4 mega-cheap UK shares to buy under £5!

I’m thinking of buying these ultra-cheap UK shares for my shares portfolio. Let me talk you through why.

Copper colossus

Copper demand is tipped to boom as the decade rolls on. This is primarily because investment in new, green technologies will soar in response to the climate crisis. In particular, the production of millions of electric vehicles and infrastructure to keep them on the road will eat up acres of the red metal.

One cheap UK share I’d buy to make money from this boom is Taseko Mines. This major digger owns the second-biggest copper project in Canada, the Gibraltar Mine, from where metal production is currently soaring. Copper output here jumped 29% in the third quarter. Taseko also owns other high-potential assets like the Yellowhead project that it’s looking to bring online.

Problems on this front could prove difficult for the company’s share price, sure. But I still think it’s an attractive stock to own.

A nuclear option

Rapid economic growth in emerging regions, allied with a rising global population, mean that energy demand is soaring. With fossil fuels become increasingly unpopular, this gives uranium producer Yellow Cake an enormous opportunity. It supplies the material that allows nuclear power stations to churn out electricity.

Last week, Rolls-Royce declared plans to build more than a dozen small-scale nuclear plants in the UK. It illustrates the role nuclear power can play as part of a broader green investment plan to battle climate change.

It’s worth remembering that Yellow Cake could suffer over the longer term if renewable sources like wind and solar — which are growing at a stratospheric rate — also take over from nuclear.

Medical marvel

I think Tristel could be a perfect stock for me for the post-coronavirus landscape. This business makes disinfectant products for use on medical device surfaces. It therefore stands to gain from the elevated fear of infections and consequent strive for best hygiene that will remain following the Covid-19 crisis.

Profits at Tristel have suffered in recent times. Demand for its products have slumped as the number of surgical procedures have declined. This problem could reappear too, if the Covid-19 crisis balloons and healthcare services become stretched again. However, with NHS stockpiles of its products dwindling and surgeries picking up again, I think Tristel’s battered share price could be on the cusp of rising again.

A cheap e-commerce share

I think Royal Mail is a brilliant all-round bargain at current prices below £5. Not only does it trade on a forward P/E ratio of just 7.2 times, but Britain’s oldest courier also carries a mighty 4.6% dividend yield.

I like this UK share because the number of parcels it’s likely to shift should keep rising strongly as e-commerce continues to accelerate. I also think it’s a great buy because it continues to invest heavily to expand its GLS overseas division across the globe.

Now Royal Mail is highly sensitive to economic conditions. Both parcel and letter volumes could sink if Britain’s post-coronavirus bounce continues to stutter. But all things considered I think the potential rewards offset these near-term risks.

Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.