Top 5 ASX uranium stocks to watch

ASX-listed uranium stocks could emerge as solid investment picks if nuclear power becomes a publicly acceptable alternative to the fossil fuels that drive climate change. 

Nuclear energy has long received a bad rap due to concerns about its potentially disastrous impact on the environment, as well as the ability for its raw materials to be used in weapons of mass destruction. 

Public acceptance of nuclear energy could be on track to change, however, particularly amidst mounting concern over the adverse impacts of climate change. 

Advocates of nuclear power point to it as a safe and effective form of clean energy when properly deployed using the latest modern technologies. Nuclear power has the advantage of being available under all weather conditions, unlike solar or wind power, whose inconsistent reliability requires large-scale storage solutions. 

In the United States, nuclear energy is currently the largest source of clean power and accounts for more than half of the country’s emissions-free electricity. It generates almost 800 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year, cutting down on over 470 million metric tons of carbon emissions. 

Should nuclear power emerge as a publicly acceptable form of clean energy, this will provide a major boost to uranium stocks involved in the production and processing of the sector’s critical raw materials. 

The top 5 uranium stocks to watch

Australian investors seeking to capitalise upon the potential rise of nuclear power can do so via a number of uranium stocks listed on the ASX. 

Here is a list of five of the top ASX-listed uranium stocks to watch as of October 2023:

1. Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN)

2. Boss Energy (ASX: BOE)

3. Deep Yellow (ASX: DYL)

4. Bannerman Energy (ASX: BMN)

5. Lotus Resources (ASX: LOT)

Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) 

Perth-headquartered Paladin Energy Ltd holds a 75% stake in Namibia's Langer Heinrich uranium mine, which is considered to be a globally significant source of uranium. The asset has already produced over 40 million pounds of the uranium compound triuranium octoxide over the past decade and is on track to produce more than 76 million pounds in future. 

Paladin announced at the start of April that it had commenced the production and drumming of uranium concentrate at its Langer Heinrich mine, with deliveries completed by the end of March. The company said its current focus would be stepping up operations and the development of a completed product inventory.

CEO Ian Purdy said first production at the mine was an important milestone for Langer Heinrich, which was discovered in 1973 and acquired by Paladin in August 2002.

Boss Energy (ASX: BOE)

Boss Resources Limited's flagship project is Honeymoon in South Australia, which it acquired in December 2015. The company has already obtained licenses for the production, storage and export of uranium at Honeymoon.

Boss restarted the mining process in mid-October, while in the same month it teamed up with Coda Minerals Limited (ASX:COD) to obtain four exploration tenements under an arrangement for the sharing of mining rights in the Kinloch project. The Kinloch project is situated just 130 kilometres to the south of Honey moon.

A JORC-compliant resource for the restart area at Honeymoon is estimated at 36 million pounds of U3O8, with a mine life of over a decaade an annual output of 2.45 million pounds of U308.

Boss is a favourite amongst institutional investors, with Simply Wall St. estimating that the top 19 shareholders own around half of equity as of June 2024.

Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL)

Uranium explorer Deep Yellow Ltd has accumulated a diverse portfolio of projects as part of its dual-pillar strategy to establish a multi-mine company with production of more than 10+Mlb per annum. 

This portfolio encompasses exploration, early-stage and advanced-stage uranium projects across a range of geographic areas, including Omahola and Tumas in Namibia, Mulga Rock in Western Australia and Alligator in the Northern Territory. 

Deep Yellow claims to be the only ASX-listed company with two advanced projects in development – Tumas and Mulga Rock. 

Its definitive feasibility study (DFS) for Tumas in early February 2023 outlined output of 3.6 million pounds of U3O8 as well as 1.15 million pounds of V2O5, with a property mine life of 22.25 to 30 years.

In February 2024, Deep Yellow updated its mineral resource esstimate for the Ambassador and Princess deposits at Mulga Rock, for an incrases in total contained uranium of around 26%.

Bannerman Energy (ASX: BMN)

Bannerman Energy Limited's flagship asset is the Etango Project in the Erongo Region of Namibia, whose tenements possess a large-scale uranium resource. 

According to Bannerman, the Etango Uranium Project possesses 207 Mlbs of contained triuranium octoxide, making it one of the world’s largest untapped uranium resources. 

In August 2021, Bannerman completed a Pre-Feasibility Study on Etango-8 confirming that the project is strongly amenable to development in both technical and economic terms. 

In December 2024 Bannerman obtained that it had received a mining license for the Etango project, enabling it to award two early work contracts for the property that are jointly valued at around USD$2 million.

'Etango is now fully permitted, enabling us to drive key project workstreams towards a Final Investment Decision in parallel with the ongoing strengthening in uranium market fundametnals,' CEO and Managing Director Brandon Munro said.

Bannerman's share price has been on a mad tear in H1 2024, rising over 45% year-to-date as of early June.

Lotus Resources (ASX: LOT)

Perth-headquartered Lotus holds an 85% stake in the Kayelekera uranium mine in Malawi, which it acquired from Paladin Energy in 2020. The Malawi government holds the remaining 15% stake in the project.

Kayelekera has been under care and maintenance for nearly a decade due to a protracted slump in uranium prices. In August 2022, however, LOT released a restart definitive feasibility study which found that Kayelekera could commence production in 2024 or 2025 as a low-cost operation.

If production recommences on schedule, Kayelekera will have a mine life of 10 years, during which it is expected to produce 19.3 million pounds of uranium.

In June 2024, Lotus announced that it had moved from the QTCQB Venture Market to the QCQX Best Market, which could it enable to expand its investor base in North America thanks to higher financial standards and liquidity levels.

How to trade or invest in ASX-listed uranium stocks

You can gain exposure to ASX-listed uranium stocks via two ways: either through share trading or derivatives trading. Share trading means that you take direct ownership of the stock, meaning you could potentially profit if the share price increases in value or if the company decides to pay a dividend.

By comparison to owning shares outright, derivatives trading – such as CFD trading – allows you to speculate on the price movement of a company’s shares without actually taking ownership of them. CFD trading may prove attractive to some investors for a number of reasons, including the flexibility to trade stocks long and short, the ease with which it allows to hedge, as well as the ability to gain greater exposure to an asset through leverage.

Follow the simple steps below to start investing or trading uranium stocks:

Investing in uranium stocks

1. Open account or log in to your share trading account
2. Go to our platform and search for the company you wish to invest in
3. Select ‘buy’ in the deal ticket to open your investment position
4. Choose the number of shares you want to buy
5. Confirm your purchase and monitor your investment

Trading uranium shares

1. Decide whether CFD trading is for you or practice with a demo account
2. If you are ready to trade, Open account or log in
3. Search for the company you wish to trade
4. Choose your position size and select ‘buy’
5. Confirm your trade and monitor your position

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