Uranium vs Gold Stocks: Data Compared Side by Side

Uranium and gold stocks answer different questions. Uranium miners sell a fuel that nuclear reactors need every year, and much of it is sold on multi-year contracts; gold miners sell a metal whose price is set mostly by investors, central banks and jewellery buyers. Prices have moved differently too. In the year to 15 October 2026 the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF returned -31.9% and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF returned +11.7% (StockAnalysis fund pages, 15 October 2026). This page lays the two side by side with dated numbers, so you can see what each one depends on before you read any company news. Not investment advice.

Uranium vs gold stocks at a glance

The table sets out the points that matter most when you compare the two groups. Figures come from the sources named under the table and are dated.

An expense ratio is the yearly fund charge taken from assets. A miners fund holds shares in mining companies, not the metal, so it also carries company risks such as cost overruns and mine outages. Fund data come from URNM, URA and GDX pages dated 15 October 2026. Demand and production figures come from the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and the US Geological Survey (USGS), covered below.

What moves the uranium price

Uranium is sold as U3O8, a stable oxide powder known as yellowcake, and priced per pound. Two prices matter. The spot price is for delivery within weeks. The long-term price applies to contracts that deliver over several years, and utilities sign most of their purchases this way. The WNA notes that mines supplied 90% of reactor requirements in 2024 (WNA, world uranium mining production), and that primary buyers and sellers (utilities and producers) have made up only 30% to 40% of spot trading since 2011, the rest coming from traders and financial buyers (WNA, uranium markets).

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World reactor uranium requirements, 2025 and 2040

Tonnes of uranium (tU) per year; 2040 values are ‘above’ or ‘just over’ the figures shown

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Spot and long-term uranium price, month-end

US$ per pound U3O8, October 2025 to September 2026

The two prices behave differently. Cameco publishes month-end values from two industry price series. Spot ended September 2026 at US$89.63 per pound and the long-term price at US$96.50 (Cameco, uranium price page). Over the twelve months to that date spot swung between US$75.80 and US$94.28, while the long-term price never fell from one month to the next. Another price reporter, TradeTech, put its long-term indicator at US$97.00 on 30 September 2026, the highest in more than 18 years by its measure (TradeTech press release). Reporters use different methods, so values differ by a dollar or so.

The demand side rests on reactor plans. The WNA’s 2025 fuel report puts reactor requirements at about 68,920 tU in 2025 and at just over 150,000 tU in 2040 in its Reference Scenario, with a lower case above 107,000 tU and an upper case above 204,000 tU (WNA press statement). A scenario is a planning case, not a forecast of what will happen. The same report says enough uranium resources exist to meet even the upper case, but they must be developed into mines.

What moves gold mining shares

Gold traded at US$4,169.50 per troy ounce on 15 October 2026 at 4:26 p.m. New York time (Kitco spot gold), against a long-term uranium price of US$96.50 per pound at the end of September (Cameco series); the two are priced in different units and are not directly comparable. Gold has no single end use that sets demand. Investors, central banks and jewellery buyers all play a part, and each reacts to interest rates, currencies and risk. The World Gold Council reported that China’s central bank added 23 tonnes in September 2026, its largest monthly addition since October 2023, and that central banks worldwide bought a net 39 tonnes in August 2026 (World Gold Council, Gold Focus, October 2026).

For a gold miner, the price of the metal is only one input. The other is cost, usually quoted as all-in sustaining cost (AISC): the cash cost of each ounce plus the spending needed to keep the mine running. When the gold price rises faster than AISC, margins widen quickly. The same effect applies to uranium, which is why the calculator further down uses your own numbers. For a closer look at that effect see our guide to how gold mining stocks respond to the gold price.

How concentrated is supply?

Supply risk is the clearest structural difference. About three-quarters of world uranium mine output in 2024 came from Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia, with Kazakhstan alone at 39% (WNA). By company, Kazatomprom produced 12,463 tU (21% of the world total) and Cameco 10,193 tU (17%), followed by Orano, Uranium One and CGN at 10% to 11% each. World output was 60,213 tU (WNA production data).

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Share of world mine output from the top three countries

Per cent; uranium 2024 (WNA), gold 2025 estimate (USGS)

Gold supply is spread more widely. The USGS estimates world gold mine output at 3,300 tonnes in 2025, with China at 380, Russia at 310 and Australia at 280 (USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, gold). Those three together are about 29% of the total. A policy change or outage in one uranium country can move the whole market. In gold, no single country has that power.

