June 10, 2025: Utilities are still aggressively contracting

1. Spot price slips, but long-term uranium fundamentals hold firm
2. Geopolitics tighten the screws on uranium supply
3. Westinghouse sparks a US reactor revival, but where is the fuel? 
4. NexGen's next hot zone
5. Premier acquires Nuclear Fuels, builds US uranium giant

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Transcript

This week on Uranium Spotlight: Spot prices soften but supply stress builds, geopolitics tighten the fuel chain, Westinghouse eyes a reactor surge, NexGen drills into new heat, and Premier moves to dominate U.S. uranium.

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Spot Price Slips, but Long-Term Uranium Fundamentals Hold Firm

The uranium spot price closed the week at $70.50 per pound, down 40 cents from the prior close of $70.90. It's a slight dip, but not unexpected given the quieter trading environment and light volumes coming off a week of major industry conferences.

Some spot transactions were reported, though many market participants were attending the World Nuclear Fuel Market meetings in Sydney. Price indicators softened across the board, with most converter-linked spot assessments in the $69.75 to $70.00 range, reflecting a bit of short-term pressure on bids.

Importantly, long-term contract prices remain firm at $80 per pound, maintaining a strong premium over spot. That gap continues to underscore the strategic nature of uranium procurement today—where buyers are clearly more focused on securing future supply than reacting to day-to-day price moves.

Looking further up the fuel cycle, conversion prices—though recently off their highs—are still signaling tightness. Spot conversion has eased into the mid-$60s to $70s per kgU, but long-term pricing remains locked around $50 to $51 per kgU, highlighting ongoing concern about mid- to long-term supply availability.

So while spot uranium is momentarily drifting, the broader market signals remain clear: utilities are still aggressively contracting, and the supply picture—particularly for conversion and enrichment—remains stretched. For equity investors, this reinforces the case for disciplined exposure to producers and advanced explorers positioned to benefit from tightening fundamentals.

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Tighten the Screws on Uranium Supply

The U.S. has just suspended export licenses to China for all companies supplying nuclear reactor components. That includes Westinghouse, whose technology is embedded in over 400 reactors worldwide, and Emerson, another key supplier. It’s a clear escalation in the broader East-West trade war—and the nuclear industry is now squarely in the crosshairs.

This follows last year’s Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, which signaled a shift in how Washington is approaching nuclear supply chains. But it’s important to remember: China has its own leverage.

For starters, it could pressure Kazakhstan—the world’s largest uranium producer—not to supply material to the West. That’s not a stretch. China and Russia have already been stockpiling massive volumes of Kazakh uranium, leaving Western buyers increasingly sidelined. Kazakhstan, China, and Russia are closely aligned geopolitically, and none of them seem particularly concerned about helping the U.S. maintain its position in the nuclear fuel cycle.

The U.S. export controls are widely seen as retaliation for China’s recent restrictions on rare earth exports—controls that directly target technologies like AI. And since nuclear power offers the kind of reliable, 90%-capacity-factor baseload energy that AI infrastructure demands, the stakes here are rising fast.

China currently leads the world in nuclear construction, with 30 reactors being built and more on the drawing board. The U.S., meanwhile, isn’t building any large-scale new plants—but we are seeing serious interest from the tech sector, with power purchase agreements being signed to lock in nuclear supply.

Still, China’s political will—and financial capacity—to build reactors at scale remains unmatched. It was on pace to overtake the U.S. as the largest operator of nuclear reactors within five years. Whether it can still do that without American parts is now an open question.

For uranium investors, this heightening geopolitical friction adds yet another layer of pressure to an already strained supply chain. Western utilities are being forced to rethink where—and how quickly—they can secure uranium, while China continues locking up supply. The result? More urgency, more regional competition, and more long-term support for uranium prices.

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Westinghouse Sparks a U.S. Reactor Revival—But Where’s the Fuel?

Westinghouse—one of the world’s major suppliers of nuclear reactors, components, and fuel—has announced plans to build ten new reactors in the U.S., following recent pro-nuclear executive orders signed into law just weeks ago.

