***The bottom line is that even in the wake of the Japanese catastrophe, uranium’s supply crunch lives on. If we look out over the next eight to 10 years, which is the amount of time it takes a nuclear power plant to become fully operational, the market is still about 400 million pounds short of projected demand. The top 10 producers, which make up almost 90 percent of the uranium market, only produced 110 million pounds of uranium in 2010. In other words, uranium producers need to produce nearly four times the amount just to meet estimated new demand. The new supply will have to come from somewhere, or the price of the existing supply will need to increase to clear the market. For uranium miners the market is red hot. For investors, shares of the best uranium mining stocks could represent the best energy investment opportunity in decades. The World Nuclear Association’s (WNA) chart below sums up why now is the time to get into uranium related investments. The world will be using more uranium for years to come – and many great investment opportunities appear in the midst of a supply crunch. The supply crunch easily has the potential to become even more strained with 63 percent (note this is not the same as top ten producers mentioned above) of the current uranium production coming from only 10 mines worldwide. Additionally, the global supply of mined uranium is susceptible to supply shocks if one mine floods, or stops production for other reasons. ***The most direct way to profit from the coming growth in nuclear energy and the shortage in uranium is to buy shares in the most productive uranium miners in the world. As I stated in this letter over a month ago, the tragedy in Japan, and subsequent fear in the market, has presented us with the opportunity to invest in several well-managed and fundamentally sound uranium companies. For well-informed investors with the patience to tolerate volatility for a couple of months, I think this could potentially be the single best opportunity to buy and hold uranium stocks. I will continue to track the nuclear/uranium story closely and report back to you here in Small Cap Investor Daily. Feel free to send in questions, or companies, that you would like me to discuss. My address is editorial@smallcapinvestor.com. As you know, I am long-term bullish on uranium fundamentals, and suggest that you join me for what should be a prosperous ride. Tickers: Global X Uranium ETF (NYSE:URA), Market Vectors Uranium+Nuclear Enrgy ETF (NYSE:NLR), Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:URRE), Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX:DNN), Cameco Corp. (NYSE:CCJ), Uranerz Energy Corp. (AMEX:URZ), Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX:UEC).