Kazatomprom’s own guidance shows how supply is managed. It reported 13,291 tU in the first half of 2026 (100% basis), up 9% on the first half of 2025, and it kept its full-year range of 27,500 to 29,000 tU (World Nuclear News, 4 August 2026). In the same article Cameco’s Canadian mines produced 10.1 million lb in the first half (its share), 5% lower than a year earlier, partly because of a May bridge collapse that halted Key Lake for a time.

▶ A short explainer on a known uranium deposit in Zimbabwe and why a deposit is not the same as a working mine. · 4:27

Ways to own uranium and gold exposure

Each route has its own cost and risk. Match the vehicle to what you want to own.

Physical uranium holders

Some listed vehicles buy and store uranium oxide instead of mining it. Yellow Cake plc, listed in London, held 23,214,230 lb of U3O8 at 30 June 2026, valued at US$1,969.7 million at a spot price of US$84.85 per pound, and had agreed to buy a further 1,160,766 lb from Kazatomprom at US$86.15 per pound (Yellow Cake, quarterly update). The Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, listed in Toronto, is another; it is the second-largest holding of URNM at 16.58% (URNM holdings, 15 October 2026). These holders move with the uranium price, not with mine operations, but their shares can trade above or below the value of the uranium they hold.

Uranium miners and funds

URNM tracks a market-cap-weighted index of 30 uranium companies. Its largest holdings on 15 October 2026 were Cameco (21.50%), the Sprott trust (16.58%), NexGen Energy (12.81%), Kazatomprom (5.16%) and CGN Mining (5.09%) (StockAnalysis, URNM). URA, from Global X, held 62 stocks with Cameco at 23.46% and also holds nuclear-technology and fuel-cycle names such as Oklo and Centrus (StockAnalysis, URA). The two funds therefore differ in more than fees: URNM leans to miners and physical trusts, and URA spreads into the wider nuclear industry. Our page on the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF and gold miners ETFs goes through holdings in more detail.

Gold miners and funds

GDX holds large gold producers. On 15 October 2026 its top holdings were Agnico Eagle (11.21%), Newmont (11.17%), Barrick (7.94%), Wheaton Precious Metals (5.67%) and Franco-Nevada (5.24%), with US$26.70 billion of assets and a 0.51% expense ratio (StockAnalysis, GDX). Wheaton and Franco-Nevada are streaming and royalty companies, which pay up front for a share of a mine’s output or revenue instead of running the mine, so their costs behave differently from a miner’s.

Small companies

Companies that have not yet built a mine carry the most risk and the most price swing. We compare several in small-cap uranium stocks and silver miners compared, and explain how to read the claims of this stage in our page on buying uranium stock.

How the funds have behaved

Share prices of miners can move away from the metal price. Month-end spot uranium rose from US$80.00 at the end of October 2025 to US$89.63 at the end of September 2026 (Cameco price series), about 12%. Over a year to 15 October 2026 URNM lost 31.9% and URA lost 33.5% including dividends, while GDX gained 11.7%. The funds’ 52-week ranges show the size of the swings: URNM traded between US$41.36 and US$84.95, URA between US$34.31 and US$62.28, and GDX between US$68.13 and US$117.18. At the 15 October close each sat below its 52-week high, by 48.5%, 42.0% and 25.7% respectively. Past performance says little about what comes next, and the high may have occurred early in the 52 weeks.

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Fall from 52-week high to 15 October 2026 close

Per cent below the 52-week high, three funds

These numbers show that a rising metal price does not guarantee rising shares. Share prices also reflect production delays, financing and what the market expects, which the metal price does not capture.

How a price change flows through to a miner’s margin

Margin per pound is the selling price less the cost to produce it. Because cost is mostly fixed in the short run, a small price change can produce a larger change in margin. The calculator below lets you test this with figures from a company report. Producers report a cash cost per pound, often called C1, which leaves out capital spending, and each company defines its own measures. Take your cost figure from the filing of the company you study.

Company facts worth checking: four uranium examples

We chose these four because they are named in the largest fund holdings above and each filed or released data in 2026. This is not a ranking and not a recommendation.

• Cameco (NYSE: CCJ; TSX: CCO). Plans 19.5 to 21.5 million lb of U3O8 (its share) in 2026, and delivered 7.1 million lb in the second quarter. Its contracts cover average annual deliveries of more than 28 million lb over the next five years (Cameco, second quarter 2026 results).
• Kazatomprom (KAP; shares on the Astana International Exchange, global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange). World’s largest producer by 2024 output (WNA). It produced 13,291 tU in the first half of 2026 (100% basis) and kept its 27,500 to 29,000 tU full-year range (World Nuclear News, 4 August 2026).
• NexGen Energy (TSX: NXE; NYSE: NXE; ASX: NXG). Holds a licence for site preparation and construction at its Rook I project in Saskatchewan, issued March 2026, valid to March 2036. The licence does not authorize operation, which needs a separate decision (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission).
• Yellow Cake (London: YCA). Holds physical uranium, as set out above, instead of mining it.