It’s a bold move. These reactors would not only support the decarbonization of America’s power grid, but also help meet the rising electricity demand driven by AI data centers, which are putting unprecedented pressure on energy infrastructure.

But the bigger question for uranium investors is this: where will the fuel come from?

If China announces ten new reactors, we know the uranium will likely come from Kazakhstan, the world’s leading supplier. The U.S., by contrast, is already the largest uranium consumer globally—and it imports nearly all of it. Current supply comes from allies like Canada and Australia, and from Central Asian nations such as Uzbekistan.

But supply security isn’t guaranteed. Australia still bans uranium mining in most of its states. Canada, home to the high-grade Athabasca Basin, faces growing friction with the U.S., including tariff threats and even talk of annexing critical minerals—raising questions about future cooperation.

For uranium investors, this highlights a growing supply-demand mismatch. If the U.S. intends to seriously scale its nuclear buildout, it will need reliable, politically stable, and scalable sources of uranium. That puts regions like the Athabasca Basin—and the companies exploring there—at the center of the conversation. Expect this dynamic to support long-term uranium prices and draw increased attention to well-positioned uranium equities.

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NexGen's New Hot Zone

In one of the most exciting assay announcements this year, NexGen just confirmed its best discovery-phase intercept to date from the Patterson Corridor East—or PCE—with hole RK-25-232 returning 15 metres grading 15.9% U₃O₈. That includes a stunning half-metre at nearly 69% uranium—making it one of the highest-grade basement-hosted uranium vein intercepts globally.

This isn't just a one-off. RK-24-222, just 200 metres away, intersected 17 metres at 3.85%, including 3 metres at over 10%. With 13 high-grade hits across the program so far, NexGen is clearly onto a large, coherent system here—and it’s still early days.

What's especially relevant to investors? This discovery sits just 3.5 kilometres from NexGen’s fully permitted Rook I project—and just south of Purepoint’s Hook Lake Joint Venture with Cameco and Orano. That trend line is now becoming one of the most consequential corridors in the Athabasca Basin.

This latest news reinforces why exploration success drives value in uranium equities. With drilling at PCE ramping up again this month, and global momentum building behind nuclear—including aggressive U.S. targets to quadruple output by 2050—the timing couldn’t be better.

For Purepoint and its Hook Lake JV, this discovery underscores the potential sitting just next door—and why eyes will stay locked on this corridor for the foreseeable future.

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Premier Acquires Nuclear Fuels, Builds U.S. Uranium Giant

Premier American Uranium is making a major move, announcing plans to acquire Nuclear Fuels in an all-share deal. This consolidation will create one of the largest pure-play uranium exploration companies in the U.S., with a strategic footprint across Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona.

The key prize in this deal is Nuclear Fuels’ 100% owned Kaycee Project in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin—a 35-mile uranium trend supported by over 4,200 historic drill holes and 430 miles of mapped roll fronts. It’s the only project in the basin with confirmed ISR potential across all three major uranium-bearing formations.

The transaction values Nuclear Fuels at 43 cents per share—a 54% premium—and will leave Premier shareholders owning 59% of the combined company. The merged portfolio includes 12 projects over 104,000 acres, anchored by the Kaycee and Cyclone ISR projects in Wyoming and the advanced-stage Cebolleta project in New Mexico, which has a resource of 18.6 million pounds U₃O₈ indicated.

Notably, this team isn’t just acquiring ground—they’re drilling aggressively. In 2024 alone, the two companies completed nearly 370 holes, one of the largest ISR exploration programs in the U.S.

Premier is backed by sector leaders like IsoEnergy, EnCore, and Mega Uranium, and remains fully funded with $14 million in cash. A PEA on Cebolleta is expected this summer—adding another potential catalyst.

This is a well-timed consolidation play, aligning U.S. uranium exploration scale with increasing investor interest and policy tailwinds in the nuclear space.