Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

Australia’s uranium industry – not much appeal for investors

A quick trawl through the uranium listed companies reveals that many have gone very quiet.

All quiet on the uranium front The Australian  September 23, ANYONE else think the uranium sector has gone – if not deathly quiet – then pretty damned subdued? Continue reading

September 24, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, uranium | , , , | Leave a comment

Long term uranium market not looking good

“There are a lot of projects on the drawing board that will have trouble getting into production or will be delayed”…we will probably need to see stronger prices.”…..
The “long-term” price “is really the more important indicator when it comes to supporting new project development, rather than the spot price,

Uranium Miners Need 25% Price Advance for Expansion Incentive, Rio Says,  Bloomberg, By Anna Stablum – Sep 23, 2010 Uranium must rise 25 percent to give mining companies an incentive to start or expand projects Continue reading

September 23, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, uranium | , , , | Leave a comment

Another annual loss for uranium explorer Toro Energy

the result included a $13.95 million non-cash impairment resulting from decisions to cease exploration activities over 16 tenements……..

Toro posts $16m loss, writes down $13m, Sydney Morning Herald, September 16, 2010 Uranium explorer Toro Energy Ltd has reported a full year net loss, but says it is making progress to start construction of its Wiluna mine in WA in 2012. Continue reading

September 23, 2010 Posted by | business, uranium, Western Australia | , , , | Leave a comment

Queensland govt’s short-sighted vision on energy future

“The Bligh government is locking Queensland into an economy dominated by high dependence on fossil fuels, high greenhouse gas emissions and high payments on carbon credits,”

Carbon future will cost, activist says, Sydney Morning Herald, September 13, 2010 Queenslanders could be subsidising the renewable energy industries of China and India because the state government is locking itself into a future fuelled by fossil fuels, an environmental activist says. Continue reading

September 13, 2010 Posted by | business, climate change - global warming, energy, Queensland, solar | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cameco, BHP, Toro, planning uranium transport through Kalgoorlie and South Australia

Cameco may join with BHP Billiton and others…From there, the product may be sent by train to a port in South Australia,

Cameco May Work With BHP, Toro for Uranium Transport Hub in West Australia,  Bloomberg, By James Paton – Sep 10, 2010 Cameco Corp. said it seeks to cooperate with companies including BHP Billiton Ltd. and Toro Energy Ltd. on transporting uranium oxide, potentially through a hub near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia…… Continue reading

September 10, 2010 Posted by | business, uranium, Western Australia | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia’s uranium exports down 24%

$44b resource exports ‘second highest on record’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 9 Sept 10, “……./The largest falls were in: thermal coal (for power stations), down 34 per cent to $11.9 billion; metallurgical coal (for steelmaking), down 33 per cent to $24.5 billion; refined petroleum products, down 28 per cent to $564 million; and uranium oxide, down 24 per cent to $751 million.

September 9, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, uranium | , , | Leave a comment

Australia’s”ethical” investments not always ethical when it comes to uranium

what about uranium mining?…. many consider uranium mining to be one of the most unethical activities of all.

A world of opportunities, Sydney Morning Herald, David Potts. September 6, 2010 -Ethical investment is a moral minefield …..there’s a fine line between what’s ethical and what’s mainstream. Continue reading

September 8, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, religion and ethics, uranium | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carbon price essential for Australia, say 19 Energy Retailors

19 Australian Energy Retailers Back A Carbon Price : Renewable Energy News, 6 Sept 10, The Clean Energy Council has released an open letter signed by nineteen of Australia’s major energy retailers – the letter also reminds us these companies are major employers and supporters of renewable energy projects in regional Australia – which says that a carbon price is essential to meeting our emissions reduction target of 5 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020……
“We welcome and congratulate the role the independents are taking in ensuring climate change policy remains on the radar of the major political parties,” Mr Warren said. “Renewable energy is also great for rural and regional Australia – it will create growth, greater economic diversity and help drought-proof farms and regions.”

