Entering a new era

摘要

The most notable recent I change in the uranium I market has been the doubling of the spot market price since mid-2001, with approximately three-quarters of the increase occurring during the past year. The causes of the increase have been a series of events ranging from a fire in an Australian uranium processing facility to a flood at a Canadian mine; the commercial supply dispute between two Russian entities that resulted in a uranium supply interruption to a significant number of mostly US utilities; the more than half a year interruption of production at the only American uranium hexafluoride (UFg) conversion services production plant; and the realisation by the industry that the domestic and international nuclear fuel cycle front end is very vulnerable to supply interruption, In addition, there has been an industry-wide realisation that even with substantial and varied stocks of already-mined uranium (AMU) currently identifiable supply may be unable to meet requirements by the end of this decade.