Uranium – Production Overview

Production in our uranium segment this quarter was 0.7 million pounds higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Production for the year was 0.3 million pounds lower than in 2013. See Uranium operating properties for more information.

Uranium production

  Three months ended
December 31		 Year ended
December 31		  
Cameco’s Share
(million lbs)		 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 Plan 1 2015 Plan
  1. 1 We updated our initial 2014 plan for McArthur River/Key Lake (to 12.8 from 13.1 million pounds) and Cigar Lake (to between 0.1 and 0.3 from between 1.0 and 1.5 million pounds) in our Q3 MD&A.
McArthur River/Key Lake 4.4 4.0 13.3 14.1 12.8 13.7
Rabbit Lake 2.1 2.1 4.2 4.1 4.1 3.9
Smith Ranch-Highland 0.6 0.5 2.1 1.7 2.0 1.4
Crow Butte 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.3
Inkai 0.7 0.7 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.0
Cigar Lake 0.2 — 0.2 — 0.1 – 0.3 3.0 – 4.0
Total 8.2 7.5 23.3 23.6 22.6 – 22.8 25.3 – 26.3

Production outlook

We remain focused on taking advantage of the long-term growth we see coming in our industry, while maintaining the ability to respond to market conditions as they evolve. Our strategy is to profitably produce at a pace aligned with market signals to increase long-term shareholder value.

We plan to:

  • ensure continued reliable, low-cost production from our flagship operation, McArthur River/Key Lake and seek to expand that production
  • ensure continued reliable, low-cost production at Inkai
  • successfully ramp up production at Cigar Lake
  • manage the rest of our production facilities and other sources of supply in a manner that retains the flexibility to respond to market signals and take advantage of value adding opportunities within our own portfolio and the uranium market
  • maintain our low-cost advantage by focusing on execution and operational excellence