During the first quarter of fiscal 2022, the spot price of U3O8 increased from US$28.20 per pound U3O8 at February 28, 2021 to US$30.65 per pound U3O8 by the end of March 2021. The spot price retreated to US$28.65 per pound U3O8 at the end of April 2021, before rising yet again in May 2021 to end the quarter at US$31.40 per pound U3O8. The price has continued to rise after quarter end, to US$32.10 per pound U3O8 as of the end of June 2021.

Much of the price fluctuation during the quarter was driven by periods of increased demand in the spot market, arising from multiple secondary sources: investment entities (including UPC), uranium producers, and uranium exploration and development companies. Estimates suggest that more than 12.5 million pounds U3O8 were acquired by these sources in the first 125 days of 2021.

In many cases, the increase in purchasing by these non-end-user entities appears to have been supported by a widespread increase in investor interest in the uranium sector, believed to have largely been driven by a renewed focus on global net-zero carbon emissions goals, and the potential role for nuclear energy in a post-COVID-19 pandemic "energy transition." In assessing the potential paths to reduce carbon emissions many nations, including the United States, have recognized the role of their existing, or future nuclear power plants, as a critical element necessary to achieve decarbonization objectives. This positive attention for the nuclear power sector builds on the well-established fundamental supply-demand analysis that has defined the uranium sector in recent years, where uranium prices are believed by many to be too low to sustain the production that will be necessary to fuel existing, let alone growing, future demand for nuclear power.

In April, 2021, the U.S. President held a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, which was attended by 40 world leaders. This summit was highlighted by many countries committing to new and more ambitious climate targets in order to meet an overall goal of limiting the increase in global temperatures to only 1.5 degrees by 2050. Among some of the ambitious new targets carbon emission reduction targets came from the U.S. (50- to 52-per-cent reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) from 2005 levels by 2030), Japan (46- to 50-per-cent reduction in emissions from 2013 levels by 2030); Canada (40- to 45-per-cent reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2030), United Kingdom (78-per-cent reduction in GHG from 1990 levels by 2035), and the European Union (55-per-cent reduction in GHG by 2030, net-zero target by 2050).

In the U.S., the House Committee on Energy and Commerce tabled the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for the nation's (CLEAN) Future Act, which would require all retail electricity providers to generate 100 per cent of their supplies from zero-emissions sources, including nuclear power, renewables and hydropower, by 2035. The U.S. budgetary proposal for fiscal year 2022, which was issued in late May, 2021, included more than $1-billion (U.S.) in funding dedicated to nuclear energy research, development and demonstration programs.

The importance of the role of the U.S.'s current nuclear fleet in achieving the country's emissions targets has been publicly supported by several high-ranking members of the current U.S. Administration, including the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the National Climate Adviser, and the U.S. Secretary of Energy, all of whom have been quoted stating that the nuclear fleet must be protected if the U.S. is to meet its climate goals without sacrificing reliability. This support took concrete form in the U.S. budgetary proposal for fiscal year 2022, which included tax credits to support operating nuclear power plants that are in financial distress.

The push to protect embattled U.S. nuclear power plants, which compete with cheap natural gas and subsidized renewables in deregulated markets, is evident in Illinois where legislators are currently advancing the Consumers and Climate First Act, which, among other things, is expected to provide financial support for Exelon Energy's Byron and Dresden nuclear power plants, and other nuclear power facilities in the state. In addition, in New Jersey, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously to extend Zero Emission Certificates for the state's three nuclear power plants.

This positive news for the future of the nuclear industry in the U.S. has been echoed recently in many other countries.

In China, the country's 14th Five Year Plan, which was published in March, 2021, included the goal to increase nuclear capacity to 70 GWe by the end of 2025. China's Premier, Li Keqiang, reiterated that in order to reduce carbon emissions China must "actively and orderly develop nuclear power." It has been estimated that China must complete all 16 reactors currently in operation, and construct an estimated three additional reactors, to reach its 70 GWe target on time. Further, Party Secretary of the Chinese Academy of Atomic Energy, Secretary Luo Qi, stated that China would need to build six to eight nuclear reactors each year in order to meet the target of net-zero emissions by 2060.

In Japan, Japan Electric Power Development Co. announced it would reduce its CO2 emissions by 40 per cent by 2030, and among its stated plans to reach this goal are plans to complete construction of its Ohma nuclear power plant, the construction of which was halted in 2011 due to the Fukushima Daiichi incident.

In France, EDF has submitted a final plan to construct an additional six reactors across the country to support France's future clean-energy mix.

In Canada, the Canadian Nuclear Association released a report in April, 2021, studying the role of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Canada's high-emitting heavy industries, which showed the potential for SMRs to reduce GHG emissions in Canadian heavy industry by 18 per cent by 2050, to lower the cost of reaching net-zero emissions by more than 5 per cent, and to contribute up to $5-billion annually to Canada's gross domestic product. It was also announced in April, 2021, that Alberta has joined with Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan in signing a memorandum of understanding to co-operate on the development of SMRs.

As an outlier to these recent global announcements in favour of nuclear energy, news from South Korea, which remains one of the world's most successful nuclear power nations, suggests that, despite ambitious carbon reduction goals, the government continues to promote its plan to reduce the country's reliance on nuclear power -- including a ban on reactor life extensions beyond their current 40-year terms and a ban on the building of any new units that had not commenced construction prior to the election of the government of President Moon Jae-in in 2017.