The vast majority of natural uranium supplied to the European Union last year came from overseas and Canada was a top contributor, according to new data from the Euratom Supply Agency.
The organization, which monitors supply and demand of uranium in the member states, released a report on Oct. 13 detailing how over 91 per cent of natural uranium supplied to the EU in 2022 came from Kazakhstan (26.8 per cent), Niger (25.4 per cent), Canada (22 per cent) and Russia (16.9 per cent). Uranium deliveries from Canada increased by about 50 per cent last year.
The report says that Uzbekistan, Russia and Kazakhstan accounted for approximately 47.5 per cent of uranium supplied to EU utilities last year. Uzbekistan nearly tripled its exports to EU member states last year, but only accounted for 3.75 per cent of the total.
It is also notable that exports from Australia dropped dramatically in comparison to 2021 by about 82 per cent. Euratom says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine played a major role in jeopardizing the supply chain of nuclear materials and that the EU has been trying to phase out its reliance on Russia as a result.
The percentage of uranium supplied to the EU from Russia last year dropped by approximately 16 per cent compared to the previous year.
Read more: ATHA Energy performs largest multi-platform EM survey in the history of the Athabasca Basin
Certain Canadian companies have been making strides in recent days that will further increase the nation’s influence in the uranium market.
Vancouver-based ATHA Energy Corp. (CSE: SASK) (FRA: X5U) (OTCQB: SASKF) is an early stage company positioning itself to become a major uranium supplier in the country and capitalizing on the rising demand for the commodity and nuclear energy globally.
The exploration company has the largest land package in Saskatchewan and Alberta’s Athabasca Basin, spanning a vast area of 3.4 million acres. The Basin is one of the world’s most abundant, underexplored and highest-grade uranium mining jurisdictions in the world.
ATHA is well-funded, currently having a cash balance of $25 million. The rising price of uranium is another factor that will potentially contribute to the company’s successful exploration and development endeavours going forward as well, making ATHA an increasingly attractive investment.
Currently, ATHA’s stock is trading for $1.09 on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The company has 126.6 million basic outstanding shares.
ATHA Energy is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
rowan@mugglehead.com
