Management for Fission Energy Corp. will be hosting a conference call with investors and analysts today (Tuesday, August 28th).

Details for this investor call are below.

Investor Conference Call (Virtual Road Show)

Date:  Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 

Time:  11:30am Eastern Time; 8:30am Pacific Time

Conference Call Information:

Participant Dial-In Numbers:

TOLL-FREE    1-877-941-2068

TOLL/INTERNATIONAL    1-480-629-9712

Conference ID:  4561270

Topic: Fission Energy Corp. August 2012 Virtual Road Show

Please dial in at least 10-minutes before the call to ensure timely participation.

Webcast link for this investor conference call is here:

http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=101612

Replay Dial-In Numbers:

TOLL-FREE   1-877-870-5176

TOLL/INTERNATIONAL   1-858-384-5517

From:  08/28/12 @ 2:30 pm Eastern Time

To:    09/04/12 @ 11:59 pm Eastern Time

Replay Pin Number:  4561270

Dev Randhawa

Biggest source of future uranium shelved

Bad news for BHP, good news for future uranium prices. What am I talking about? The fact that BHP Billiton has announced the widely expected delay to the huge expansion of the Olympic Dam mine in Australia. You can read coverage of the announcement here in the Financial Post.

The FP article, which I feel is well worth reading, concludes that the decision ‘could have an outsized impact on the uranium market, which is small and concentrated. The Olympic Dam expansion was expected to quadruple uranium output from the mine to more than 40 million pounds beginning in 2017. To put that in perspective, uranium giant Cameco Corp. produced 22.4 million pounds last year.’

Personally I think the FP has understated the matter. With the HEU agreement soon to end and the cost and timescales required to bring new uranium production online, a uranium supply deficit is already expected. The BHP news suggests to me that the supply gap will not only be larger but will be in play for a longer period that previously estimated.

Dev Randhawa

Potential uranium supply gap looms ever larger as UAE secures long term supply -$3Billion in nuclear fuel contracts

The UAE (United Arab Emirates) recently announced a series of nuclear fuel supply contracts totaling $3Billion. You can read the original story by Reuters here.  The contracts, which range from the purchase of uranium to conversion/enrichment services are for UAE’s first nuclear power plant due to open in 2017 and will cover its fuel supply for its first 15 years. The UAE plans to build another three reactors and its fellow oil producing Arab state, Saudi Arabia, has proposals for sixteen reactors. The home of big oil is going nuclear.

As the current wave of new construction (65 worldwide) gets closer to completion we will an increasing number of countries moving to secure their long term supply. With the end of the HEU agreement just over the horizon the only question remains is how will the mining industry plug what many industry observers believe to be the inevitable supply gap.

Dev Randhawa

Summer drilling update (Waterbury): Nine holes intersect mineralization; two holes intersect significant mineralization with moderate to strong radioactivity; J-Zone enhanced

If you haven’t read today’s press release yet, I know you’ll be pleased to hear that our Waterbury Lake  Summer drilling program is progressing very well indeed. I recommend you check out the press release for the details but in the meantime, here’s a quick overview:

Nine of the remaining twelve drill holes completed at the Waterbury Lake summer drill program have intersected mineralization in the J Zone, with two holes: step-out hole WAT12-325 and hole WAT12-319, intersecting significant 7.0m and 9.0m mineralized intervals respectively, with moderate to strong radioactivity, including discrete intervals of “off-scale” (>9999 cps) scintillometer readings.

Here’s what our President, COO, and Chief Geologist had to say: “This summer’s drilling at the J Zone has successfully identified significant mineralization in the central part of Area “B”, by expanding the northern boundary with targeted step-out holes and filling in the gaps identified by previous drill campaigns.”

Check out the release and as always if you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Dev Randhawa

Uranium mining prospects looking good for Peru’s Macusani district

Not everyone knows this but uranium is actually quite an abundant metal and is found all over the world. Why then isn’t it cheap? As with all things mining related, it comes down to production costs. To be economically viable you generally need a high grade source. That simple fact is the reason that Canada’s Athabasa Basin is the world’s leading uranium district.

However, as with all rules, there are exceptions and it’s looking increasingly likely that Peru’s Macusani District is shaping up to be one of those exceptions. The bulk of the uranium discovered so far in the region (which does not yet have a uranium mine) lies close to the surface. Moreover, recent tests results announced by Macusani Yellowcake suggest that production costs may be low.

