The uranium market has faced some short-term pressure lately after hitting a peak in February but are still 30 per cent higher than last year.
However, that doesn’t mean Saskatchewan-based Cameco is ready to ramp up production at its McArthur River mine or open up its Cigar Lake mine.
During a webcast on the nuclear fuel cycle and what’s ahead for the nuclear industry, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cameco, Grant Isaac, explained that the long-term prices aren’t there yet.
He says, “Any demand not brought to the market in 2024 just means more demand is getting piled up. It’s getting piled up in a window where there are increasing risks to primary and secondary supply and history tells us that’s suggestive of really strong price formation.”
According to Isaac, Cameco is prepared to wait because they haven’t seen the full brunt of demand yet.
He points out that Cameco has investments across the nuclear fuel cycle and the reactor life cycle with their co-ownership of Westinghouse, meaning Cameco is involved from the mining of uranium to processing it and then deploying Westinghouse’s nuclear technology for clean energy.
This past June, SaskPower, Westinghouse Electric Company and Cameco signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate the potential of Westinghouse’s nuclear reactor technology, and the associated nuclear fuel supply chain required for Saskatchewan’s future clean power needs, if the province decides to go in that direction.