Production of uranium at Cameco’s Cigar Lake mine in Northern Saskatchewan will continue to be temporarily halted indefinitely due to concerns from COVID-19.
Cigar Lake and Orano’s McLean Lake mill were on a two week shut down, to allow Cameco to assess how to proceed.
“The precautions and restrictions put in place by the federal and provincial governments, the increasing significant concern among leaders in the remote isolated communities of northern Saskatchewan, and the challenges of maintaining the recommended physical distancing at fly-in/fly-out sites with a full workforce were critical factors Cameco considered in reaching this decision,” said Cameco.
90 employees will remain at Cigar Lake for care and maintenance, while the remainder will be placed on reduced salary with full benefits. “We’re not laying anybody off; these are good quality people our employees. We need them. We’re not going to be down forever I can tell you that,” explained Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel.
Cameco said the care and maintenance teams at all four northern Saskatchewan uranium sites are in a safe working environment as the company continues to be in discussion with Governments, First Nations leaders and health experts about the coronavirus.
Cameco has withdrawn its 2020 outlook, citing uncertainty with uranium supply and demand.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global uranium production, adding to the supply curtailments that have occurred in the industry for many years. As such, we believe the risk to uranium supply is greater than the risk to uranium demand, creating a renewed focus on ensuring availability of long-term supply. Over time, we expect this renewed focus on security of supply will provide the market signals producers need, and will help offset any near-term costs we may incur as a result of the current disruptions to our business,” Gitzel explained.