Australia’s uranium stocks were in the red last week after the chief of the country’s energy grid, Daniel Westerman, said nuclear would not be part of its future energy mix.
“We need to decarbonise our own portfolio. Our coal will close by no later than 2035, so we haven’t got time to wait for nuclear to be there,” said Westerman, speaking at the Australian Clean Energy Summit 2024 on 16 July.
However, opposition leader Peter Dutton believes that nuclear energy is key to powering the country’s future. He has pledged that the Coalition will build seven nuclear power plants as early as 2035 if elected next year, arguing that the current government’s preference for renewables isn’t feasible.
Dutton’s plan has attracted criticism. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has calculated that building a 1,000MW nuclear plant would require investment of $8.6bn. Even then, “this capital cost can only be achieved if Australia commits to a continuous building programme and only after an initial higher cost unit is constructed”.
A CSIRO report published in May warned that capital costs could potentially be double for “first-of-a-kind” technologies. Australia doesn’t have a nuclear power industry and nuclear energy production has been banned since 1998.
If nuclear energy were to become part of Australia’s energy mix, this could give a boost to ASX-listed uranium stocks. On the flip side, if nuclear were to remain banned, then this could weigh negatively on those uranium stocks that have mining projects in the country.
Here are five uranium stocks to keep an eye on. Download the OPTO app today to discover more stocks to invest in.
Five Top Uranium Stocks to Watch in July
| TICKER | COMPANY NAME | MARKET CAP | YEAR-TO-DATE (AS OF 19 JULY) | P/S RATIO |
| PALAF | Paladin Energy | $2.54bn | -7.3% | 5.49 |
| AUEEF | Aura Energy | $71.77m | -35% | N/A |
| LTDRF | Lotus Resources | $439.49m | 19.4% | N/A |
| TOEYF | Toro Energy | $38.14m | -15.2% | N/a |
| ALGEF | Alligator Energy | $154.79m | 11.1% |
Lotus Resources [LTSRF]
Lotus plans to restart its Malawi project by the end of next year.
Why invest in LTSRF?
CEO Keith Bowes believes Dutton’s proposed nuclear energy policy can only be a positive thing for ASX-listed uranium stocks and investors. The uranium producer’s primary project, which it acquired from Paladin in 2020, is in Malawi. It was shut down for economic reasons in 2014, but Lotus is pushing to restart it in late 2025. Speaking to Sky News Australia earlier this month, Bowes said that doing business in Africa isn’t any riskier than in Australia, but requires a bit more patience, adding that African governments are “generally very, very supportive of the mining industry”.
Aura Energy [AUEEF]
Aura is moving closer to building a mine in Mauritania.
Why invest in AUEEF?
The Mauritanian government has signed off the last outstanding permit to allow the construction of the miner’s Tiris project. The mine is expected to have a 17-year lifespan, over which period 2 million pounds of uranium concentrate, commonly known as U308 or yellowcake, would be produced annually. The company also has a polymetallic deposit, the Häggån Project in Sweden, which boasts a uranium resource of 800 million pounds. The Swedish government is in the process of overturning a ban on uranium mining, which the company says could potentially boost Häggån’s net value by as much as 37%.
Toro Energy [TOEYF]
Toro raises value of mining project in Western Australia following uranium price surge.
Why invest in TOEYF?
The recent rise in uranium prices has led Toro Energy to release an updated scoping study of the Lake Maitland project in Western Australia. The miner now expects the project to have an annual EBITDA of A$131.6m over its 17.5-year mine life, based on a price of A$85 for a pound of uranium oxide — the initial study assumed a price of A$70/pound. “Our vision for the future development of Lake Maitland continues to be supported by a strengthening global uranium market,” said Toro Executive Chairman Richard Homsany in a regulatory announcement.
Alligator Energy [ALGEF]
Alligator is making solid progress on several fronts.
Why invest in ALGEF?
The uranium junior is making good progress with its three key uranium projects in Australia, including an inaugural drilling programme at its Big Lake project in the copper basin in the south of the country; construction, commissioning and operating plans are underway at its Samphire project, which is also located in the region. Investors should expect “potential for solid news flow in the second half of the year”, Alligator CEO Greg Hall said in a statement on 18 July.
Paladin Energy [PALAF]
Paladin could become the third-biggest uranium producer globally.
Why invest in PALAF?
CEO Ian Purdy believes that Paladin’s proposed takeover of Canadian miner Fission Uranium [FCUUF] — and the bundling of the two parties’ assets in Namibia and Canada — could help the Australian producer to grab a 10% share of global uranium output, which would make it the third-biggest producer in the world. “We think there’s a fantastic opportunity to provide a really substantial global alternative to Cameco [CCJ] with this deal,” Purdy told Bloomberg last week. The C$1.1bn buyout still requires approval from Canada’s market regulator.
Download the OPTO app today to discover more uranium stocks to invest in.
How to Invest in Uranium Stocks
Regardless of whether Australia does eventually reverse the ban on nuclear power and starts building reactors, other countries are likely to turn to nuclear as coal is phased out. Uranium stocks are widely expected to be long-term winners of the clean energy transition, but could be volatile in the near term.
Thematic ETFs can be a smarter way to invest in uranium stocks because they provide exposure to a more than one company, and thus a range of projects at varying stages of development in different countries.
The Sprott Global Uranium Mining ETF [URNM] is a passively managed fund that tracks the performance of the North Shore Global Uranium Mining Index. It holds Alligator, Aura, Lotus, Paladin and Toro.
Other funds to consider include the Optica Rare Earths & Critical Materials ETF [CRIT], which holds Lotus, and the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF [NUCL:L], which holds Paladin.
Conclusion
Even if the nuclear power ban isn’t overturned, Australia will remain critical to the nuclear power industry. More than 30% of global uranium deposits are located in the country, according to the World Nuclear Association.
So the future looks bright for ASX-listed uranium stocks — both those that have assets in the country and those that have projects overseas. Download the OPTO app and start your uranium investment journey today.
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