Conversion & Fuel Manufacturing
Port Hope conversion services
Port Hope is the only uranium conversion facility in Canada and the only commercial supplier of UO2 for Canadian-made Candu reactors.
We control about 25% of world UF6 conversion capacity.
| Location | Ontario, Canada |
| Ownership | 100% |
| End product | UF6, UO2 |
| ISO certification | ISO 14001 certified |
| Licensed capacity |
12.5 million kgU as UF6 per year 2.8 million kgU as UO2 per year |
| Estimated decommissioning cost | $102 million |
Cameco Fuel Manufacturing Inc. (CFM)
CFM produces fuel bundles and reactor components for Candu reactors.
| Location | Ontario, Canada |
| Ownership | 100% |
| End product | Candu fuel bundles and components |
| ISO certification | ISO 9001 certified, ISO 14001 certified |
| Licensed capacity | 1.2 million kgU as UO2 as finished bundles |
| Estimated decommissioning cost | $20 million |
Springfields Fuels Ltd. (SFL)
SFL is the newest conversion facility in the world. We contract almost all of its capacity through a toll-processing agreement to 2016.
| Location | Lancashire, UK |
| Toll-processing agreement | Annual conversion of 5 million kgU as UO3 to UF6 |
| Licensed capacity | 6.0 million kgU as UF6 per year |
2012 Update
Production
Fuel services produced 14.2 million kgU, slightly higher than our plan at the beginning of the year and 3% lower than 2011.
Licensing
In February, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved a five-year operating licence for the Port Hope conversion facility and a ten-year licence for CFM.
Labour relations
In July, unionized employees at our fuel manufacturing operations in Port Hope and Cobourg, Ontario voted to accept a new three-year collective agreement. The agreement includes a 5.25% wage increase over the term of the agreement.
Port Hope conversion facility cleanup and modernization (Vision in Motion, formerly Vision 2010)
In December, we received a positive decision from Canada’s Environment Minister to allow us to proceed with the licence amendment from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, an amendment that is required to advance the project.
Springfields toll milling agreement
Based on the current market for UF6 conversion, we do not anticipate an extension of our toll conversion contract with SFL beyond 2016. We remain fully committed to the current contract. If market conditions improve over the next few years, we would consider resuming our discussions to extend the contract.
Planning For the Future
Production
We have increased our production target for 2013 to between 15 million and 16 million kgU.
Port Hope conversion facility cleanup and modernization (Vision in Motion)
In 2013, we expect to commence the licence amendment process required for the project.
Managing Our Risks
Labour relations
The current collective agreements with unionized employees at the Port Hope Conversion facility will expire on June 30, 2013. Bargaining will begin in April 2013. There is risk to production if we are unable to reach an agreement and employees go on strike.
We also manage the risks listed here.