasts about the world’s uranium deposits. Sometimes it is said that the deposits will only last for 50 years, while other times 200 years are assumed.
The fact is, of course, that uranium, like any other natural resource, is only available in limited quantities. Based on today’s demand and technology, the world’s uranium reserves will actually only last for about 20 years. However, these are only the “static reserves”. However, according to expert calculations, the “dynamic resources” will last for at least another 130 years.
Of course, an increase in uranium demand must be taken into account if nuclear power is indeed further expanded in the coming years. However, if technical progress in uranium extraction and the use of the raw material to generate nuclear power are taken into account, experts believe that the price of uranium will not increase in the foreseeable future in the long term.
The largest uranium producers
Compared to other important raw materials, such as oil, uranium deposits can be found all over the world. Uranium ore is mined on a large scale mainly in Australia, South Africa, Russia, the USA, Canada and Namibia.
There are also uranium deposits in Germany. The largest deposit is located in the southern Black Forest. But there were also large mining areas in eastern Thuringia and the Ore Mountains. In 1990, the then GDR was even the fourth largest mining country in the world. However, no uranium has been mined in Germany since June 2021.
By far the largest uranium producer is the Kazakh mining company Kazatomprom, with a market share of 22 percent. The French Orano Group and the Canadian Uranium One Group are the second and third largest uranium producers, each with a market share of 9 percent.
