"China has increased its target for nuclear power for 2020 to 112 GW (from 70 GW), well above our previous estimate of 86 GW," according to a report on Mineweb.com, and that is changing the global market for uranium. The spot price for U3O8 hit $58.50 this week, the highest in over 2 years. Forecasts through 2018 are for prices in the $75-80 range.
Arizona has some of the richest uranium deposits in the world, concentrated in breccia pipes in the Arizona Strip and adjacent areas in the northern part of the state. About 1 million acres of federal lands are currently closed to exploration and development pending the outcome of an environmental impact statement that is in preparation.
Exploration companies report finding hundreds of new geophysical anomalies in the region that could be previously unknown breccia pipes, although it's undetermined how many of them could be mineralized with uranium.