Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is shaking off yesterday’s losses with a mild gain so far during this Wednesday’s trading session. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has put on a solid 0.42% at 7,485.6 points.  

So let’s dive a little deeper into these market moves and check out the ASX 200 shares that are sitting at the top of the share market’s volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Wednesday

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

ASX 200 lithium producer Pilbara is first on our list. A notable 16.32 million Pilbara Minerals shares have changed owners thus far today. There have been no new announcements out from the company following yesterday’s production update. However, the Pilbara share price has bounced back after yesterday’s losses and is currently up a meaty 1.21% at $2.94 a share. It’s likely that this leap is why we are seeing an elevated volume of Pilbara shares bouncing around today.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

Paladin is our next share worth checking out today. As it currently stands, a hefty 25.46 million Paladin shares have swapped hands. This has almost certainly been initiated by the healthy share price rise Paladin has enjoyed this Wednesday. At the time of writing, this ASX 200 uranium share is trading at 91 cents a share, up a pleasing 9.64%.

As my Fool colleague Monica covered this afternoon, this rise seems to be the result of some significant pricing increases in uranium itself. Futures of the nuclear reactor fuel are now reportedly at their highest level in over a decade, with uranium prices up almost 112% over the past year. 

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

ASX 200 lithium stock AVZ is our final and most traded share of the day thus far. AVZ Minerals has had a whopping 42.82 million of its shares bought and sold at this point of the trading session. As with Paladin, this seems to be the result of a notable share price appreciation.

AVZ released an announcement this morning that informed investors that its Manono Lithium and Tin Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has received a positive technical opinion from the African country’s Department of Mines. This means that it could be awarded a mining license soon. Investors have reacted with enthusiasm, sending AVZ shares up more than 10% at $1.135 each. This is likely the cause of this elevated share trading volume.