SASKATCHEWAN - Cameco of Saskatoon and its partners in the Cigar Lake uranium development has signed a memorandum of understanding to mill all ore from the Cigar Lake mine at the McClean Lake mill.
The Cigar Lake project is owned 50% by Cameco with its joint venture partners Areva Resources Canada (37%), Idemitsu Resources Canada (8%) and Tepco Resources (5%). Development of the Cigar Lake deposit has been set back due to past water inflow problems, most of which have been solved by freezing the ground around the mine. The shaft is to reach its final depth of 500 metres by the end of 2011.
Cameco expects the new milling arrangement will reduce costs when Cigar Lake goes into production. The original plan was to treat half the ore at McClean Lake and the other half at Cameco's Rabbit Lake facility. The new arrangement will free up capacity at Rabbit Lake for future custom milling. The McClean Lake mill is owned by Areva (70%), Denison Mines (22.5%), OURD (Canada) (7.5%).
More information is available about the Cigar Lake project at www.Cameco.com.