A company that mines has costs, permits and sometimes weather and logistics to manage. A holder of physical uranium has none of these, but earns nothing except through price change and any discount or premium to its net asset value.

Gold producers: what to read in their reports

Gold reports lead with ounces sold, AISC and realised price. Compare AISC across companies only when they use the same definition, and check whether a figure is for the group or for one mine. Our page on how uranium and gold are extracted from ore explains why ore grade and processing method drive cost. Grade is the amount of metal in each tonne of rock, in grams per tonne (g/t) for gold and often percent U3O8 for uranium.

▶ Follows gold from rock to ring, showing the mining and refining steps behind the ounces miners report. · 5:27

Exploration-stage companies and where satellite data fits

Many uranium and gold names in the news hold no mine at all. They hold licences and report drill results. Drilling is the costly step, and an exploration target is not a resource estimate. Satellite imagery can show surface clues such as iron staining, clay-rich alteration or fault lines that geologists use to choose where to look, but it cannot show uranium or gold grade at depth. Farmonaut offers satellite-based mineral screening for licence areas, for which you can see the service description or send a project query.

Risks to check before deciding

• Permits and licences: a construction licence is not an operating licence, as the Rook I case shows.
• Country and counterparty: a large share of uranium supply comes from three countries, so policy or transport problems matter more than in gold.
• Operations: flooding that collapsed a bridge on a supply route halted output at Cameco’s Key Lake for a time in 2026.
• Price and contract mix: producers with more long-term contracts feel spot swings less, and those with more spot sales feel them more.
• Fund structure: check expense ratio, number of holdings and top-10 weight; in URNM the top 10 hold 81.23% of assets.
• Dilution and financing: exploration companies often issue new shares to fund drilling.

Not investment advice. Speak to a licensed adviser about your own goals and tax.

Frequently asked questions

Should I invest in uranium or gold stocks?

This page cannot tell you which, because that depends on your goals, tax and risk tolerance. It can show the differences: uranium supply is concentrated and sold largely on long-term contracts, gold supply is spread out and priced in a deep global market. Not investment advice.

What is the difference between uranium miners, nuclear technology companies and physical uranium?

Miners dig and process ore and carry operating risk. Technology companies, such as reactor developers, sit further along the nuclear chain and depend on different drivers. Physical holders own stored uranium oxide and track its price. URNM holds miners and physical trusts; URA also holds names such as Oklo and Centrus.

What is the uranium price right now?

Prices change daily. At 30 September 2026 spot stood at US$89.63 per pound and the long-term price at US$96.50, according to the Cameco series.

Is uranium more volatile than gold?

Over the year to 15 October 2026 the uranium funds fell further from their 52-week highs than the gold miners fund did: 48.5% for URNM and 42.0% for URA against 25.7% for GDX. This measures the fall from the 52-week high, not volatility itself, and one year is a short sample.

How concentrated is uranium production?

Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia produced about three-quarters of the world’s uranium in 2024 (WNA). The top three gold producers account for roughly 29% of gold output (USGS 2025 estimate).

What is spot uranium versus long-term uranium?

Spot is for near-term delivery in a small market. Long-term prices apply to multi-year contracts between utilities and producers. In the twelve months to September 2026 the long-term series did not fall month to month, while spot ranged from US$75.80 to US$94.28 (Cameco).

How much uranium will the world need?

The WNA estimates about 68,920 tU for 2025 and just over 150,000 tU in 2040 in its Reference Scenario, with lower and upper scenarios of above 107,000 and above 204,000 tU.

Are uranium ETFs the same as owning uranium?

No. A fund like URNM or URA holds company shares, and some holdings are physical trusts. Fund returns depend on company results and market mood as well as the uranium price.

Do gold miners always rise when gold rises?

Not always. Costs, debt, mine problems and market mood also move the share price, so compare AISC, ounces sold and guidance from each company report.

Where can I check a company’s facts?

Use its stock-exchange filings: SEC EDGAR for US-listed companies, SEDAR+ for Canadian, the ASX announcements platform for Australian, and the regulator for permits, such as the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.