By - Suhita Poddar
Highlights
- The UK government plans to fund around £100 million for EDF’s Sizewell C nuclear power project to help support its continued development.
- Uranium is a critical component for nuclear energy generation and has seen a 10.7 per cent rise in its exploration budgets worldwide in 2021.
The UK government would be providing around £100 million in funding to help with supporting the continued development of EDF’s Sizewell C nuclear power project, based in Suffolk.
If the Sizewell C site manages to reach a Final Investment Decision, the government is expected to be refunded the £100 million option fee, along with a financing gain. The move aims to secure UK’s energy future amid high global gas prices.
Uranium is a critical element for nuclear energy generation. According to an S&P report, uranium exploration budgets rose by 10.7 per cent in 2021 amid a positive demand outlook and higher uranium prices. The junior’s total uranium exploration budgets touched around US$ 94.3 million in 2021, while majors' exploration budgets in 2021 stood at about US$ 22.7 million.
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Given this background, let us take a look at 2 FTSE AIM All-Share index listed uranium stocks and identify their investment opportunities:
Aura Energy is a uranium-focused Australian mineral company.
The company, in its quarterly report for the period ending on 31 December 2021, stated it had undertaken a strategic transformational board restructuring to prepare for its Tiris Uranium Project’s production.
Aura also entered into US$10 million Offtake Financing Agreement with commodities firm Curzon in October 2021. The capital from the agreement will be used for Aura’s mining working capital and production commencement.
The company’s market cap stands at £72.98 million, and it has given shareholders a return of 268.13 per cent on a 1-year basis, as of 3 February.
Uru Metals is an exploration and development group involved in the identification and investment of mineral projects. Some of its projects include the Närke Oil-Uranium Project, located around Stockholm.
Uru Metals said in a recent RNS note that ZEB Nickel Corp., in which the company has a 74.82 per cent interest, recently received the final approval to be trading on the OTCQB market under the ticker symbol ZBNIF.
Uru Metals’ net loss, for the 6 months ended on 30 September 2021 period, stood at US$ 794 thousand, compared to US$ 1,810 thousand in the year before.
The company’s market cap stands at £3.05 million, as of 3 February.