Justin Huhn: Inflation is Hitting Uranium Producers Hard

Tom welcomes back Justin Huhn to discuss everything uranium related. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act does have some provisions that will be beneficial for the Nuclear industry. It includes some tax credits which should help keep existing reactors operational for longer. Some nuclear projects are aging and have higher overhead at times. Maintenance costs may get covered by this bill. Justin explains the benefits of pricing transparency that the Sprott SPUT ETF has brought to the market. In addition, they've helped buy up the excess inventory. He believes SPUT is going to outperform again as institutional buyers have been accumulating. There have been logistical problems with deliveries from Kazakhstan due to supply route problems around Russia. Everything is experiencing a rising cost of doing business, including uranium production and enrichment. This will inevitably lead to higher prices for uranium. Japan is still cautiously restarting reactors to ensure their safety. It's a slow process, but the public is coming around to the idea and local governments are generally supporting it. There has been a decade of under-investment in nuclear within France. They've had maintenance problems and the current fleet is running at fifty percent. They are a large exporter of energy, but there are some concerns about what will happen this winter. Hopefully, they can bring more power back online. They have also had issues with drought and water is needed to keep reactors cool. Nuclear is clearly showing that it's a reliable form of energy. We're not sure what is happening in Germany, as electrical prices remain at record levels. Russia doesn't want a nuclear accident in Ukraine, but they want control of that massive nuclear plant. It provides twenty-five percent of Ukraine's grid. While there are concerns about the potential for sabotage, these are very reinforced structures and shouldn't be vulnerable. All markets are slow this time of year and this has spilled over to fuel buying. He explains why the market should improve later in the fall. The uranium market is bifurcating into East and West. This could provide an impetus to extend the length of the bull market. He believes it may only be a matter of weeks before the next big leg-up in uranium. Time Stamp References:0:00 - Introduction0:40 - Inflation & Green Policy2:47 - Reactor Economics4:32 - Sprott SPUT10:25 - Ukraine Conflict Effects14:13 - Uranium Price Floor15:50 - Japanese Restarts22:13 - Ukraine Nuclear Plant25:42 - Summer Doldrums28:00 - Enrichment Pricing34:29 - M&A Activity36:04 - Bull Market Factors38:03 - SMR Momentum Building41:32 - Wrap Up Talking Points From This Episode * Benefits to the nuclear industry from the "Inflation Reduction Act".* Importance and benefits of the SPUT ETF.* Japan's reactor status and the overall energy picture in Europe.* Why the Uranium market is becoming bifurcated and the implications. Guest Links:Website: https://www.uraniuminsider.com/Newsletter: https://www.uraniuminsider.com/newsletterTwitter: https://twitter.com/UraniumInsider Other:Shika 2 Hitachi Nuclear Project: https://youtu.be/w2YHrJafMlESMR Story: https://segracapital.com/commentary/the-advanced-nuclear-fuel-cycle-we-can-work-it-out/