By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
In a presentation at its annual general meeting, Paladin, the main shareholder in the Namibia Langer-Heinrich Uranium Mine, revealed that for the next 10 years, global nuclear utilities will have approximately 1 billion pounds of uncovered uranium requirements.
A summary of the 18 November 2025 annual general meeting was posted on the company website, which includes the company’s planned activities on the Langer-Heinrich mine.
Namibia is one of the world’s main producers of uranium, which it mostly ships out to nations with nuclear facilities.
The country is also developing other nuclear mines, such as the Etango and Tumas Uranium Projects, which are expected to increase the country’s overall uranium output.
According to a Paladin assessment, nuclear utilities have on average sourced over 90% via term contracts in the last three years. Adding that whilst term contract volumes have improved in recent years, contracted activity remains below replacement levels.
Paladin’s assessment highlighted that the current heightened demand for uranium is underpinned by the existing global reactor fleet, reactors under construction, and reactor life extensions & restarts in the US and elsewhere.
Moreover, during the COP28 and COP29 conferences, 31 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, and France, pledged to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050.
In the same breath, US President Donald Trump also issued an executive order aimed at boosting the nuclear energy sector in the US to quadruple its nuclear fleet from the approximate 100GW to 400GW by 2050.
According to Paladin, this implies an additional estimated 150 million pounds (Mlb) of annual triuranium octoxide (U3O8) demand out to 2050 for the US alone.
Another factor driving demand is the need for data centres and AI infrastructure. These require significant clean and reliable baseload power, which the current generation and grids are unable to fulfill.
Moreover, the strong uranium market outlook is also driven by global energy security and ongoing electrification across nations, while under-investment in uranium mines has also increased the structural uranium supply-demand deficit.
As a result, global nuclear utilities are increasingly securing uranium supply. Currently, there are 438 operating nuclear reactors, 70 are under construction, while 116 are planned worldwide.
Despite being a major producer and currently flirting with nuclear energy, Namibia is not included in the list of countries constructing reactors or planning to build some.
erastus@thevillager.com.na
