SILEX Systems (ASX:SLX), a uranium stock more interested in the refining of uranium and downstream applications than mining it, has jumped +13% on Wednesday as uranium stocks on the whole continue to enjoy a risk-on week after the U.S. government announced, more or less, it was seeking to expand its strategic uranium reserve – ultimately implying the uranium market may be about to see demand outpace supply, though for now, that’s a known unknown.
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What isn’t unknown is that SILEX reports it’s completed ‘large-scale’ uranium enrichment using lasers successfully – or at least, its U.S. partner Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), which holds the licence to the former’s tech, has done so – with an end outcome that SILEX says points towards viable commerciality.
The climb on Wednesday follows Deep Yellow and Boss Energy respectively ending among the top gainer stocks this week. For its part, SILEX says it will produce “hundreds of kilograms” of Low Enriched Uranium before EOY, “to support deployment of US domestic enrichment capacity.”
That, obviously, ties in with the U.S. gov’t’s domestic capacity push when it comes to all critical industries and thus resource projects, especially defence.
And when it comes to the U.S. gov’t, SILEX was saying all the right things on Wednesday morning. “GLE’s commercial deployment is backed by over US$550 million in engineering, design, manufacturing, and licensing investments to date across North Carolina and Kentucky,” the company wrote.
“The planned Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF) in Kentucky is the only new enrichment facility currently under licence application review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).” Making matters more compelling, perhaps, is that the company’s doesn’t need to bother worrying about the costs of mining uranium or buying feedstock – the company is actually treating depleted uranium tails acquired from the U.S. Department of Energy.
But for now, the company still needs a feasibility study. “Subject to various factors, including industry and government support, a feasibility assessment for… SILEX uranium enrichment technology” could further support investor conviction down the line.
SLX last traded at $4.81/sh.
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