They sent out a press release a few days ago in with their president and CEO, Dr. Laurence Stefan, stated: "The recent column leaching tests have returned high recovery rates with very low acid consumption and continue to demonstrate the very favourable metallurgical characteristics of the Macusani uranium mineralization. The results also hint towards low production costs. The excellent uranium extraction results obtained during these tests, which were run under simulated "mine conditions" and combined with the extremely low acid consumption, further support a technical and economic case for a low grade uranium heap leach operation on the Macusani plateau."

As Fission has a large, highly strategic land package in the Macusani region  we’ll obviously be keeping a close eye on how things develop for Macusani Yellowcake. So far I believe things are looking encouraging.

Dev Randhawa

India Blackouts – no wonder they are growing their nuclear capacity

In the past six months, the Indian government has been bullish over its plans for nuclear energy. A 1400% increase in nuclear energy capacity is a much touted figure and with seven reactors currently under construction, eighteen in the planning stage and a further 39 proposed, the country is certainly headed in the right direction.

The two blackouts that occurred recently affected an area that included around 670 million people – that’s about 10% of the world’s population…. The New York Times published an article on the primary catalysts for the blackouts but I wanted to blog about the blackouts because the underlying problems are not unique to India and they highlight the fundamental growth factors for nuclear energy growth.

India is overly reliant on coal which, while comparatively cheap, is dirty, inefficient and because India doesn’t produce enough of its own has to be imported in vast quantities. The country also uses hydro power but low rainfall has left rivers (and hydro power stations) below capacity. Nuclear power, on the other hand, uses uranium which is vastly more efficient and is required in minute quantities compared to coal. Nuclear power is clean , has a high base load (unlike solar, wind and tidal) and is an area of technology in which India has a skilled workforce.

The Indian government knows this which is why they are moving their power mix towards nuclear as fast as possible. As energy demands continue to grow worldwide and climate change pushes the need for clean power, India’s blackouts are a warning to any country that doesn’t give nuclear its proper seat at the table.

Dev Randhawa

Waterbury lake regional target assay results: mineralization at Summit, Murphy and Oban

If you've not seen today’s press release, we’ve just announced the regional target assay results for the 2012 Winter drill program at the J Zone, Waterbury Lake.

While growing the J Zone remains the primary focus at Waterbury Lake, targeted regional exploration drilling has identified several mineralized areas of interest, with Oban and Murphy Lake being the most encouraging new areas tested during the winter program. Results have reinforced the potential for Waterbury Lake to host multiple mineral deposits similar to the J Zone discovery.

I recommend you check out the release for both the summary details and the full data and as always, please get in touch with any questions.

Dev Randhawa

Forbes Article: Japan would be crazy not to focus on nuclear

Very interesting, in-depth article in Forbes a few days ago that tackles the question of Japan’s choices for energy mix going forward. Take a look and see what you think. The author, tackles the question from an economic and environmental perspective and evaluates the options accordingly.

The economic costs of Japan moving to a fossil fuel based energy mix – both for Japan itself and the global community have been well publicized. People think natural gas is cheap at the moment but for Japan – with no gas resources of its own – the cost is five times that in the US. If Japan converted it’s nuclear power stations to gas, quite aside from the engineering cost of doing so, their energy requirements would, according to NPR, use up a massive 20% of the world’s supply of liquid natural gas.

For those claiming Japan should invest in renewable energy, the article points out that Japan has poor wind and solar potential, and little biomass potential.

Then there’s the environmental impact of a fossil fuel centric Japan. The author discusses this aspect in what I consider persuasive detail and ends with the following questions: What do you care about most? The planet’s survival, economic survival, or the fear of radiation? In my opinion, the Nuclear energy option helps the planet and Japan’s economy. The alternative is more cost and more pollution.

Dev Randhawa

OECD Report states Worldwide Nuclear Expansion on track despite Fukushima

Published just last week, the OECD report on uranium resources, production and demand, viewed as a ‘benchmark’ report by many, has confirmed what a great many industry analysts have been saying for a while – Fukushima has had little impact on the prospects for nuclear energy, and those prospects are good.  I strongly encourage you to read the coverage of the report on Reuters as I personally found it paints a clear, concise view of industry growth – where it is coming from and over what time period.

The biennial report expects world nuclear capacity to grow by 44 percent to 99 percent by 2035, which is little changed from the range of growth of 37 percent to 110 percent in the edition two years ago. Reuters have quoted Gary Dyck, head of nuclear fuel cycle and materials at the International Atomic Energy Agency as referring to Fukushima’s impact on the nuclear industry as a “speed bump”.

The report also highlights China, India, South Korea and Russia as the largest driving force behind the growth with nuclear capacity due to by 125 percent to 185 percent by 2035.

Dev Randhawa