Rising electricity demand from new AI-driven technologies and government support for nuclear power as a base load energy source are ramping up interest in uranium. After years of underinvestment, exploration and development companies are racing to find new sources of the nuclear fuel, and put them into production. Below is a list of eight interesting uranium plays to watch.
Anfield Energy
Anfield Energy (TSXV: AEC; US-OTC: ANLDF) owns the Shootaring Canyon mill in southeastern Utah, one of only three licensed and permitted conventional uranium mills in the United States. The company’s portfolio of uranium and vanadium projects stretches across Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
Highlights from a 14-hole rotary drill program at its flagship Slick Rock uranium and vanadium project in Colorado included 3.05 metres grading 1,560 parts per million (ppm) uranium oxide (U308) in drill hole SR-24-01 and 1.5 metres grading 2,180 ppm U308 in drill hole SR-24-04. Anfield is to use those results to upgrade the uranium and vanadium resource estimate for Slick Rock and for mine designs for a large mine permit.
The company completed a preliminary economic assessment that combined Slick Rock and its Velvet-Wood project in Utah in March 2023. The two projects in the Uravan Mineral Belt are close to the Shootaring Canyon mill, which will be used as the centralized processing facility.
The study of the combined mine and mill operation outlined average annual production of 750,000 lb. uranium and 2.5 million lb. vanadium over a mine life of 15 years. The combined feed from Velvet-Wood and Slick Rock would meet the Shootaring mill’s existing capacity of 680 tonnes per day.
At base case prices of $70 per lb. U308 and $12 per lb. vanadium pentoxide, the post-tax net present value (at an 8% discount rate) would be $197 million (C$274 million) and the internal rate of return (IRR) 33%. Initial capital was forecast to run to $122.3 million.
In April, Ross McElroy joined Anfield’s board of directors. McElroy co-founded Fission Uranium, which was sold to Paladin Energy (ASX, TSX: PDN; US-OTC: FCUUF) in December for C$1.14 billion.
Uranium Energy (NYSE: UEC) increased its stake in Anfield at the beginning of the year and now owns 18% of the company’s outstanding shares on a non-diluted basis and about 24% on a partially diluted basis.
Anfield Energy has a market cap of about $63 million.
Azincourt Energy
Azincourt Energy (TSXV: AAZ; US-OTC: AZURF) is focused on the Snegamook uranium project in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Central Mineral Belt, about 100 km north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and the East Preston uranium project near the southern edge of the western Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan.
In March the company received permits to start exploration at Snegamook and plans to drill up to 1,000 metres there this year. There has been little exploration since 2008, when Silver Spruce Resources identified four mineralized uranium lenses. Historic results include 9 metres grading 552 ppm U308 from 210 metres depth in hole SN-08-18 and 5 metres at 224 ppm U308 from 191 metres depth in hole SN-08-20.
At East Preston, Azincourt drilled four holes (1,086 metres) last year focused on the K and H zones. Results included 1.91 metres averaging 16 ppm U308, including 0.51 metre grading up to 21.9 ppm U308 in hole EP0058. The hole was drilled into a regional illite clay anomaly extending through the K zone and south into the lower H zone. Azincourt didn’t specify that interval’s depth.
Three conductive, low magnetic signature corridors with a total strike length of over 25 km have been discovered at East Preston so far. The targets are basement-hosted unconformity related uranium deposits similar to NexGen Energy’s (TSX, NYSE: NXE; ASX: NXG) Arrow deposit and Cameco’s (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) Eagle Point mine, the company says.
Azincourt is planning to start a geophysical program on portions of East Preston later this year and is considering a follow-up drill program of five holes in the winter of 2026. The company has permits to explore East Preston through the summer of next year.
Azincourt controls 87% of the 210-sq.-km East Preston project.
Azincourt Energy has a market cap of about $6.5 million.
Bannerman Energy
Bannerman Energy (ASX: BMN; US-OTC: BNNLF) has started bulk earth works for the construction of its fully permitted Etango uranium project, about 30 km southeast of Swakopmund, a city on the Atlantic coast of Namibia.
Etango is one of the world’s largest undeveloped uranium assets. A control budget estimate released last June outlined an open-pit operation that at a throughput rate of 8 million tonnes per year would produce about 3.5 million lb. U308 annually over a mine life of 15 years. The base case used a uranium price of $65 per lb. and estimated a post-tax NPV (at an 8% discount rate) of $162 million (C$224.2 million) and post-tax IRR of 14.1%. Initial capital was pegged at $353 million.
