Mining firm digs in before a nuclear boost

URANIUM miner Berkeley

Energia is based in Salamanca, 130 miles west of Madrid. Last week, the group moved from Aim to the main market of the London Stock Exchange and listed on the Spanish market so investors all over Europe can now buy the stock in euros.

Berkeley is in a strong financial position, having signed a deal with the sovereign wealth fund of Oman to provide up to $120million (£90million) – enough to fund its Salamanca mine into production. And boss Paul Atherley already has agreements in place with two potential customers once production starts. But the price of uranium remains stubbornly low – at $23 a pound, compared with a high of over $130 in 2007. The combination of construction delays and a depressed uranium price has weighed heavily on the shares.

Midas recommended the stock in 2016 when the price was 47p. A year later, they were 45p. On Friday, they closed at 46½p, having risen as high as 49p earlier in the week. Shareholders are rightly frustrated. Looking ahead however, momentum should pick up.

Construction is set to start in September and the group should begin commercial production at the end of 2019, producing 2 million pounds of uranium in the first full year, moving to 4.4million pounds by 2022.

There are also increasing signs that the uranium market is about to gain ground, after more than a decade of falling prices.

Nuclear power relies on uranium and, despite the naysayers, is an ever more important part of the global energy mix.

About 10 per cent of electricity worldwide is generated by nuclear power and it is particularly popular in America and France.

Only last week, the Government agreed to take a £5 billion stake in a new nuclear power station in Wales, in a project that is expected to deliver 6 per cent of the UK’s energy.

At the moment, however, around three-quarters of uranium producers are losing money because the price is so low. Over the next decade therefore, analysts predict the price should at least double, particularly good news for a low-cost business such as Berkeley Energia. Midas verdict: Berkeley Energia shares have had their ups and downs but Atherley has stuck to his guns and focused on moving the company into production. That work should bear fruit over the coming year. At 46½p, shareholders should try to be patient.