Uranium Investor Information Website: Click Here to Return to Main Page GoldSeek.com GoldReview.com MolySeek.com SilverSeek.com 
Advertise - Bookmark - Contact - - Update Page 
List Sign-Up
E-mail
Subscribe
Unsubscribe


 

Uranium and Lithium Demand Powers Stocks

By: The Energy Report and David Talbot



-- Posted Thursday, July 21 2011 | Digg This ArticleDigg It! |

Mining Analyst David A. Talbot remains bullish on uranium and sees growing demand for lithium. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, he tells us why he believes the nuclear plant building boom will continue worldwide despite the recent setback in Japan.

 

The Energy Report: Thank you for joining us today David. You last spoke with The Energy Report in late January about the uranium market and the nuclear industry. Two months later we had Fukushima. What is your analysis of the current state of affairs with nuclear and uranium?

David Talbot: We remain bullish on the spot price of uranium. In January, we said it was all about uranium demand and it largely still is. The demand picture hasn't really changed as much as the general media portrays. We might see uranium demand decline about 5% to 10% from where we predicted, by about 2020. But, we still expect about 240 to 280 million pounds (Mlb.) of demand per year by then, which is really about an increase of 30% to 55% from here.

Worldwide, 440 reactors are in operation, 61 under construction and 154 planned. Most of the sentiment over the past several months was driven by emotion and fear and reaction to what is being shown on the news rather than reason. Take Germany, Switzerland and Italy for example. Much of the mainstream media portrays Germany's anti-nuclear stance as the death knell for the industry. People don't understand that as recently as last September, Germany was preparing to get out of the nuclear power industry and did a sudden about face at that time by extending the deadline.

Looking at the numbers, the effect of Germany's shutdown won't be as bad as most think, either. Germany's 17 reactors only use 5% of current demand. This was expected to decline to about 3% by 2020. Switzerland only has five reactors and 1.4 Mlb. of annual requirements. That's less than 1% of world uranium demand. Italy, no reactors, none under construction, none planned. We do believe there will be cancellations and delays, but many of those countries were either on the fence to begin with or really just have smaller nuclear programs.

China, India and Russia alone account for about 50% of the new reactor build and they're all on board. India just announced that its new liability laws are due by the end of the month. This will likely kick start the nuclear build in that country. Saudi Arabia had 16 proposed reactors, which was a pleasant surprise in the land of big oil. That news essentially negated Germany's news in the long-term. Plus, strong support out of the United Arab Emirates and the announcement of new build in the U.K. were positive signs.

TER: Are there really any viable alternatives to nuclear?

DT: Not when it comes to a green alternative. Coal and oil definitely have their environmental drawbacks, even with scrubbers. So does natural gas even though it's currently favored by the green movement. The other alternatives just can't handle base load like nuclear.

TER: So what do you predict for the uranium market in the coming year or two?

DT: I believe supply is more of an issue today than it might have been about six months ago. Development companies need higher prices to make their projects economic and attract the investment they require. Without higher prices we likely won't see a lot of the new mine build that is being forecasted.

We forecast uranium prices between $65 and $75/lb. over the next couple of years, particularly as the HEU Agreement (Highly Enriched Uranium), or the down-blending of Russian nukes goes offline in 2013. Spot prices should strengthen later this year from $53.75/lb. right now. Uranium's term price is still at $68/lb. according to Ux Consulting, which publishes world nuclear fuel prices. It's only off about 7% since March 11th, which is telling us that the utilities are still buying. That's really the price that we should be watching rather than the spot price.

Uranium stocks sometimes lead the uranium price. We saw that during the last cycle and we're starting to see some of that again with stocks that sold off too far and are now bouncing back. The developers and the smaller stocks should rebound a bit more quickly than some of the larger caps or producers. It may take some time to get the general investors back into the sector in any meaningful way, although lately, and much to our surprise, we have noticed that many who got into the space in November 2010 after the AREVA-China contracting news are still kicking the tires on the sector. In the meantime, some resource funds may come in and target smaller companies with potential for substantial capital gains but they'll likely target the better companies first.

