Cameco, one of the world’s largest suppliers of uranium fuel, announced its agreement to acquire a 7.86% stake from Idemitsu earlier this month. It said the agreement closed on 19 May.
Cameco’s interest in the Cigar Lake Joint Venture company, which owns Cigar Lake, will increase by just over 4.5 percentage points to around 54.5%.
Orano Canada’s stake will increase by 3.3 percentage points to just over 40%.
The remaining shareholder, Japan’s Tepco Resources, a Canada-based subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company, will retain its 5% interest.
Cameco said paid about CAD107m ($82m, €78m) to acquire its increased stake in Cigar Lake from Idemitsu.
Cameco president and chief executive officer Tim Gitzel said Cigar Lake is the world’s largest high-grade uranium mine. Cameco has operated the facility since 2002.
As of 31 December 2021, Cigar Lake’s reserve and resource base included proven reserves at 96 million pounds of uranium concentrate (U3O8), probable reserves estimated at 57.4 million pounds of U3O8, measured and indicated resources of approximately 103.7 million pounds of U3O8 and deferred resources of 22.9 million pounds of U308.
Cameco said the share purchase will give it access to an additional 6.9 million pounds of U308 of proved and probable reserves, 4.7 million pounds of U308 of measured and indicated resources and one million pounds of U308 of deferred resources.
