Our Operations
Cameco operations span many different segments of the nuclear fuel cycle. We currently have operations in Canada, the United States, and Kazakhstan, with advanced exploration projects in Australia.
Nuclear Fuel Cycle
We have three business segments:
- uranium (mining and milling)
- fuel services
- Nukem
1. Mining and Milling
Mining
Once an orebody is discovered and defined by exploration, there are three common ways to mine uranium, depending on the depth of the orebody and the deposit’s geological characteristics:
- Open pit mining is used if the ore is near the surface. The ore is usually mined using drilling and blasting.
- Underground mining is used if the ore is too deep to make open pit mining economical. Tunnels and shafts provide access to the ore.
- In situ recovery (ISR) does not require large scale excavation. Instead, holes are drilled into the ore and a solution is used to dissolve the uranium. The solution is pumped to the surface where the uranium is recovered.
Milling
Ore from open pit and underground mines is processed to extract the uranium and package it as a powder typically referred to as uranium concentrates (U3O8) or yellowcake. The leftover processed rock and other solid waste (tailings) is placed in an engineered tailings facility.
2. Refining
Refining removes the impurities from the uranium concentrate and changes its chemical form to uranium trioxide (UO3).
3. Conversion
For light water reactors, the UO3 is converted to uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas to prepare it for enrichment. For heavy water reactors like the CANDU reactor, the UO3 is converted into powdered uranium dioxide (UO2).
4. Enrichment
Uranium is made up of two main isotopes: U-238 and U-235. Only U-235 atoms, which make up 0.7% of natural uranium, are involved in the nuclear reaction (fission).
Most of the world’s commercial nuclear reactors require uranium that has an enriched level of U-235 atoms.
The enrichment process increases the concentration of U-235 to between 3% and 5% by separating U-235 atoms from the U-238. Enriched UF6 gas is then converted to powdered UO2.
5. Fuel manufacturing
Natural or enriched UO2 is pressed into pellets, which are baked at a high temperature.
These are packed into zircaloy or stainless steel tubes, sealed and then assembled into fuel bundles.
6. Generation
Nuclear reactors are used to generate electricity. U-235 atoms in the reactor fuel fission, creating heat that generates steam to drive turbines. The fuel bundles in the reactor need to be replaced as the U-235 atoms are depleted, typically after one or two years depending upon the reactor type. The used—or spent—fuel is stored or reprocessed.
Spent fuel management
The majority of spent fuel is safely stored at the reactor site. A small amount of spent fuel is reprocessed. The reprocessed fuel is used in some European and Japanese reactors.
Mining and Milling
We are one of the world’s largest uranium producers, and in 2013 accounted for about 15% of global production. We have controlling ownership of the world’s largest high-grade reserves, with ore grades up to 100 times the world average, and low-cost operations.
Product
- uranium concentrates (U3O8)
Mineral reserves and resources
Uranium Reserves (100% basis)
| Proven | Probable | Total Mineral Reserves | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnes thousand |
Grade %U3O8 |
Content (Mlbs U3O8) |
Tonnes thousand |
Grade %U3O8 |
Content (Mlbs U3O8) |
Tonnes thousand |
Grade %U3O8 |
Content (Mlbs U3O8) |
Cameco’s Share (Mlbs) |
| 5,710.8 | – | 345.7 | 63,077.6 | – | 351.5 | 68,788.5 | – | 697.2 | 442.7 |
| Total |
Cameco reports mineral reserves and resources separately. The amount of reported resources does not include those amounts identified as reserves.
Cameco’s share is based on uranium content and does not include the Metallurgical Recovery. Totals may not add up due to rounding.
Uranium Resources (100% basis)
| Measured | Indicated | Total Measured and Indicated | Inferred Resources | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnes thousand |
Grade %U3O8 |
Content (Mlbs U3O8) |
Tonnes thousand |
Grade %U3O8 |
Content (Mlbs U3O8) |
Tonnes thousand |
Grade %U3O8 |
Content (Mlbs U3O8) |
Cameco’s Share (Mlbs) |
Tonnes thousand |
Grade %U3O8 |
Content (Mlbs U3O8) |
Cameco’s Share (Mlbs) |
| 31,707.8 | – | 123.2 | 82,976.4 | – | 383.3 | 114,684.2 | – | 506.5 | 391.2 | 267,149.6 | – | 480.8 | 288.6 |
| Total |
Cameco reports reserves and resources separately.
The amount of reported resources does not include those amounts identified as reserves.
Totals may not add up due to rounding.
Global exploration
- focused on four continents
- approximately two million hectares of land
Operating properties
- McArthur River and Key Lake, Saskatchewan
- Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan
- Cigar Lake, Saskatchewan
- Smith Ranch-Highland, Wyoming
- Crow Butte, Nebraska
- Inkai, Kazakhstan
Projects under evaluation
- Inkai blocks 1 and 2 production increase, Kazakhstan
- Inkai block 3, Kazakhstan
- Kintyre, Australia
- Yeelirrie, Australia
- Millennium, Saskatchewan
Fuel Services
We are an integrated uranium fuel supplier, offering refining, conversion and fuel manufacturing services.
Products
- uranium trioxide (UO3)
- uranium hexafluoride (UF6)
- uranium dioxide (UO2)
- fuel bundles, reactor components and monitoring equipment used by Candu reactors
Operations
- Blind River refinery, Ontario (refines uranium concentrates to UO3)
- Port Hope conversion facility, Ontario (converts UO3 to UF6 or UO2)
- Cameco Fuel Manufacturing Inc., Ontario (manufactures fuel bundles and reactor components)
We also have a 24% interest in Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) in North Carolina, with General Electric (51%) and Hitachi Ltd. (25%). GLE is testing a third-generation technology that, if successful, will use lasers to commercially enrich uranium.
NUKEM
Our ownership of NUKEM GmbH (NUKEM) provides us with access to one of the world’s leading traders of uranium and uranium-related products. We acquired NUKEM in January 2013.
Activity
- physical trading of uranium concentrates, conversion and enrichment services through back-to-back purchase and sales transactions
- recovery of natural and enriched non-standard uranium from western facilities and other sources