June 28th: Golden Rock Weekly
Market Update
The spot market closed at $78.75/lb, +$1.50/lb for the week. The market has been closely tracking Sprott Physical Uranium Trust’s (SPUT) activity since their US$200M bought financing on June 16th. This past week, SPUT acquired 300K-lbs on Tuesday, 100K-lbs on Thursday and 100K-lbs on Friday, leaving them with ~$143M in cash. SPUT closed at just a 1.67% discount to NAV. Please note that SPUT’s ATM will not be available for 30 days as per the bought deal fine print. During the week, we shared our views on what we think SPUT will do from here.
This coming Monday will be month-end where updated long-term prices will be posted from industry consultants Ux and TradeTech. As a reminder, industry consultants set their long-term price using the lowest offer base-escalated price. For those who are not too familiar with how uranium prices are set, please check out Deep Dive #3: Uranium Pricing 101. We made some commentary during the week that we believe long-term base-escalated prices are on the cusp of beginning to move up as there is a lot of industry chatter that utilities will be coming to the market in the back-half of the year. We agree as long-term contract volumes have been anemic for over a year now.
Golden Rock Intraweek Commentary & Analysis
This past week, we released two posts so be sure to check them out if you have not already.
60-Day Review & Big SPUT Raise (Partially Paid)
When Is Cameco Going to Buy NexGen? (Paid)
We want to thank everyone who shared their comments with us on the Cameco/NexGen post. The takeaway here is that the bear market is over in uranium and that it is time for companies to shift gears. The days of conserving capital to survive the brutal bear market from 2011 to early 2020 is over and it is time for companies to get into growth mode and start replacing reserves.
Further, Cameco’s stock has doubled in the last three months and it is time to use their stock as currency to make accretive acquisitions. Perhaps they decide to start small a look to take out ISO Energy’s (C$515M market capitalization) Larocque East (Hurricane deposit) or the entire company. For those wondering ‘why Hurricane’, Cameco/Orano have a joint-venture, Dawn Lake, across the property line where they have been drilling and finding high-grade intercepts. Nobody knows quite what they have, but Cameco made the following comments in their 2024 annual report:
Source: Cameco Corporation, 2024 Annual Report
This coming week, we will be publishing a Deep Dive and introducing our views and some comments toward miners in the industry. The intent is to share some pros and cons about each company that we believe is relevant for investors. These companies will include: Cameco Corporation (CCJ), Kazatomprom (KAP), Paladin Energy (PDN), Boss Resources (BOE), Lotus Resources (LOT), Energy Fuels (UUUU), Encore Energy (EU), Ur-Energy (URG), and BHP (BHP).
What else did we find interesting this week?
New York plans new advanced nuclear power plant upstate, governor says (Reuters)
It is somewhat laughable to read this in the context that New York shut down Indian Point-2 in April 2021 which was a perfectly good nuclear plant connected to the grid in 1973 and could have run for another 10-20 years without any issue. This is a step in the right direction but many bridges will need to be crossed before anything is finalized.
Paladin Managing Director & CEO Change
The Board of Paladin Energy (PDN.ASX) announced the appointment of Paul Hemburrow as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD and CEO) of the Company, effective from September 1, 2025. Mr. Hemburrow is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Paladin, having held that role since 2023. As a result of the appointment, Paul Hemburrow will join the Board of the Company, which will be expanded in the future with a Canadian resident director.
Paul Hemburrow’s appointment results from a planned and rigorous succession process involving global executive search specialists. Current Chief Executive Officer, Ian Purdy, has provided support for the process and will remain available to assist the Board and executive team until the end of his notice period in mid-December. Paladin Chair Cliff Lawrenson said: “The Board is pleased to appoint Paul as the stand-out executive in our sector who has the leadership attributes, technical skills and uranium knowledge to capitalize on the opportunities that Paladin has within its global asset portfolio. We are very confident in Paul’s ability to create value for shareholders in the years ahead and this decision vindicates the leadership succession process the company has in place.”
Mr. Hemburrow is a highly experienced resources executive with 30 years’ operational and management experience in a range of senior executive roles within the sector, including several commodities and the leadership of mining, processing, port and rail businesses in complex operating environments and multiple jurisdictions.
We wish Paul the best as he takes over.
Uranium Energy Corporation (UEC) Acquires More Anfield Energy (AEC.V) Shares
UEC has increased its holdings in Anfield Energy by acquiring 170M shares on June 20, 2025 made through a private agreement at a price of C$0.115 per share, totaling C$19.55M.
This purchase significantly increases UEC's stake in Anfield Energy. Prior to this acquisition, UEC held approximately 17.6% of Anfield's outstanding shares on a non-diluted basis. Following the June 20th acquisition, UEC's ownership in Anfield rises to approximately 32.4% on a non-diluted basis. When accounting for UEC's existing warrants, their potential ownership reaches about 37.6%.
This recent purchase follows a previous acquisition of shares by UEC in January 2025, where they acquired 107.1M shares of Anfield at C$0.14 per share.
We will see if UEC will ultimately acquire more shares as Anfield holds the Shootaring Canyon Mill and the recently permitted fast-track Velvet-Wood uranium mine. To learn more about Anfield’s assets, click here.
Bannerman Energy Completes A$85.0M Placement
Bannerman Energy (BMN.ASX) announced that it has received firm commitments for a single tranche placement of approximately 26.6M new fully paid ordinary shares to new and existing institutional and sophisticated investors at an issue price of A$3.20 per share. The proceeds, together with existing cash, will be used to fund construction activities, infrastructure costs and general working capital as the Company advances its flagship Etango Project towards a positive Final Investment Decision (FID). Upon completion of the Placement, the Company expects to have cash reserves of approximately A$140 million.
Bannerman’s Executive Chairman, Brandon Munro, commented, “We are delighted with the strength of the support from our existing register and the high quality of the new institutional shareholders that provided cornerstones for this Placement. The collective scale and quality of the participating investors is a strong endorsement of our Etango uranium project and corporate strategy. Our enhanced balance sheet strength is a powerful enabler for us to execute our streamlined strategy of financing and constructing Etango. Against the backdrop of improving sector sentiment and nuclear utility activity, we will continue taking measured steps towards realizing the Company’s opportunity to deliver uranium into a sector pinch-point.”
Palantir Targets Nuclear Plant Construction With Software Partnership (Investors Business Daily)
The South Carolina-based Nuclear Company is attempting to streamline the construction process for traditional nuclear power plant designs. Palantir said its software will enable the startup to '“build plants faster and for less.” In a boost for Palantir (PLTR) stock, the software maker stands to garner $100 million over five years from the deal, Bloomberg reported.
For Palantir, which boasts a $308B (yes, billion) market cap, we don’t think $20M of revenue per year is material and do not think we will hear anything else this deal moving forward.