Cameco signs Chinese uranium supply deal

Wednesday, 24 November 2010

Canadian uranium producer Cameco has signed a long-term supply agreement with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co (CGNPC). The deal will help CGNPC meet the fuel demand of its growing fleet of nuclear power reactors. 

 

Under the agreement - signed on the sidelines of the World Nuclear Association's inaugural China International Nuclear Symposium in Beijing - Cameco will supply CGNPC with 29 million pounds of uranium oxide (13,150 tonnes U₃O₈) by 2025. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

 

"This deal leaves us well    positioned to serve the    company's growing    uranium requirements."     Jerry Grandey, CEO of Cameco

CGNPC currently operates three nuclear power plants in Guangdong province (Daya Bay, Lingao Phase I and Lingao Phase II) with a combined generating capacity of almost 5000 MWe. It also has a further 14 units under construction, with a combined capacity of some 17,000 MWe. The company plans to have some 50,000 MWe of nuclear generating capacity in operation within ten years.

 

In line with current restrictions on trade in uranium between Canada and China, Cameco will be sourcing the uranium from elsewhere. Aside from Canada it has uranium mines in the USA and Kazakhstan.

 

Cameco CEO Jerry Grandey commented: "This long-term supply agreement with China Guangdong Nuclear Power is a significant step for our company in the world's fastest growing uranium market." He added, "This deal leaves us well positioned to serve the company's growing uranium requirements."

 

Grandey noted, "This agreement is further evidence that our plan to double uranium production by 2018 aligns well with China's remarkable nuclear reactor construction program."

 

The long-term supply agreement with CGNPC – which is subject to Chinese government approval - follows the signing of a framework agreement between Cameco and CGNPC in June 2010. That agreement committed the companies to negotiate long-term uranium purchase agreements and potential joint development of uranium resources.

 

Also in June, Cameco - which ranks second in the world in terms of production – signed an agreement to supply 23 million pounds of uranium oxide (10,435 tonnes U₃O₈) to China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation (CNEIC) over the next ten years.

 

CNEIC is a subsidiary of the giant China National Nuclear Company (CNNC), which has seven reactors in operation and nine more under construction. CNNC also owns a major stake in CGNPC.

 

Earlier this month, CGNPC finalised a deal under which Areva of France will supply it with some 20,000 tonnes of uranium over a ten year period. The $3.5 billion contract was signed by Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon and CGNPC chairman He Yu in front of both the French and Chinese presidents as part of a wider strategic partnership in civilian nuclear power between the two countries which will see cooperation in nuclear reactors, fuel recycling and uranium extraction.

  

Under current plans, China's nuclear generating capacity is expected to increase from the current 11 GWe to at least 80 GWe by 2020, and to as much as 160 GWe by 2030.

 

Researched and written 

by World Nuclear News