In an era of worrisome global warming events, it’s hard to argue with a transportation system that has proven to reduce particulate emissions by 95 percent compared to diesel engines and which also reduces carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides by 75 percent and 49 percent, respectively. Those are the statistics UPS (NYSE: UPS) provides with regards to its 800 vehicles now running on compressed natural gas [CNG].

Nearly all of Niger’s journalists have been threatened or shut down. On Thursday, Niger’s High Council for Communication suspended Radio France International broadcasts for one month, accusing the French-owned FM radio station of sympathizing with the Tuareg rebels.

In an out-take from our interview with Yellowcake Mining (YCKM.OB) director Dr. Robert Rich, he told us that the company that owns a uranium mill controls the area.

For the first time since May 2001, the spot uranium price dropped twice in two consecutive weeks.

Beijing has a more serious problem. It is one of the more toxic and polluted cities in the world.

After 47 consecutive months without a drop in price, weekly spot U3O8 had a small hiccup. It was inevitable. In 85 percent of those 47 months, the uranium price surged higher.

Earlier this month, tiny Hong-Kong listed Zhongyu Gas Holdings (Hong Kong Stock Code: 8070) announced a number of ‘leading institutions’ had participated in its latest round of financings to develop the company’s coalbed methane [CBM] resources in China.

Many had been bracing for a 30-percent reduction in molybdenum exports. Traders are probably reeling now.

About 34 million tons of manganese ore were mined in 2006.

While spot U3O8 transactions could remain in the $130 to $150/pound range for a while longer, it appears that increased supply in proportion to market demand could lead to a temporary price hiccup. We cautioned of this possibility in early January of this year.

StockInterview: What are your thoughts on the impact of the recent NYMEX uranium futures on the uranium mining stocks, and will this help bring uranium mining stocks onto Wall Street’s radar?

Dr. Robert Rich: I believe the impact of the new NYMEX futures market will have a positive impact on many juniors, but I think it will specifically help those who really are in the business to become producers. I think it will provide options which haven’t existed in the past to raise money in a different manner. One should be able to pre-sell output and raise money that way. So, I think it will help the overall uranium production sector.

After totaling the dollar amounts of exploration expenditures, cash option payments and market value of shares granted to Strathmore, we arrived at nearly C$150 million equivalent, and this came about without diluting the company’s shares. Instead, companies such as Yellowcake Mining (YCKM.OB) and American Uranium (AUUM.OB) signed Letters of Intent to raise the exploration expenditures and paid cash and shares to earn-in to specific Strathmore properties.

According to the company’s 2006 annual report, POSCO exports more than 70 percent of its steel products across Asia, mainly to China, Japan and southeastern Asia. In response to record high nickel prices, the steelmaker announced it would begin manufacturing nickel-free stainless steels. So did European steelmakers ThyssenKrupp and Outokumpu, which has heavily relied on its austenitic products.

By 2009, experts believe China will overtake the United States as the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide.

When we began coverage on the uranium sector three years ago, an investor could have thrown a dart at any uranium company and made money. Last summer, we began covering the molybdenum sector. Again, investors who were then wise enough to build positions reaped percentage gains of 200 percent or more by speculating on any legitimate molybdenum prospect. Some investors enjoyed gains of 400 to 800 percent on the better juniors.

On the day before the Ryan’s Notes metals conference at the New York Athletic Club on Tuesday, our sources told us moly traders are sweating, scrambling to find inventory. One told us, “$50 per pound molybdenum is a heartbeat away.” This would represent an increase of nearly 50 percent from present pricing.

What we had in mind was finding a new molybdenum company for our readers. But first, the company’s property was required to meet our basic criteria: (a) advanced exploration work previously done in the previous bullish cycle, (b) good drilling results and previous progress toward production made before the moly price fell during the last cycle, (c) being developed by a proven technical team, and (d) current progress being made to move the project forward.

“From the point of view of today’s price, they did us a favor by sending a really strong signal to the production-side community that it was time to get out there and start looking to get stuff back into production,” Exelon Corp (EXC) nuclear fuels vice president James Malone told StockInterview.com. Malone was referring to the uranium speculators and financial community, who have driven long-term uranium contracts to US$85/pound and the weekly spot price to $125/pound. “It may not have happened as quickly without this strong signal.”

Meanwhile, more price transparency seems to appear at Mestena’s regular spot uranium price auctions than in the overall uranium marketplace. Yet, the amount this private uranium producer has sold is far less than one percent of the uranium consumed in 2006.

There is an ongoing global war for energy security, which appears to be politically inspired. China and Russia are the main opponents, especially in Africa, but have rivaled each other, over the past several years, in Central Asia. The goal for both nations is not only energy security but political influence and alliance over their targeted territories.