A renewed emphasis on nuclear energy as a solution to the climate dilemma is bringing uranium back into the spotlight. Canada may develop become a nuclear “superpower” due to its abundance of high-grade resources. Can its potential, however, be realized? After working in uranium mining for almost twenty years, Leigh Curyer saw a dramatic change.
The Fukushima nuclear plant accident in Japan in 2011 severely tarnished the global perception of nuclear power and caused the price of the heavy metal, which is essential for nuclear fuel, to plummet.
However, there has been a reversal in the previous five years, with uranium’s price rising by over 200% globally and ranking among this year’s best-performing commodities.
Mr Curyer, an Australian-born businessman, credits this to a changing attitude that began soon after Microsoft founder Bill Gates touted nuclear energy as “ideal for dealing with climate change” in 2018.
Four years later, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushed forward a policy of generating at least 25% of the country’s energy from nuclear. Shortly after, the European Union voted to declare nuclear energy climate-friendly. These events were “catalytic” for the uranium industry and a turning point for Mr Curyer’s company NexGen, which is behind the largest in-development uranium mine in Canada. His phone began to ring with calls from investors worldwide – something that “had never happened in my previous 17 years in the industry”, he said.
