Boss Energy and Paladin Energy opened the 2025 Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie with uranium updates, confirming that nuclear fuel ranks among the most anticipated topics of the three-day Australian conference. Now in its 34th edition, the event ran from August 4 to 6, 2025, drawing more than 2,700 delegates and over 150 exhibitors from around the world.
For Boss Energy, CEO Duncan Craib delivered concrete results: the Honeymoon mine in South Australia exceeded both production and cost targets in its first full year of operation, delivering 873,000 pounds of uranium and generating positive cash flow. For 2026, the company is targeting 1.6 million pounds, backed by expanded extraction wells and a broader resource pipeline. It is Australia’s first new uranium producer in a decade, and Craib positioned Honeymoon as a globally strategic asset at a time when demand for reactor fuel is climbing rapidly.
The backdrop is a uranium market in clear expansion. Metal prices have more than tripled over the course of this decade, driven by expectations of a structural rise in nuclear energy consumption. More than twenty nations — including the United States, Japan and France — have committed to tripling installed nuclear capacity by 2050. Australia, home to some of the world’s most significant uranium reserves, is well placed to capitalize on this global dynamic. Uranium and rare earths are gaining traction among investors, propelled by geopolitical concerns and the push for secure, low-carbon energy supply chains.
On the policy debate front, the forum hosted a dedicated panel on the future of nuclear energy in Australia. Participants included Chris Keefer, president of Canadians for Nuclear Energy, and Aiden Morrison of the Centre for Independent Studies, with Tom Switzer moderating. The panel examined how the industry can build a credible pathway toward civilian nuclear power in a political landscape that remains complex following the national elections. The presence of an international voice like Keefer signals that Australia’s nuclear debate is no longer a purely domestic affair — it has joined a global conversation involving governments, investors and producers.
Kalgoorlie is not just Australia’s historic gold capital. In recent years it has become the place where the mining sector’s real priorities are put to the test, beyond convenient narratives. The fact that the first two presentations of the 2025 program were handed to uranium companies speaks volumes about where investor attention is focused. If global demand for nuclear fuel continues to grow at its current pace, Australia has both the in-ground resources and the extraction expertise to become a leading supplier. The game is being played out right now, at the level of industrial policy and production infrastructure.
