Yesterday history was made for the US #Uranium industry as the US Congress allocated $2.7 Billion to fund the recently enacted '#Nuclear Fuel Security Act' its largest cash infusion to US Uranium in decades. Today I sent off a note to several Wall Street investing gurus to make sure that they're aware of this monumental moment for the US uranium industry. If U are interested, here is what I sent them:
"Dropping you a quick note to bring your attention to a significant development that took place yesterday for the US Uranium industry.
Senate passage of the first 6-bill appropriations package last night included a long-awaited $2.7 Billion allocation to fund provisions in the Nuclear Fuel Security Act (NFSA) that was signed into law in December as part of the NDAA H.R. 2670 (SEC. 3131- Public Law No: 118-31)https://energy.senate.gov/2023/12/barrasso-hails-broad-support-for-bipartisan-nuclear-fuel-security-acthttps://congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2670/text
There are a number of significant aspects to this funding allocation that now come into play.
First and foremost the NFSA is intended to boost domestic US production of enriched Uranium in 2 primary forms to end reliance on imports from Russia.. Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) to provide fuel for the existing US reactor fleet; and High Assay LEU (HALEU) for advanced reactors progressing towards initial deployment in the US where the only source available thus far has been from Russia (which has delayed Bill Gates’ Terrapower Natrium reactor project in Wyoming by 2 years).
The NFSA also reactivates the US strategic ‘Uranium Reserve’ program that has been added to the expanded ‘American Assured Fuel Supply Program’ aimed at providing an emergency stockpile of uranium fuel in case of disruption to supply such as a ban of uranium exports from Russia to the US, while boosting domestic uranium production by US miners (which has been near zero for the past 5 years while the US nuclear reactor fleet consumes nearly 50 Million pounds every year).https://eia.gov/uranium/production/quarterly/
In 2020 Congress established the strategic Uranium Reserve as a 10-year $1.5 Billion DOE program, but only $75M was initially allocated to the program due to Democrat pushback. In December 2022, DOE awarded 5 contracts to acquire US-mined drummed yellowcake U3O8 from 5 US miners – Uranium Energy Corp, enCore Energy, Peninsula Energy, Ur-Energy and Energy Fuels – for a total of 1.1 Million lbs of direct purchases from miners. The program then went into hibernation due to lack of funding. Last night’s passage of $2.7 Billion NFSA funding brings the Uranium Reserve program back into action.The other, perhaps most significant aspect to the passage of this $2.7 Billion funding to boost US uranium fuel production is its relationship to final Senate passage of the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (H.R. 1042) that was passed by the House in December. In a recent Reuters interview, Dr. Katy Huff of DOE Nuclear made the point that the NFSA funding is paired with the H.R. 1042 ban on uranium imports from Russia as passed by the House "because funding alone on its own would be exposed to this [uranium] market where other cheaper options like from Russia will continue to exist. So both an import restriction and supportive funding are needed." Senate passage of NFSA funding to replace Russian imports with US domestic production now paves the way for the Senate to vote to pass the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act that was unable to get fast-tracked due to Senator Ted Cruz blocking unanimous consent. Ted Cruz says he supports the ban which is expected to receive near-unanimous Senate passage.
So, not only has the US Uranium industry finally received a long-awaited and essential $2.7B funding boost to get domestic production of mined and enriched uranium back on track to reduce dependence on foreign imports that currently provide essentially 100% of US reactor fuel requirements, it facilitates the legislative enactment of a bipartisan fully-supported ban on Russian imports that will eventually put an end to US backdoor funding of Putin’s war on Ukraine.
Will Putin retaliate with a pre-emptive strike that blocks all exports of Russian uranium to the US? Time will tell… but in the meantime US miners of the key fuel that powers 20% of US electricity and nearly 50% of US low-carbon energy are receiving a major boost to their operations which, over time, should be reflected in their share prices. Enactment of a US or Russian ban on imports/exports of uranium is likely to trigger a significant upside move in the price of uranium in the days and weeks ahead. Position your portfolio accordingly
Good luck with your research and investments in these historic times for #Uranium and #Nuclear #energy
SLX Price at posting:
$4.98 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)