Last year, the company completed a scoping study evaluating future higher throughput and operating scenarios. The first scenario, Etango-XP, examined a post ramp-up expansion in throughput capacity to 6.7 million tonnes per year. The second scenario, Etango-XT, evaluated an extension of the operation’s life to 27 years.
Etango-XP generated a post-tax NPV (at an 8% discount rate) of $175 million and IRR of 13.5%, and Etango-XT an NPV of $197 million and IRR of 15.7%.
Etango has 32.4 million measured tonnes grading 201 ppm U308 for 14.3 million lb. contained U308 and another 345.7 million indicated tonnes grading 195 ppm U308 for 148.5 million lb. U308. Inferred resources add 140.6 million tonnes grading 200 ppm U308 for 62.0 million lb. uranium. The resource used a cut-off grade of 55 ppm U308.
Bannerman Energy has a market cap of about A$379 million (C$333 million).
Global Atomic
Global Atomic (TSX: GLO; US-OTC: GLATF) plans to kick off initial production during the first half of 2026 at its Dasa uranium project in Niger, about 105 km south of the uranium mining town of Arlit.
Underground development, which began in November 2022, has reached the ore zone and development waste has been hauled to surface. Ramping and underground level development will continue to facilitate mining on five levels in time for commissioning of the processing plant early next year.
Recently the company said it is “actively engaged” with a U.S. development bank to establish a debt facility to finance 60% of Dasa’s development costs.
An updated feasibility study in March 2024 estimated initial capital cost of almost $393 million (C$546 million) could be repaid in 2.5 years. The study more than doubled Dasa’s mine life from 12 to 26 years, with life-of-mine production of 68.1 million lb. U308. At a base case uranium price of $75 per lb., Dasa would generate a post-tax NPV (at an 8% discount rate) of $917 million and an IRR of 57%.
Dasa hosts 10.09 million indicated tonnes grading 4,913 ppm U308 for 109.3 million lb. uranium and another 4.45 million inferred tonnes at 5,243 ppm U308 for 51.4 million lb. uranium.
The current mine plan is based on throughput of 1,000 tonnes per day, but the processing plant has been designed to handle up to 1,200 tonnes per day.
The company has currently contracted 43% of its projected uranium production through the first five years of operations.
It raised C$35.6 million in a non-brokered private placement in January.
Global Atomic has a market cap of about C$200 million.
GoviEx Uranium
GoviEx Uranium (TSXV: GXU; US-OTC: GVXXF) signed a letter of intent with the Niger government in February outlining a “structured roadmap” to resolve their dispute over the Madouela uranium project, and temporarily suspended arbitration.
Niger revoked GoviEx’s mining rights to the project last July after the company failed to start the mine by a deadline set by the country’s ruling junta. GoviEx commenced international arbitration proceedings in December.
Madouela, which GoviEx has worked on since 2007, is expected to produce a total of 50.8 million lb. U308, or 2.67 million lb. U308 per year, over a 19-year-mine life. At a uranium price of $80 per lb., Madouela would generate a post-tax NPV (at an 8% discount rate) of $376 million ($522 million) and an IRR of 21%. Initial capital cost was estimated at $343 million.
The project is anchored by one of the largest uranium resources in the world, with 100 million measured and indicated lb. of U3O8 , plus 20 million inferred lb. of U3O8.
In January, the company completed a feasibility study on its Muntanga uranium project in southeast Zambia. The open-pit project, 200 km south of Lusaka, is expected to produce an average of 2.2 million lb. U308 per year over a mine life of 12 years, based on just two of five deposits. The study estimated an after-tax NPV (at an 8% discount rate) of $243 million and an IRR of 21%, based on a uranium price of $90 per pound. Initial capital of $282 million could be repaid in 3.5 years.
Muntanga currently hosts 50.4 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 359 ppm U308 for 40 million lb. contained U308 and another 12.8 million inferred tonnes averaging 263 ppm U308 for 7.4 million lb. U308.
GoviEx Uranium has a market cap of about $40.6 million.
Myriad Uranium
Myriad Uranium (CSE: Ml; US-OTC: MYRUF) is earning a 75% stake in the Copper Mountain uranium project near the base of Copper Mountain in the Owl Creek Mountain Range of north-central Wyoming.
The project hosts several known uranium deposits and historic uranium mines, including the Arrowhead mine, which produced 500,000 lb. U308.
The company reported results from 20 boreholes in March, with highlights of 1.28 metres grading 5,337 ppm U308 starting from 69 metres in borehole CAN0004; 2.29 metres of 4,361 ppm U3O8 from 81 metres in CAN0006; 1.98 metres of 2,829 ppm U308 from 85 metres in CAN0008 and 3.05 metres of 1,769 ppm U308 from 98 metres in CAN0011.
