URENCO’s situation – terminal decline of a uranium industry?

one of the more important factors, surely, is the projected value of the MOX itself, which in turn is a function of long term uranium prices—there would be no point in completing the plant and then making the MOX, as opposed to just dumping the plutonium, if uranium will be dirt-cheap as far ahead as one can see.

 the fate of the MOX plant is but one indicator of retrenchment in the global nuclear fuels market, post-Fukushima

the Japanese nuclear shut-down, which, the Times went on to note, has reduced global demand for nuclear fuels by close to 10 percent, plus Germany’s planned nuclear exit, have cast a pall that now stretches to New Mexico,
Kentucky, and South Carolina.

Restructuring and Retrenchment in Nuclear Fuels http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/nuclear/restructuring-and-retrenchment-in-nuclear-fuels By Bill Sweet  29 May 2013 In 2000, the United States agreed with Russia to get rid of 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium. To that end, it embarked on construction of a large plant at Savannah River, S.C.,where the plutonium would be mixed with uranium to make so-called mixed oxide fuel (MOX), suitable for use in nuclear power plants.

Buried in the president’s fiscal 2014 budget request is a line sharply cutting funding for the Savannah River MOX plant, which “may be tantamount to killing it,” a former National Nuclear Security Administration official told Arms Control Today.

URENCO uranium enrichment for sale – failing economically

Powerhouse of the Uranium Enrichment Industry Seeks an Exit NYT, BY STANLEY REED , 26 May 13“..….Urenco was formed by treaty in 1971 when Britain, West Germany and the Netherlands decided for
strategic and business reasons to combine their uranium enrichment programs. The company is still owned by the British and Dutch governments, with one-third each, and with the German third held jointly by two big utility companies, E.On and RWE.

Urenco now has four enrichment plants — in Britain, the Netherlands
and Germany — selling fuel for civilian energy purposes around the
world, capturing nearly a third of the global market………the
company is at a crossroads. Growth may flatten in the next couple of
years, executives say, mainly because Japan — a major user of nuclear
power until the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster — has shut down its
reactors, taking about 10 percent of the world’s nuclear energy
generating capacity offline. And the Japanese have stockpiled
substantial amounts of fuel for the day, if ever, that those reactors
go back into operation……
“Nuclear strategies have changed,” said Michael Kruse, a consultant on
nuclear issues for the management consultant Arthur D. Little in
Frankfurt. “Governments no longer think they need to be in this
business,” he said, “and utilities in several countries want out after
Fukushima.”

People in the industry say the most likely buyers would be companies
already in the industry that might want to offer clients fuel along
with nuclear power stations. Areva, a French giant, might fit that
bill. So might Toshiba of Japan, which is studying building nuclear
plants in Britain. Still, “there are in my view not many companies
that can buy Urenco,” Mr. Kruse said.

URENCO uranium enrichment company – Germany and UK want out

German Paper: RWE and E.ON Consider Urenco Sale, Nuclear Street,  Sep 8 2011 Reports indicate two German utilities are preparing to sell their stake in Urenco, a uranium enrichment company that recently opened a new centrifuge plant in New Mexico.

Handelsblatt, a German business newspaper, quoted unnamed sources from RWE and E.ON as saying they’ve hired consultants to begin the process of selling their Urenco holdings. The moves follow the German government’s decision to phase out nuclear power after the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan. Urenco’s other owners include the governments of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In recent years, the UK also has indicated it wants to sell its 33 percent stake in the company.

Uranium industry gambling on changing markets

The gambling is going on in both uranium markets.  Some corporations gamble on  selling old weapons uranium.  Others gamble on digging uranium out of the ground and selling it – (if it goes belly up – well in Australia they’ll try to blame the Rudd government)

Companies Bet on Market for Enriched Uranium,  Online Casino Guide, 21 June 2010, Changes in technology and vagaries like future arms control agreements can affect companies like Urenco and USEC.

Companies Bet on Market for Enriched Uranium | Online Casino Guide

…. projects such as BHP’s uranium and copper mine at Olympic Dam in South Australia. This requires billions of dollars in upfront investment projected to be recouped by cash flows in 2020 or later. The relatively high rate of return required is a function of many risks, including cost pressures and assumptions about the uranium market in 2020….. FT.com 20 June 2010,