Canada Will Supply Uranium to India's Nuclear Renaissance

India expects to have 12 new reactors running by 2020, consuming an extra 1,500 tonnes of uranium per year. Other projects are expected, making India’s civilian nuclear sector worth $25-billion to $50-billion over the next 20 years. Dr. Chaitanyamoy Ganguly, the President of the small Indian division of Cameco (TSX: CCO), the world’s largest uranium miner, said Canada could soon be exporting 2,000 tonnes of uranium to India annually. Canada has some natural competitive advantages over other countries in the Indian market because many of India’s reactors are already based on Canadian CANDU technology and because Australia has refused to sell uranium until India signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. India has also signed civil nuclear cooperation agreements with the USA, Russia, France, UK, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Namibia. _UraniumInvestNews

The deal with Canada also includes co-operation in the fields of nuclear waste management and radiation safety.

"The Civil Nuclear Co-operation Agreement that we have signed breaks new ground in the history of our co-operation in this very important sector," Mr Singh told reporters at the signing ceremony with his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper, in Toronto.

"It reflects the change in international realities and will open new doors for mutually beneficial co-operation in nuclear energy," he added.

The contribution of nuclear energy is expected to rise from a mere 3% today as India embarks on a substantial expansion of nuclear power reactors over the next few decades.

Coal still accounts for more than 50% of India's energy use.

The agreement marks a turning point for Canada, which stopped nuclear co-operation with India in 1974 after India used plutonium from a Canadian reactor to build an atomic bomb.

India's nuclear isolation ended after it signed a landmark agreement with the US in October 2008. _BBC

India is currently holding nuclear talks with Japan, with the aim of importing Japanese nuclear technology. If India's economic expansion is not to die in its infancy, it will need a lot of energy for commerce, industry, and civil infrastructure.

In that regard, much of Asia is united in seeing the need for a rapid expansion of nuclear energy.

Uranium Prices

The uranium market has continued to demonstrate limited activity over the short term with spot prices unchanged at $40.75 per pound. The demand side has been described as discretionary and lackluster at best with two transactions reported, although they had previously been negotiated. The price spread between willing buyers and willing sellers continues to narrow with only $0.50-$0.75 now separating the two and activity at a virtual stalemate.

Conferences

This week presents industry stakeholders with 2 unique opportunities for a comprehensive outlook on the nuclear power market. A small modular reactor conference is scheduled for June 28 and 29 in Washington, focusing specifically on the issues related to the development and licensing in the U.S. Overlapping this conference in London will be the 5th Annual European Nuclear Power conference providing attendees with a comprehensive outlook of the European nuclear power market, highlighting opportunities and debating the challenges faced.

Fears surrounding security of supply, fossil fuel price volatility and increasingly tighter climate change goals at the international level are being manifested in a global resurgence of nuclear power. If aging infrastructure remains neglected, it is widely predicted that demand will outstrip supply long-term. The ability to create a stable and significant clean energy has firmly placed nuclear power back on the table for policy makers and utilities alike. For uranium investors these conferences should inspire actions and intentions which can have direct implications on uranium price targets and supply demand fundamentals. _UraninumInvestingNews

The absurd anti-nuclear faux environmentalist deadlock cannot continue indefinitely. When the western world finally wakens out of its suicidal daze, demand for fissile and fertile fuels will skyrocket.