Live from the Zurich Precious Metals conference, I speak with Scott Melbye, the Executive Vice President of Uranium Energy Corp. It's an exciting time for the uranium industry.
Melbye stated that the long-lasting bear market that uranium investors endured has finally come to an end:
"Obviously at this conference and more broadly, uranium investors are very happy these days and for good reason. The long prolonged bear market, that uranium investors had to persevere in, has really come to an end and we see nuclear gaining product acceptance amongst policymakers around the world.
Nuclear power growth is likely to double within the next 15 years and we have a very structural deficit on uranium production and I know that comes as a shock to many people because all we've been hearing is "oversupply, overproduction." You know the market was characterized by inventories and oversupply and now we're truly transitioning to a market that needs new production."
Melbye explains further:
"We don't have the inventories around anymore that will buffer the price increase. It's not surprising [that] uranium's up 300% from the 2016 low but has a ways to go. I mean we're at $74 a pound today, which is beginning to get into the incentive price level for better mines, like our operations in Wyoming in Texas. But we need a lot more mines like that, probably 8 to 10 more mines like that to balance the market in the coming years."
As the uranium industry experiences a resurgence, investors and stakeholders alike are optimistic about the opportunities ahead.
The shift in market sentiment and the projected growth in nuclear power underline the sector's potential for substantial development in the foreseeable future.
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