Power play: Two money managers bet big on uranium, predict long shelf life for gains
The uranium trade's shelf life may last years.
According to Sprott Asset Management CEO John Ciampaglia, a "real shift" upward is underway due to increasing global energy demand — particularly as major tech companies look to power artificial intelligence data centers.
"We've been talking about uranium and nuclear energy non-stop for four years at Sprott, and we've been incredibly bullish on the segment," he told CNBC's "ETF Edge" this week.
Ciampaglia's firm runs the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (SRUUF), which Morningstar ranks as the world's largest physical uranium fund. It's up 22% over the past two months.
The firm is also behind the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM), which is up almost 38% over the past two months. The Sprott website lists Cameco and NAC Kazatomprom JSC as the top two holdings in the fund as of June 12.
"It's [uranium] a reliable form of energy. It has zero greenhouse gases. It has a very good long-term track record," Ciampaglia said. "It provides a lot of electricity on a large scale, and that's right now what the grid is calling for."
Ciampaglia finds attitudes are changing toward nuclear energy because it offers energy security with a low carbon footprint. Uranium is "incredibly energy-dense" compared to most fossil fuels, he said, which makes it a promising option to ensure energy security.
He cited the 2022 energy crisis in Europe after Russia cut its oil supply to the region and April's grid failure in Spain and Portugal as cases for more secure energy sources.
"We think this trend is long term and secular and durable," Ciampaglia said. "With the exception of Germany, I think every country around the world has flipped back to nuclear power, which is a very powerful signal."
VanEck CEO Jan van Eck is also heavily involved in the uranium space.
"You need reliable power," he said. "These data centers can't go down for a fraction of a second. They need to be running all the time."
His firm is behind the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR), which is up about 42% over the past two months. According to VanEck's website as of June 12, its top three holdings are Oklo, Nuscale Power and Constellation Energy.
But he contends there's a potential downside to the uranium trade: Building new nuclear power plants can take years.
"What's going to happen in the meantime?" Van Eck said. "Investors are not patient, as we know."
Van Eck also thinks it's possible the Trump administration's positive attitude toward nuclear power could fast track development.
He highlighted nuclear technology company Oklo during the interview. Its shares soared on Wednesday after the company announced it was anticipating a deal with the Air Force to supply nuclear power to a base in Alaska.
The agreement came not long after President Donald Trump in May signed a series of executive orders to rework the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, expedite new reactor construction and expand the domestic uranium industry.
"Trump controls federal land, so that's not a NIMBY [not in my backyard] kind of potential risk," said Van Eck. "They're going to leverage that hard to start to show the safety of these newer, smaller technologies."
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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES. This press release constitutes a 'designated news release' for the purposes of the Trust's amended and restated prospectus supplement dated December 6, 2024 to its base shelf prospectus dated January 3, 2024. TORONTO, June 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sprott Inc. (NYSE/TSX: SII) ('Sprott') on behalf of the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (TSX: (TSX: U.U) ('SPUT' or the 'Trust'), is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced upsized bought deal public offering (the 'Offering'), pursuant to which 11,600,000 units of the Trust (the 'Units') were issued at a price of US$17.25 per Unit for total gross proceeds of approximately US$200 million. Canaccord Genuity Corp. (the 'Underwriter') acted as sole underwriter for the Offering. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used by the Trust to acquire physical uranium in the form of uranium oxide in concentrates and related fees and expenses in accordance with the Trust's objective and subject to the Trust's investment and operating restrictions. The net proceeds per Unit received by the Trust were not less than 100% of the most recently calculated net asset value of the Trust per Unit prior to the determination of the pricing of the Offering. 'We are very pleased to have completed this Offering with the strong support from both current and new SPUT unitholders,' said John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management. 'This transaction, the non-brokered private placement completed in May and the Trust's at-the-market equity program demonstrate the Trust's ability to continue to raise capital through a variety of methods.' 'The long-term investment thesis for uranium continues to improve as a nuclear renaissance unfolds globally with announcements around plant life extensions and new builds accelerating, supported by new government policies,' continued Mr. Ciampaglia. 'We are pleased to provide investors the opportunity to participate in this long-term secular trend through access to the world's largest physical uranium fund1.' The Trust suspended its at-the-market equity program to facilitate the Offering and agreed with the Underwriter not to issue any Units, including under the at-the-market equity program, for a period of 30 days from the closing of the Offering without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this press release. This press release is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The Units have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. _______________________________________1 Based on Morningstar's universe of listed commodity funds. Data as of December 31, 2024. About Sprott Sprott is a global asset manager focused on precious metals and critical materials investments. We are specialists. We believe our in-depth knowledge, experience and relationships separate us from the generalists. Our investment strategies include Exchange Listed Products, Managed Equities and Private Strategies. Sprott has offices in Toronto, New York, Connecticut and California and the company's common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol 'SII'. For more information, please visit About the Trust Important information about the Trust, including its investment objectives and strategies, applicable management fees, and expenses, can be found on its website at Commissions, management fees, or other charges and expenses may be associated with investing in the Trust. The performance of the Trust is not guaranteed, its value changes frequently and past performance is not an indication of future results. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws (collectively. 'forward-looking statements'). Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering, including the intended use of proceeds from the sale of Units under the Offering, the Trust's ability to raise capital, including through numerous methods, and the investment thesis and trends related to uranium. With respect to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, the Trust has made numerous assumptions regarding, among other things, investor demand the uranium market. While the Trust considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, market and social uncertainties and contingencies. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors that could cause the Trust's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. A discussion of risks and uncertainties facing the Trust appears in the Offering Documents, each as updated by the Trust's continuous disclosure filings, which are available at All forward-looking statements herein are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Trust disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statements or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law. 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