NUCLEAR FUEL | METALS MARKET BOOM


Will 2023 be the year of energy metals?


The energy transition has driven a boom in exploration for so-called ‘energy metals’ required for low-carbon power generation and newly commercial technologies such as batteries. The rising tide is also lifting interest in uranium


THE CONCEPT OF ‘ENERGY METALS’ is not a new one within the energy industry, but it is a phrase that has gained public currency as the energy transition has started to take hold. Although the fossil fuel industry involved massive extraction of coal and oil, those resources were relatively widely spread and the geopolitical issues in their use – even before climate concerns came to the forefront – were about finding efficient ways of managing a vast extraction and shipping industry. Electrification and the use of batteries, along with the


shift to renewable energy generation, have raised the importance of a wide range of so-called ‘energy metals’, such as nickel, lithium and rare earths, up the political agenda. That is because although the volumes of metal extraction are orders of magnitude smaller than for fossil fuel extraction, resources are not to be found evenly across the globe. The highly concentrated extraction of key metals raises political fears of being ‘held to ransom’ by unfavourable regimes – brought to a head by sanctions placed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. The result has been a surge in companies who want to explore for and extract energy metals. And alongside metals


for renewables and storage, companies are more interested in uranium extraction too, aiming to supply a growing nuclear industry. One metals company, Power Metal Resources, explained


in a recent market update why the industry had been active recently. It said, “The overwhelming uncertainty and unstable conditions during the financial year provided exactly the backdrop needed for a high-quality portfolio of exploration interests to be gathered at modest cost and advanced, which is precisely what Power Metal has been able to achieve.” Another, Aura Energy, said last year it would “continue to transition from a uranium explorer to uranium producer, to capitalise on the rapidly growing demand for nuclear power as the world continues to shift towards a decarbonised energy system”. The rise in interest in nuclear and the need to secure


resources have also caused pushback to be exerted on political stances against extracting uranium. For example, a 2018 ban on exploration, mining and processing of uranium in Sweden, is under pressure after the new centre-right coalition government won support in November for a motion to revert to the pre-2018 wording of the Environmental Code and Minerals Act. That change has reportedly been supported by Ebba Busch, Minister of Energy and Enterprise, although no policy change is yet in process. A wish to secure domestic supplies for operating


reactors obviously drives exploration. Argentina is the largest generator of electricity from nuclear energy in South America, but it has no domestic uranium production. Canadian company Blue Sky carried out exploration work between 2007 and 2012 that led to the discovery of a uranium district in Rio Negro Province. Blue Sky’s parent, Grosso Group, which has operated in Argentina for decades, now owns the project, Amarillo Grande. Blue Sky hopes that if it moved into production it would have a guaranteed domestic customer, while a large-scale operation could make Argentina a strategic exporter of uranium. Who are the other companies who have taken on the need to find ‘power metals’, including uranium?


Above: Companies are more interested in uranium extraction, aiming to supply a growing nuclear industry


30 | May 2023 | www.neimagazine.com


Aura in Africa Aura Energy is an Australia-based minerals company that has uranium and other metallic resource projects in Africa and Europe.


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