TER: What do you think the prospects are for a lot of these smaller companies that are out there looking for uranium? How feasible are these prospects?

DT: I think that investors are now entering the small cap companies with good projects, but some of those microcap stocks haven't started to move yet. Therein is the opportunity.

TER: Another area that you've been quite hot on is lithium. That's become a popular metal here in the last several years as the electric automobile business has taken off and lithium batteries are being used in all sorts of applications. Can you give us a review of that general market and what's going to happen there?

DT: Certainly. I believe the lithium industry is fairly concentrated. About 80% of world production is in the hands of the four largest lithium companies. World production is now roughly 120,000 tons per annum (tpa) of lithium carbonate equivalent. Actual capacity is closer to 180,000 tpa. New projects scheduled to come online in the next few years could perhaps add another 100,000 tpa. As expected in any fledgling industry, technical and permitting challenges could result in postponements. So, we might see some of those newer projects encounter a little bit of difficulty getting off the ground. Lithium carbonate demand appears to be growing somewhere between 7% and 15% annually. By 2020, lithium carbonate demand might reach as high as 240,000-270,000 tpa. If electric vehicle penetration picks up as expected, primarily in Asia or China, we could see a true renaissance that might help keep up with the potential production coming online.

TER: Is there potentially more supply than there is demand?

DT: I really think that remains to be seen, but there is that risk. China right now has about 100,000 electric vehicles and the country is striving for about one million by 2012 with 5 to 10 million by 2020. It has programs that urge first-time buyers to purchase electric vehicles of all kinds—cars, motorcycles, mopeds or e-bikes. We definitely see electric vehicle use increasing in China. So, it comes down to how well a retail product is adopted by the masses. We do think it will be adopted, but to what extent? We're not quite sure. Outside of Asia, a lot of hype is going on in Europe and North America. No one knows how quickly people in those countries will adopt new electric vehicles.

TER: How does potential demand affect the price of lithium or is that a contract market worked out by suppliers and buyers?

DT: Yes. Lithium prices are based on really long-term contract pricing between the buyers and the sellers and well disseminated to the public. However, the general consensus is that prices weakened around the financial collapse and really have just started recovering in the last few months. Prices right now are bouncing around $5,000/ton of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). Recent announcements by two of the four large producers indicated their prices are going up by about 20% starting in July to over $6,000/ton. We use about $5,500/ton LCE for our forecast, which really is at the lower end of some of the studies out there and possibly below where a couple of the large producers are selling.

TER: Do you see any technological developments on the horizon that could significantly impact the lithium market, either negatively or positively?

DT: I think most of the technical advancements are going to be positive. The term "lithium-ion battery" actually comprises a range of battery designs. Many of them are still experimental and research is underway. But really, designers are looking to improve lithium's already high-energy density, take advantage of its ability to hold a charge and its lack of memory effect that allows it to recharge over and over again. But failure to reduce costs while maintaining and improving safety and durability could hamper growth prospects for electric vehicles. That would be a negative for the industry in general. Now, beyond vehicle applications, we may start seeing some lithium batteries being used for large-scale electrical storage. Single batteries storing dozens of megawatts might power a small town or factory. That application could potentially drive demand further.

TER: Is there any competing technology on the horizon that could knock lithium out of the market at some point?

DT: Not when it comes to the smaller applications. Lithium is pretty light. It's ideal for use in iPods and laptops. And because it's light, I think it'll be used more in vehicles. When it comes to long-term storage applications, vanadium could be substituted.

TER: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to leave with our readers?

DT: To summarize, we're bullish on the prospects for the uranium sector. Because of the undeniable long-term demand, we are on course for a uranium shortage by the year 2014. We expect that uranium prices will begin to reflect that situation. Beyond that, we do see a little bit of a rally here in the uranium stocks. We think that they are definitely undervalued. And, we've seen some pretty good news lately. The U.K. is expanding its fleet of reactors, which is a very positive signal to the market, and the Indian nuclear build is finally getting its own kickstart.

