Uranium spot price and mining company shares are surging after Russian uranium giant Kazatomprom adjusted its production guidance down for 2024, warning of a shortfall.
The company reports that shortages of sulfuric acid and construction delays at its newest deposits are causing production delays which could continue into 2025. It plans to release a more detailed assessment of the impact in an update on Feb. 1.
We expect to see the degree of the shortfall in that update, but previously, company guidance indicated a 2024 production range of 25,000-25,500 tonnes of uranium, or around 65 million pounds of U3O8.
Kazatomprom is the world's largest uranium miner, responsible for 43% of the world's supply in 2022. Any holdup in its production will inevitably have massive consequences for the nuclear metal—and it has.
The spot price of uranium rocketed to US$95.90 per pound this week, clocking a 16-year high. At the time of writing, Cameco, another top supplier, is up 9.42%, while uranium exploration companies like Denison Mines (TSX: DML), Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE American: UEC) , and NexGen Energy (TSX: NXE) have risen 10.42%, 11.54%, and 9.94% respectively.
The news comes amid an already-aggressive bull market, which has seen the spot price for uranium rise over 79% in 2023. Supply shortages were already in the cards for uranium, and with the world's largest producer coming up short, we're seeing further response from the markets.
