Noted in Passing: Supply Hitches, Demand to Power Uranium Prices

Uranium, a silvery white metallic element used as the basic fuel for nuclear power, is trading at $93 per pound on the spot market this week, compared with just $7 in 2000.  . . .

Nuclear now accounts for 16 percent of the world's energy consumption electricity generated and this share is likely to increase if reactor building firms such as Westinghouse meet their order books.  . . .

A total of 439 reactors are now operating, while another 33 are under construction, 94 are planned (mostly expected to be in operation within eight years) and 222 more are proposed, according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA) web site.  . . . more

Comments

[David]

Should read, 16% of electricity is generated with nuclear, not 16% of total energy. Big difference.

[G.R.L. Cowan, hydrogen-to-boron convert]

Noted in passing: a uranium-tonne-equivalent in natural gas costs $4 million, in petroleum, $9.4 million.

A tonne of the real thing, $240,000. Australia's uranium miners' routine drilling of test holes at existing mines has increased their economically demonstrated resources -- minable for $80,000 a tonne or less -- at a rate this year of 270,000 tonnes per year. The whole world's petroleum burn rate is 300,000 uranium-tonne-equivalents per year.

[bigTom]

I'm not going to lose sleep worrying about the Uranium supply. Fuel cost is a small enough part of the cost of N-power. Priceier Uranium might lead to exploration of better fuel cycles (reprocessing and/or Thorium for instance), so it could be a good thing.

[Alex De MAida]

Current uranium price, about 200 $ per kg, corresponds grossly to 2 $ per oil barrel equivalent, so very few % in nuclear electricity costs. Moreover, with thorium and breeders, nuclear is pratically renewable on a human scale, more than 1 millions years of resources at current world electricity (not energy, you're right) needs

[Ross]

The big costs with Nuclear power are plant and plant maintenance costs. The fuel, even including the cost of initial processing, is insignificant compared to the facility costs. And just to repeat what other people have said: with Uranium and Thorium breeding, we've got thousands of years of power at current growth rates. There are beaches in Kerala, India with enough thorium in the sand underneath tourists' butts to power the planet for several centuries.