Thorium reactors can't undergo a meltdown, according to SmartPlanet. Moreover, the waste from thorium reactions is dangerous for a few hundred years, instead of the 10,000 or so years for uranium waste - a thorium reactor could even consume much of the existing uranium waste. Can Thorium be Weaponized?Īlthough some wonder if thorium can be used in nuclear weapons and are concerned about the possibility of a thorium bomb, thorium actually can't be weaponized because it doesn't produce enough recoverable plutonium, which is required for building nuclear weapons. However, advocates of using thorium as a nuclear fuel instead of uranium point out that it solves many of these problems. Nuclear energy has numerous advantages, but there are drawbacks as well: nuclear waste poses a significant environmental threat, meltdowns are a possibility and nuclear materials can be used to create weapons of mass destruction. Is thorium the great hope for a clean, viable and safe nuclear-fuel alternative to uranium, or is it an impractical and overly expensive option that could never be adopted by the nuclear industry? Sign up here to get the day’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox. They may see benefits from new and improved technology, but they would likely be hurt if uranium prices increased following higher demand.Welcome to Thomas Insights - every day, we publish the latest news and analysis to keep our readers up to date on what’s happening in industry. This is because as customers of the nuclear industry, I do not believe that they will necessarily benefit from growth in the industry. You may notice that utility companies have not been specifically mentioned here. There are a few large companies like Rio Tinto ( RIO -0.89%) and BHP Group ( BHP -2.14%) which mine uranium, but just like with the nuclear technology companies, this makes up a relatively small amount of their business. So, for patient investors, uranium miners like Cameco, Denison Mine ( DNN 0.00%), Nexgen Energy ( NXE 0.00%), and Energy Fuels ( UUUU 0.37%) may be worth considering now while their business is slow. However, Cameco sees demand turning around "with four new reactors beginning commercial operation so far in 2019, about 50 reactors under construction, a number of reactor construction projects recently approved, and many more planned." It states that much of the growth is primarily coming from the Middle East and Asia. Cameco ( CCJ 0.27%), a Canadian miner, reported in its 2019 third quarter Management Discussion & Analysis that "not only does it not make sense to invest in future primary supply, even the lowest-cost producers are deciding to preserve long-term value by leaving uranium in the ground." Cameco itself is an example of this as the company has decided to buy uranium on the open market to meet its obligations instead of continuing to mine their reserves at these prices. This has made it difficult for uranium miners leading some to cut production and/or close mines in order to preserve their assets. There are multiple reasons for this, but overall, it seems to come down to oversupply and shrinking demand since 2011 when the Fukushima incident occurred. While not necessarily 100% correlated, the growth of the nuclear industry should be a net benefit for those invested in uranium assets.Ĭurrently, though, the price of uranium is depressed. Uranium MinersĪn investment in uranium and uranium miners is a play on the fuel source of the nuclear industry. In addition to the services provided to the US government, the company provides products and services to the nuclear power and medical industries.
However, there is one company that gives investors undiluted exposure to the nuclear industry: BWX Technologies ( BWXT 0.16%).īWX "is a specialty manufacturer of nuclear components, a developer of nuclear technologies and a service provider with an operating history of more than 100 years." Its primary customer is the US government which accounts for about 80% of their total revenues. In most cases though, this part of their businesses makes up a small percentage of their income. These companies participate in the building of nuclear components, reactors, and/or power plants. There are a number of large industrial and construction companies like General Electric ( GE 0.75%) with operations in the nuclear space. Image Source: Getty Images Nuclear Technology Companies
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