Global Market Brief: The Uranium Race

Japan and China have been involved in a race to secure present and future uranium supplies, as they see nuclear power eventually playing a significant part in their energy mix. The United States and Europe, meanwhile, have lagged in this race, and as uranium prices rise it is getting harder to catch up. This issue is particularly important to Europe, which is looking to diversify its energy mix and sources and which has little uranium of its own to exploit; its nearest supply is in Africa and Central Asia, where Japan and China are already battling. While Europe has not been very active in locking down new raw uranium supplies, it still has something of an advantage, as it is a major uranium-processing center.