The CEO for Cameco says the company is positioning itself to weather the current economic storm.
Tim Gitzel made the comments during a conference call following the release of the company’s year-end and fourth quarter results.
Gitzel says fewer long-term contracts, uncertainty over Japan’s nuclear reactor rebuilding plans and a world oversupply of uranium has forced Cameco to abandon production targets of 36 million pounds a year by 2018.
“The big question is this: who has the ability and the resources to weather the near-term uncertainty,” he asks? “I would say that Cameco has that ability and those resources. And that’s why you see us making the adjustments we’ve made.”
Cameco had adjusted net earnings of $445 million last year, up about 3 per cent from 2012.
Gitzel says the Cigar Lake mine will begin production sometime within the first three months of this year.
He also says the McArthur River mine has established a new world record for uranium ore production at just over 20 million pounds.