Going Nuclear: Uranium in Demand

Indocan Resources Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, is finding significant uranium opportunities in Australia along with its natural gas and crude oil exploration. Prices for uranium, used to generate 16 percent of the world's electricity, may rise by a quarter this year as stockpiles of the nuclear fuel decrease and demand is set to rise from reactors being built in China and India. Commercial stockpiles of the fuel dropped 50 percent between 1985 and 2003 because mine output could not keep up with demand, according to a report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mine expansions may not meet demand, pushing up prices for uranium.