News: Paladin Energy Q1 production dips , page-17

I think you hit the nail on the head..
average was the key word

as for selling at spot...since when does pdn sell on the spot market....they have enough contract buyers to keep them going without dealing with the artificial spot market....

the spot market is not a very convincing barometer for measuring what uranium fetches in the real world.....

i did notice the lower av price but also noticed lower sales figure...as they are holding back inventory to fill contracts for the dec qtr....

time will tell...

the overall market for everything is basically on a knifes edge......but the good news is that there has been a huge cash outflow from china both legal and legal...and its doing what the pioneers did...
they are hearing the call..GO WEST GO WEST...

SO they are investing these funds in the west..a big worry for the Chinese Govt....for now....good for the west as it starts to re-balance the ledger......

just so long as they new potential uranium miners get squeezed to the point the can't develop ..then existing producers will fare very well as new nuclear plants come on line and as uranium inventories become depleted.....then prices will rise...but too late for potential start ups....

Pdn will plug along...another US$150 mill to come in jan 2013 on top of the already paid US$50 mill ...the 2013 bonds are covered....the cash at the bank more than sufficient to tide them over...plus then we will have to consider..the unknown....
the margin for sales in the dec qtr and subsequent qtrs....

will the cost price be above or below the sales price...

Pdn seem to be leaving a lot out of the reports....actual production costs of late and only tossing out the av sales price.....but it was low grade ore..and they did have a shut down period......maybe just cleaning up the back yard.....
mining cost may have already been factored in....previously...too little detail to say one way or the other......

just so long as new miner are held back from developing mines...then a shortage will come....and the price will rise...its not a short term thing......but the nuclear industry is not short term...they are long termers..and they want to lock up supply now and WILL SUPPORT A RELIABLE SUPPLIER..its in their long term interests.....