Canada’s Cameco has announced a record annual uranium production of 28.4m lbs in 2015, which is 4% higher than estimated. The company’s annual report noted record quarterly production of 9.6m lbs in the fourth quarter, 17% up year on year, mainly due to production from its Cigar Lake uranium mine, where estimated production was exceeded. Cameco spent CAD2m ($1.5m) on four brownfield exploration projects, CAD4m on projects under evaluation in Australia, and CAD2m at Inkai in Kazakhstan and its US operations. Some CAD32m was spent on regional exploration programmes, mostly in Saskatchewan and Australia. Adjusted net earnings fell to CAD344m in 2015 from CAD412m in 2014.
Canada’s Cameco has announced a record annual uranium production of 28.4m lbs in 2015, which is 4% higher than estimated. The company’s annual report noted record quarterly production of 9.6m lbs in the fourth quarter, 17% up year on year, mainly due to production from its Cigar Lake uranium mine, where estimated production was exceeded. Cameco spent CAD2m ($1.5m) on four brownfield exploration projects, CAD4m on projects under evaluation in Australia, and CAD2m at Inkai in Kazakhstan and its US operations. Some CAD32m was spent on regional exploration programmes, mostly in Saskatchewan and Australia. Adjusted net earnings fell to CAD344m in 2015 from CAD412m in 2014.
However, Cameco said significant weakness in the Canadian dollar in 2015 resulted in record annual consolidated revenue of CAD2.8bn, and record annual revenue from the company’s uranium segment of CAD1.9bn based on sales of 32.4m pounds at a record Canadian dollar average realised price of CAD57.58 per pound. Cameco says it is one of the world’s largest uranium producers accounting for about 18% of global production from its mines in Canada, the US and Kazakhstan. It has about 410m lbs of "proven and probable" reserves.