Cost deflation renders the majority of uranium mines cash positive in 2015
The key drivers of this cost deflation were:
Currency depreciation - 2015 saw falls, against the US Dollar, in the Russian Ruble (59%), the Kazakhstani Tenge (29%), the Australian Dollar (20%), the Euro (20%), the Namibian Dollar (20%) and the Canadian Dollar (16%). These substantial depreciations in major uranium-producing countries effectively offset rising local input costs at most mines.
Productivity improvements - 3 years of squeezed profitability since the Fukushima disaster brought productivity and innovation back onto the agenda of uranium miners and productivity programmes have already born fruit. For example, the launch of the Bicarbonate Recovery Plant (BRP) at Langer Heinrich in Namibia cut reagents consumption, while Ranger in Australia implemented a change in staff rosters to improve productivity.
Fall in sulphuric acid prices - prices fell by an average of 20% y/y in 2015 compared with the average price of the previous 4 years. Furthermore, the fall in diesel prices cut acid logistics costs, favouring mines in remote locations for which logistics account for a larger share of mine-gate acid costs.
this article may also prompt the question why was four mile east the first deposit to be mined instead of the higher grade four mile west deposit?
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