By Robb M. Stewart
Cameco and partner Orano are bumping up their stakes in the high-grade Cigar Lake uranium mine in Canada, buying the minority 5% interest held by the Canadian arm of Tokyo Electric Power.
Cameco said it has reached an agreement to increase its investment by 2.87 percentage points to 57.42% for about 115.75 million Canadian dollars (US$83.9 million). Orano Canada, the local unit of the French nuclear energy company, will lift its share by 2.13 percentage points to 42.58%.
Scarce, licensed and permitted assets such as Cigar Lake play an essential role in fueling global ambitions to expand nuclear energy generation, Cameco Chief Executive Tim Gitzel said. "Cigar Lake is among the world's best uranium mines, producing the highest-grade uranium ore from a safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation," he said.
The Cigar Lake mine in northern Saskatchewan is forecast to produce between 17.5 million and 18 million pounds of uranium concentrate, known as U3O8, this year, Cameco said. The company plans to continue production and development activities this year in the area currently being mined, while also working on plans to extend the life of the mine to 2036.
Cigar Lake's reserve and resource base includes proven and probable reserves estimated at 172.4 million pounds of U3O8, measured and indicated resources of about 26.3 million pounds, and inferred resources of 20 million pounds. Since it began production in 2014, the mine has produced some 174.5 million pounds of uranium.
The acquisition is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other standard closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 01, 2026 06:59 ET (10:59 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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