Uranium Energy stock initially gained Tuesday after the company highlighted rising demand by the U.S. government for domestic uranium in its quarterly earnings report. A wider-than-expected quarterly loss, however, ultimately overshadowed the previous excitement.

After Uranium Energy released its quarterly earnings Tuesday, shares jumped nearly 8%, but soon dipped into negative territory. In late afternoon trading they were up 0.6% at $9.27. The stock has plummeted 22% this year, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Uranium Energy posted a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of 12 cents a share, wider than a loss of 6 cents from a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet projected a loss of 4 cents a share.

Uranium production more than doubled in the fiscal fourth quarter, spiking over 150% from the third quarter to 82,744 pounds. The company spent less on each pound in its latest quarter as total cost per pound fell 33%.

The federal government is required to use unobligated uranium for military defense purposes, which is uranium that was mined, refined, and converted within the U.S. using domestic technology and without foreign peaceful-use restrictions.

The company said the U.S. government and military are actively seeking to secure a domestic supply chain for nuclear fuel instead of relying on foreign imports. The National Nuclear Security Administration has asked domestic companies if they can help supply 4 million pounds a year of the unobligated metal, beginning as early as 2030. Uranium Energy is in the position to supply it.

The mining company has expanded its footprint to keep up with production. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Uranium Energy opened its second domestic mine with a project in Texas and is currently building a third in Wyoming.

Uranium Energy doesn't just mine the metal. The company, through its subsidiary United States Uranium Refining & Conversion, is trying to build facilities to refine and convert uranium into reactor-ready fuel. If successful, this would make Uranium Energy the only vertically integrated uranium producer in the country.