WELLINGTON, N.Z., VANCOUVER — Uranium is the energy investment of choice for a growing number of hedge funds, which say a sixfold gain since 2001 is just the beginning of a rally that will lastyears.
“We’re in an historic uranium shortage,” said James Passin, who manages $580-million (U.S.) at New York-based Firebird Management LLC and began buying shares of uranium producers five years ago. “We’re in a global nuclear revival.”
Uranium, up 7 per cent last week to a record $60 a pound, may rise to $70 by January after a flood at Cameco Corp.’s Cigar Lake mine, says Jean-François Tardif, who has $180-million in uranium at Sprott Asset Management Inc. Bob Mitchell at Adit Capital Management LP says $80 to $100 a pound is possible.