The open letter can be viewed here (PDF)

19 Australian Energy Retailers Back A Carbon Price : Renewable Energy News

September 6, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, energy, solar, wind | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australian capital going to overseas low carbon industries

great a risk of capital leakage – money moving offshore for low-carbon exposure, the money that will go to china, Europe or south America where governments are setting policies in place…....Not that it got a heck of a lot of media traction. That was afforded only to miners warning of the perils of a mining tax,

Australia’s capital leak, Business Spectator, Giles Parkinson, 6 Sep 2010, Climate Spectator As various industry groups marshal their forces to try and add momentum to the push for a carbon price, institutional investors are also mobilising to ensure that their members are not excluded from the opportunities of a low-carbon economy. Continue reading

September 6, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, climate change - global warming, energy, solar, wind | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium company Paladin makes a loss, amid negative prospects for the future

the major risk for Paladin in the short to medium-term is the uranium price, with RBS Australia painting a somewhat negative view of this..

Uranium Price Dominates Paladin’s Prospects, 30/08/2010,  Money,  Chris Shaw Full year earnings for uranium producer Paladin  fell short of expectations, the company delivering a loss of around US$53 million Continue reading

September 2, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, uranium | , , , | Leave a comment

Resources ‘boom’ failing Australia’s economic competitiveness

there are the fraught issues of energy and climate change…….The lack of investment [in new renewable energy technology] will only further harm Australia’s competitiveness.

Australia slow to wake up to reality, Stuff.co.nz, By ROD ORAM –  Star Times, 15 Aug 2010, IS THE great Australian boom, the longest in any developed country, over? Yes, said Ross Garnaut, one of the country’s most respected economists, in a seminal lecture last week. Continue reading

August 16, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, energy, solar, wind | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Austrliun uranium companies tie up with Chinese state nuclear firm

possible expansion of joint venture relationships between Paladin and Energy Metals,…Energy Metals …holds around 54 percent of the Bigrlyi uranium project northwest of Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory. Paladin owns 42 percent of the mine

Chinese nuclear firm ties up with Australian uranium miner –Yahoo!7News, BEIJING, Aug 6, 2010 (AFP) – – Australian uranium producer Paladin Energy Ltd has said it agreed with a major Chinese nuclear power firm to explore long-term uranium sales,…….. Paladin signed a memorandum of understanding with a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corporation (CGNPC) setting up a “framework of cooperation” for uranium sales, the Sydney-based company said. Continue reading

August 7, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, uranium | , , , | Leave a comment

Sickly financial results for uranium miner ERA

Energy Resources of Australia – ERA – Intelligent Investor 2 Aug 10  By Gaurav Sodhi Sickly uranium prices and an unusually poor operating performance at the Ranger uranium mine contributed to a dramatic fall in Energy Resources of Australia’s (ERA) half year profits. For the half year ended July 2010, ERA made just $22.7m, compared with $176.1m for the same period last year. Energy Resources of Australia – ERA – Intelligent Investor

August 4, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, uranium | , , , | Leave a comment

Energy Resources of Australia’s 82% uranium profit loss

.Meanwhile, the net profit after tax declined by 82%,…..the global financial crisis has led to delays in nuclear reactor builds in most regions

ERA profit falls sharply, cuts FY production guidance, MINING WEEKLY, By: Esmarie Swanepoel, 30th July 2010) – ASX-listed uranium-miner Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) on Friday reported an 82% drop in half-year profit and downgraded its production guidance for the 2010 financial year Continue reading

August 2, 2010 Posted by | business, energy, Northern Territory, uranium | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium company’s share price and profits plummet

ERA first-half profit plunges 82pc  ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 30 july 2010, Darwin  Energy Resources of Australia has announced an 82 per cent plunge in its first-half profit.The company has blamed the slump on a fall in the price of uranium oxide and poor grades of ore at its Northern Territory mine.ERA’s net profit for the six months to the end of June fell to $22.7 million from $127.6 million for the same period last year.In the early afternoon, its shares had slipped more than 4 per cent to $13.71.

ERA first-half profit plunges 82pc – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

July 30, 2010 Posted by | business, Northern Territory, uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment