Climate change, the Ukrainian war, the military coup in Niger, and the rush to acquire lethal weapons in more than one regional hotspot are all factors that contribute to the rising prices of various raw materials, fossil fuels, and extraction-related resources used in all forms of energy production.
This is despite the apparent weakness of the global economy, which is expected to fall short of 3% growth by the end of this year.
Uranium — which is controlled by a small number of producers throughout the world — is one of the main raw materials whose prices have risen to $57 per pound at the end of last July, up from roughly $33 two years earlier.
Global surge in demand
Demand surged abruptly due to geopolitical and geoeconomic factors; however, supply remained stagnant.
Uranium is regarded as a versatile mineral since it may be used to produce electricity from nuclear reactors, generate heat and cooling, desalinate seawater, develop medical treatments, and reach military industries if enrichment rates rise.
This technology is almost entirely restricted to a few countries, and those governments actively prohibit the spread of enrichment technologies to third-world countries for fear of manufacturing lethal weapons that could spark a nuclear arms race.
It is no secret that France is defending its final bastion in Africa in order to protect its access to this precious mineral. Niger alone supplies about 25% of nuclear reactors’ needs within the European Union, including 56 stations in France alone.
Read more: Niger coup marks yet another French setback in the African Sahel
This comes at a time when supplies from Russia were disrupted due to war and sanctions, winter fuel prices have risen due to the energy crisis, electricity demand has increased due to rising summer temperatures, and European options have been limited for a year and a half.
According to the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), three countries, Kazakhstan, Niger, and Russia, accounted for 67% of the European Union's uranium imports by the end of 2021.
According to estimates by Electricité de France (EDF), global natural gas reserves may be depleted in 63 years, oil in 54 years, uranium in 100 years, and coal in 122 years.
Moroccan phosphate
Morocco has suddenly emerged as a potential new producer of uranium, thanks to its vast reserves of phosphate and its derivatives, which are estimated to account for about 73% of global reserves.
With an annual production of 40 million tons of rock phosphate, this would be enough for hundreds of years, allowing for the extraction of derivatives such as fertilisers for agriculture and uranium for blue energy production from yellow phosphoric acid.
The Middle East Institute in Washington expects Morocco to become “a global giant in producing essential uranium material that could exceed the current largest global reserves of Australia by threefold.”
According to a report published by American Professor Michal Tanchum, “the ‘Office Chérifien des Phosphates’ (OCP) manufactures phosphoric acid, which is an intermediate product in the manufacturing of phosphate fertilisers and can be used to extract uranium.”
