This article came from: http://www.saultstar.com/

The largest commercial uranium refinery in the western world, located 140 kilometres east of Sault Ste. Marie, immediately west of Blind River, is seeking to double its licence period and increase production capacity.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission heard the application from Cameco Blind River late last week in Port Hope, Ont., and a decision is expected in the coming weeks.

Cameco, whose current five-year licence expires Feb. 29, wants to double its operating licence period from five years, to 10 years, and increase production capacity by 6,000 tonnes, from 18,000 to 24,000 tonnes.

“Our environmental and safety performance merits a longer licence term,” says Bill Koch, director of public and government affairs for the Cameco fuel services division. Read the rest of this entry »

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite. Brenda Bouw is the Globe and Mail mining reporter.

A battle is shaping up between global mining giant Rio Tinto PLC and Canada’s Cameco Corp. over a promising uranium explorer in Saskatchewan, with Cameco under pressure to win as it seeks to double production of its single resource.

London-based Rio has struck a friendly deal to buy Hathor Exploration Ltd. for $578-million or $4.15 a share, topping Cameco’s hostile offer of $3.75 a share made in late August.

The companies are vying for control of Hathor’s assets in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan, where about 20 per cent of the world’s uranium is produced. Both bids come as the price of uranium, used to fuel nuclear power plants, struggles to recover from a slump since the nuclear crisis in Japan last March caused many countries to re-examine their nuclear power programs.

With the long-range belief that nuclear energy will expand in key growth countries such as China and India, Rio is looking to expand its existing uranium operations in Australia and Africa. Its offer for Hathor is the first Rio has made for a Canadian company since its ill-timed purchase of Montreal-based aluminum producer Alcan in 2007, on the eve of the global recession. Read the rest of this entry »

19 October 2011

• Rio Tinto to make an all-cash offer for all the common shares of Hathor for C$4.15 per common share, representing a premium of more than 55 per cent to Hathor’s unaffected closing price on 25 August 2011.

• Hathor’s board unanimously recommends shareholders accept the Rio Tinto offer.

• Hathor directors and senior management have entered into lock-up agreements with Rio Tinto and have agreed to tender all of their common shares to the Rio Tinto offer.

• The acquisition of Hathor bolsters Rio Tinto’s global uranium strategy and complements its current exploration programmes in Saskatchewan and its uranium operations elsewhere in the world. Read the rest of this entry »

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous impact and influence on Canada’s political and business elite as well as the rest of the country’s print, radio and television media.

When Tim Gitzel takes over as chief executive officer at Cameco Corp.  next week he will become more than just head of the world’s largest publicly traded uranium company.

The 49-year-old Saskatoon-based executive will also be thrust into a leadership role in a global industry fighting to convince the world that nuclear energy is a clean, safe alternative despite the recent nuclear disaster in Japan.

He must also try to persuade investors that uranium – the price of which has fallen about 25 per cent since Japan’s earthquake and ensuing nuclear crisis struck in March – is heading for a recovery. Even more pressing for Mr. Gitzel will be trying to stage a rebound in Cameco’s stock, which has fallen nearly 40 per cent over the past three months.

Overall, Mr. Gitzel has his work cut out for him as countries such as Germany, Switzerland and most recently Italy have vowed to phase out their nuclear energy programs as a result of pressure from citizens nervous about the potential for a nuclear meltdown in their own country. Read the rest of this entry »

Good morning.

Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. I am delighted to be here in Florida, one of the states leading the way in the drive for new nuclear generating capacity in the United States.

2008 marks Cameco’s 20th anniversary. And while history has delivered its ups and downs, the future of Cameco and the nuclear industry are exciting and robust. Today, I want to impress upon you the strength of Cameco and my enthusiasm for our ability to address current challenges, seize opportunities and pursue our vision to be a dominant nuclear energy company.

Cameco is built upon an unparalleled uranium asset base, vertically integrated operations, a long-term contracting strategy, and a team of the industry’s most talented and dedicated people. We are an industry leader, delivering increasing returns amidst the growing momentum in the nuclear industry.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gerald W. Grandey was appointed chief executive officer of Cameco Corporation on January 1, 2003.  He joined Cameco in 1993 as senior vice-president marketing and corporate development.

Prior appointments include vice-chair and chief executive officer of The Concord Mining Business Unit and president of Energy Fuels, an American coal and uranium mining company.

Grandey practiced law in the mid ’70s with a major Denver law firm specializing in mineral financing, natural resources and environmental law.  He graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1968 with a degree in geophysical engineering and, after serving two years in the US military, received his law degree from Northwestern University in 1973.

Grandey is a past-president of the Uranium Producers of America and currently serves on the boards of the Nuclear Energy Institute and Bruce Power and is past vice-chair of the World Nuclear Association.

Cameco Corporation is the world’s largest uranium producer accounting for 20% of world production from its mines in Canada and the US. The company’s leading position is backed by 500 million pounds of proven and probable reserves and extensive resources. Cameco holds premier land positions in the world’s most promising areas for new uranium discoveries in Canada and Australia as part of an intensive global exploration program.

Cameco is also a leading provider of processing services required to produce fuel for nuclear power plants, and generates 1,000 MW of clean electricity through a partnership in North America’s largest nuclear generating station located in Ontario, Canada.