8 www.resourceworld.com
d e c e m b e r / j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6
prise me to see it recover past US $65/lb,
reaching something like US $80/lb".
At what point uranium's fortunes will
turn is debatable; the bullish narrative
has failed to materialize as quickly as some
would have liked. However, there may be
some traction coming and Preston noted
that many utilities' requirements beyond
2017 were not covered. "That seems a
long way out, but it's not. Two years is
a short time frame in terms of covering
requirements because you don't just buy
uranium, you also need the time to turn it
into reactor feedstock," she said.
On precious metals' longer-term out-
look, Preston was comparatively bullish
and highlighted some of the rollover in US
equities performance, which means money
will start looking for undervalued assets
in undervalued sectors. "The precious
metals sector is one logical place to look,"
Preston said. "We're still at an early stage
in the game, but those of us who watch
gold agree there is upside ahead if you take
a longer-term perspective … Don't stress
about missing any little upsides, there's a
lot more yet to come."
STorMY Now, BrIghTer lATer
The prospects for industrial metals for
the next 18-24 months is not particularly
favourable, Rule said. Preston concurred,
although she highlighted zinc's prospects
in the medium term, over the year ahead.
"Zinc still faces a structural supply prob-
lem on major mines closing or closing
shortly, with no new capacity stepping
in," she said.
Given the sluggish short- to medium-
term expectations, seniors can expect
further discomfort. However, they still
remain interesting from a long-term s
tandpoint and Rule highlighted BHP,
Potash Corp. [POT-TSX, NYSE] and
Cameco Corp. [CCO-TSX; CCJ-NYSE].
"These are high-quality companies with
decent balance sheets and dividends. They
are companies that will be worth a lot
more five years from now … but you may
have to suffer through a pretty ugly 12
months to own them," he said. "I believe a
portfolio that includes those names, just as
some examples, would be a portfolio that
could reward people over five years."