The boreholes — a combination of diamond core and reverse circulation drilling — were designed to verify mineralization identified in drilling by Union Pacific in the late 1970s. Union Pacific spent an estimated C$120.3 million (in current dollars) exploring and developing Copper Mountain but the project ground to a halt in 1980 before mining could start due to falling uranium prices.
In February, the company signed an option agreement to acquire all of the Red Basin uranium-vanadium project, about 140 km southwest of Albuquerque, N.M. The company is to complete a geophysics survey within one year, at which point the option will be fully exercised.
The company’s claims area holds 700 drill holes with historic grades of 0.17% to 0.31% U308 and up to 1.64% vanadium pentoxide (V205).
Myriad Uranium has a market cap of about $17 million.
Skyharbour Resources
Skyharbour Resources (TSXV: SYH; US-OTC: SYHBF) is a prospect generator with ownership interests in 36 uranium projects across more than 6,140 sq. km of the Athabasca Basin.
The company’s Moore uranium project, which it acquired from Denison Mines (TSX: DML; NYSE-AM: DNN), is situated 15 km east of Denison’s Wheeler River in-situ recovery (ISR) project and 39 km south of Cameco’s McArthur River mine. Drill results from the project’s Maverick zone include 5.9 metres of up to 6% U308 starting from a depth of 265 metres, including a 1.5-metre interval of 20.8% U308.
Adjacent and to the east of the Moore project is the 733-sq.-km Russell Hill uranium project, a Skyharbour joint-venture with Rio Tinto (NYSE, LSE, ASX: RIO).
In addition, Skyharbour has joint ventures with Orano Canada for the Preston project; Azincourt Energy for East Preston; and Thunderbird Resources (ASX: THB) for Hook Lake.
In January, Skyharbour and Orano announced a 6,000- to 7,000-metre drill program this year at the 496-sq.-km. Preston project in the west Athabasca Basin. About 26 holes are to be drilled at an average depth of 250 metres this summer. Orano is the majority owner and operator and Skyharbour holds a minority interest of about 26%.
In early April, the company reported drill results from the South Falcon East uranium project, about 18 km outside the edge of the Athabasca Basin and 50 km east of the Key Lake uranium mill and former mine. Highlights included drill hole SF0065, which returned 17.5 metres grading 0.02% U3O8 from 205 metres, including a 0.3-meter interval of 0.16% U308. Skyharbour has optioned the project to Terra Clean Energy (CSE: TCEC; US-OTC: TCEFF).
The junior has signed earn-in option agreements with partners that total over $36 million in partner-funded exploration expenditures.
Skyharbour Resources has a market cap of about $65.4 million.
Uranium Energy
Uranium Energy has ISRuranium projects in Texas and Wyoming, along with hard rock projects in Canada and Paraguay.
The company’s three hub and spoke production platforms in the U.S. which are anchored by Central Processing Plants (CPPs) and served by multiple ISR projects, have a combined licensed production capacity of 12.1 million lb. U308.
In mid-February, Uranium Energy reported it had dried, processed and drummed uranium concentrates at its Irigaray CPP. The concentrate was produced from uranium loaded with resin coming from the company’s Christensen Ranch ISR project in Wyoming, which started production last August.
In December, the company acquired Rio Tinto’s Wyoming uranium assets for $175 million (C$244 million) in cash. These include the fully licensed Sweetwater plant and the Red Desert and Green Mountain uranium properties.
The Sweetwater plant is a 3,000-ton-per-day processing mill with a licensed capacity of 4.1 million lb. U308 per year. It can also be adapted to recover uranium from loaded resins produced by ISR operations. With Sweetwater, the company has the largest licensed production capacity in the U.S.
The Red Desert project consists of three deposits with historic resources estimated at about 42 million lb. U308 and Green Mountain has five deposits with historical resources of about 133 million lb. U308.
In Canada, its Roughrider project in the eastern Athabasca Basin, about 13 km west of Orano’s McClean Lake mill, is expected to produce 61.2 million lb. U308 over nine years (6.8 million lb. per year) at all-in sustaining costs of $20.48 per pound. A technical report in November outlined a post-tax NPV (at an 8% discount rate) of $946 million and an IRR of 40% based on a long-term uranium price of $85 per pound. Initial capital expenses of $545 million for the mill and underground mine could be paid back post-tax in 1.4 years.
The company has a major equity stake in Uranium Royalty (TSX: URC), the only pure play royalty company in the sector.
Uranium Energy has an NYSE market cap of about $2.02 billion.
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