The Oil Kingdom Goes Green
The Oil Kingdom Goes Green
Last week, we highlighted the journey of nuclear energy as it quickly becomes one of the safest energy options available.
This, along with the need for energy security and independence, has led to a shift. Countries are embracing nuclear as part of their energy mix.
All this is adding up to a nuclear wave. And it is starting to roll.
This is going to require resources that were once left for dead. There is huge industry around the manufacturing, production, and delivery of nuclear energy. And at its core is uranium.
It’s a fascinating metal – number 92 on the periodic table of elements.
It’s part of a full row of unstable radioactive chaos in the bottom row.
So, what makes uranium stand out from the rest of that row? Uranium is the only one that occurs in large quantities naturally. Neptunium and plutonium have been found in trace amounts.
But just because uranium is a fairly common metal, that does not mean it is just laying around for the picking.
There are certain areas of the world that hold high uranium concentrations. And the Athabasca Basin in Canada is currently the world’s biggest vault.
My colleague Matt Badiali, our local geologist and expert on everything rock and energy, refers to the Athabasca Basin as the “Saudi Arabia of Uranium.”
The Athabasca Basin is an area in the Canadian Shield of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. The area covers approximately 39,000 square miles.
It is here that uranium-rich fluids travel up from deep in the ground. The fluid moves through cracks in the crystalline basement rock. It then leaks out of the hard rock and pools in the Athabasca sandstone.
This area produces more than 20% of the world’s uranium.
But even more important than the volume of uranium is the grade. The average grade of the uranium deposits in the Athabasca basin is nearly 2%.
That makes the Athabasca Basin the largest and highest-grade deposit in the world.
And this wave of interest in nuclear energy has been a boon to the Athabasca region. It’s even caught the eye of investors on the other side of the world.
Even actual Saudi Arabia is hedging its oil bet. The kingdom of oil is going green. It now wants to be the “Kingdom of Uranium,” and invest in uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin.
Saudi Arabia has realized the opportunity. Nuclear energy is back in a big way. And like us here at Mangrove Investor, Saudi Arabi knows it is time to jump on board for a wealth-creating opportunity.
Nuclear power is the obvious energy solution to many of our power problems. It’s efficient. It doesn’t require as much fuel supply. And it can generate the safe base-load power the world needs.
Stay tuned for more on this trend in 2023.
For The Good,
Michael Nichols
Numbers to Know
79 AD
Year of the first know use of uranium. A mosaic containing yellow glass with 1% uranium oxide was found in a Roman villa. Uranium has been commonly used for many years to give glass that unique green hue. So if your glassware is glowing you may want to drink in a hazmat suit. (Wikipedia)
1934
The year Marie Curie died from prolonged exposure to radiation. Curie’s research led to advancements including the discovery of both radium and polonium along with a Nobel Prize. (Atomic Archive)
4.5 Billion
The half-life for uranium. Because of the slow rate of decay, the total amount of natural uranium in the earth stays almost the same. (EPA)
What’s New in Sustainable Investing
France Passes New Laws Embracing Solar
The French government is embracing solar panels on rooftops and parking lots. This policy encourages covering “new buildings and large parking lots with solar panels.” (CleanTechnica)
SEC’s Gensler weighs scaling back climate rule
SEC Chair Gary Gensler is considering scaling back a potentially groundbreaking climate-risk disclosure rule that has drawn intense opposition from corporate America. (Yahoo Finance)
Video Of The Week
What Happens If You Eat Uranium?
Would you become a super hero with nuclear powers? What would you think if you were already eating uranium and did not even realize it?