In the lithium space, we're optimistic demand will continue to increase in the manufacturing of greases, glass and ceramics. But we really think it will explode in the lithium-ion battery segment where small batteries, laptops and iPods will be joined by growth in electric vehicle and large-storage batteries. We will keep an eye on supply over the next few years.

TER: So, as far as you're concerned, things generally look pretty positive and this looks like a good time for people to be buying. Is that right?

DT: Absolutely.

TER: Well, thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule. I'm sure that our readers will find this all very interesting and hopefully, useful.

DT: I appreciate the conversation.

Dundee Securities Senior Mining Analyst David Talbot worked for nine years as a geologist in the gold exploration industry in Northern Ontario. His field experience included three years with Placer Dome and six years managing projects for Franco-Nevada Corp. and its successor, Newmont Capital. David joined Dundee's research department in May 2003; in the summer of 2007 he took over the role of analyzing the fast-growing uranium sector, and has since launched the lithium sector. David is a member of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, the Society of Economic Geologists and graduated with distinction from the University of Western Ontario with an Honours B.Sc. degree in geology.

David Talbot has visited certain material operations of the following issuer(s): Hathor Exploration Ltd., Nemaska Exploration Inc., Rockgate Capital Corp., Rodinia Lithium Inc., and UEX Corp.

David Talbot and/or Dundee Securities Ltd. has been partially reimbursed for expenses by the following issuer(s) for travel to material operations of the issuer(s): Hathor Exploration Ltd., Nemaska Exploration Inc., Rockgate Capital Corp., Rodinia Lithium Inc., and UEX Corp.

Dundee Securities Ltd. has provided investment banking services to Rockgate Capital Corp., Hathor Exploration Ltd., UEX Corp., Rodinia Lithium Inc., and Nemaska Exploration Inc. in the past 12 months.

Dundee Securities Ltd. and/or its affiliates, in the aggregate, own and/or exercise control and direction over greater than 10% of a class of equity securities issued by Rockgate Capital Corp.

Garth MacRae, a director of Dundee Capital Markets Inc., Dundee Corp., DundeeWealth and Dundee Precious Metals Inc., is a director of Uranium Participation Corp.

Streetwise – The Energy Report is Copyright © 2011 by Streetwise Reports LLC. All rights are reserved. Streetwise Reports LLC hereby grants an unrestricted license to use or disseminate this copyrighted material (i) only in whole (and always including this disclaimer), but (ii) never in part.

The Energy Report does not render general or specific investment advice and does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any industry or company mentioned in this report.

From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its  directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned and may make purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise.

Streetwise Reports LLC does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported.

Streetwise Reports LLC receives a fee from companies that are listed on the home page in the In This Issue section. Their sponsor pages may be considered advertising for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. 1734.

Participating companies provide the logos used in The Energy Report. These logos are trademarks and are the property of the individual companies.


-- Posted Thursday, July 21 2011 | Digg This ArticleDigg It! |



© UraniumSeek.com, Gold Seek LLC
The content on this site is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws and is the property of UraniumSeek.com and/or the providers of the content under license. By "content" we mean any information, mode of expression, or other materials and services found on UraniumSeek.com. This includes editorials, news, our writings, graphics, and any and all other features found on the site. Please contact us for any further information.


Disclaimer
The views contained here may not represent the views of UraniumSeek.com, its affiliates or advertisers. UraniumSeek.com makes no representation, warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy or completeness of the information (including news, editorials, prices, statistics, analyses and the like) provided through its service. Any copying, reproduction and/or redistribution of any of the documents, data, content or materials contained on or within this website, without the express written consent of UraniumSeek.com, is strictly prohibited. In no event shall UraniumSeek.com or its affiliates be liable to any person for any decision made or action taken in reliance upon the information provided herein.