Uranium has broken out, with the spot price rising to more than US$90 per pound in 2023.
Although the market’s turnaround has taken time, experts are predicting a bright future as countries around the world pursue clean energy goals. Against that backdrop, some ASX-listed uranium companies have been making moves.
Below the Investing News Network has listed the top uranium stocks on the ASX by year-on-year gains. Data was gathered using TradingView’s stock screener on January 3, 2024, and all companies included had market caps above AU$50 million at the time. Read on to learn more about these firms and what they’ve been up to over the last 12 months.
1. Boss Energy (ASX:BOE)
Year-on-year gain: 106.37 percent; market cap: AU$1.73 billion; current share price: AU$4.22
Boss Energy is focused on restarting its fully permitted Honeymoon uranium mine in South Australia. Production at the asset was suspended in 2013 due to low prices, but the company is now looking to bring it back online to take advantage of uranium’s move upward. A JORC-compliant resource for the Honeymoon restart area stands at 36 million pounds of U3O8, and the property’s mine life is estimated at over 10 years with output of 2.45 million pounds of U3O8 annually.
The company’s share price action this past year closely mirrors the moves seen in the uranium spot price. Boss slowly trended higher until the start of August, and then moved up more strongly after that, reaching its highest point of 2023 on September 29, when it hit AU$4.85. News throughout the year was focused on activities geared at bringing Honeymoon back online, and Boss ultimately started the mining process back up again in mid-October.
Also in October, Boss and Coda Minerals (ASX:COD) were awarded four exploration tenements under a mineral rights sharing arrangement. The tenements make up the Kinloch project, which is 130 kilometres south of Honeymoon. Then, in early December, Boss announced a transaction that it said will make it a multi-mine uranium producer in the first half of 2024 — it entered into an agreement to acquire a 30 percent stake in enCore Energy’s (TSXV:EU,NASDAQ:EU) Alta Mesa in-situ recovery project in Texas. To cap off the year, Boss signed its first binding sales contract for production from Honeymoon — it will sell 1 million pounds of uranium to a US utility for seven years starting in 2025 and ending in 2031.
2. Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN)
Year-on-year gain: gain 68.62 percent; market cap: AU$441.98 million; current share price: AU$2.77
Uranium development company Bannerman Energy has honed its efforts on its Namibia-based Etango uranium project, which it says is one of the world’s largest undeveloped uranium assets. The company has been moving forward at Etango for 15 years, and is currently targeting a final investment decision during the first half of 2024.
Bannerman released updates on its progress at Etango throughout 2023, with the latest news coming in mid-December, when the company received a mining licence for the project. With the licence in hand, Bannerman was able to award two early works contracts for the property that together are valued at about US$2 million.
“Etango is now fully permitted, enabling us to drive key project workstreams towards a Final Investment Decision in parallel with the ongoing strengthening in uranium market fundamentals. I am grateful to the Ministry of Mines and Energy for their ongoing commitment to Etango’s success,” said CEO and Managing Director Brandon Munro.
Bannerman’s share price also tracked the uranium spot price fairly closely in 2023. The company reached AU$2.96, its highest point of the year, twice: once on September 27 and once on October 2.
3. Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL)
Year-on-year gain: 65.74 percent; market cap: AU$863.58 million; current share price: AU$1.14
Deep Yellow’s portfolio of uranium assets spans Namibia and Australia, with its two most advanced projects being Tumas and Mulga Rock. The former is located in Namibia, while the latter is in Western Australia; according to the company, together they have potential a production capacity of over 7 million pounds per year of U3O8.
Tumas was in focus for Deep Yellow this past year. The company released a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the asset in early February, outlining output of 3.6 million pounds of U3O8 annually along with 1.15 million pounds of V2O5. The property’s mine life is set at 22.25 years, but additional resources could increase it to over 30 years. In December, Deep Yellow did a review of the DFS, updating costs and forecast financial outcomes to reflect the more settled economic environment. Tumas received a mining licence from the Namibian government that same month.
In terms of Mulga Rock, the company has been working on an evaluation program geared at boosting the project’s value by looking at its critical minerals potential. As of early November, metallurgical testwork was ongoing at the site, and results showed the possibility of a “significant increase” in revenues through the increased recovery of uranium and the recovery of critical minerals. Deep Yellow expects to start a revised DFS for Mulga Rock in early 2024.
Shares of Deep Yellow reached their 2023 peak on October 20 and 26, coming in at AU$1.38.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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