Cameco's Implosion and the Next-Wave Uranium Stocks

Yesterday was one of the wildest days I've ever seen in uranium stocks.

FIRST, we had the news from Cameco that there was more flooding -- catastrophic flooding -- at its Cigar Lake Mine. The company can't control it and now has to let the mine shaft fill up. This delays the mine -- which was supposed to start up in 2008 -- until at least 2009. Perhaps longer.

That will take 7 million pounds a year of projected uranium production off the market starting in 2008. And it gets worse. At full capacity, Cigar Lake was expected to produce 18 million pounds of uranium a year.

"Losing Cigar Lake in the uranium world is like the oil market having to deal with the loss of Saudi Arabia," Kevin Brambrough of Sprott Asset Management told Bloomberg.

I have to agree. Anytime you lose a mine that's equal to 10% of global demand, that's going to shake the market.

Cameco had force majeure clauses in most of its contracts so it doesn't have to deliver, but that didn't stop the stock from cratering 10%. But all those utilities that planned to buy uranium from Cigar Lake now have to scramble to find new supplies.

So what do you think the reaction was in other near-term producers? If you think they took off to the moon, you're right.

And here's good news: Those are just the kind of stocks I recommended in my recent uranium report, "The Golden Age of Uranium."

One of my picks jumped 14% in one day. Another jumped 16%. They all jumped -- all of 'em! If you bought that report (or subscribe to Red-Hot Canadian Small-Caps or Red-Hot Asian Tigers and got it for free) and are already in those stocks, yesterday was Christmas come early. Give yourself a big pat on the back.

But you know what? You ain't seen nothin' yet. In fact, I'd expect many of those next-wave uranium stocks to pull back for a bit. That's going to be a golden opportunity to get in, because uranium prices are going much higher, and my recommended stocks -- which are leveraged to the price of uranium and are all near-term producers -- are going ride the crest of the coming surge.

If you haven't read my uranium report, CLICK HERE to find out more about it. Or you can read a Money and Markets where I wrote more about my nuclear outlook: "America's Atomic Future."

The future's so bright, we gotta wear shades. Go, uranium!

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com