India receives first uranium shipment from Canada

Friday, 4 December 2015

The first shipment of uranium from Canada under a five-year contract signed in April has arrived in India. It marks Cameco's first supply of uranium to India.

The ship carrying the first supply of Canadian uranium arrives at an undisclosed Indian port (Image: Government of Saskatchewan)

In April, Cameco signed a uranium supply contract with India after the nuclear cooperation agreement between Canada and India came into force in September 2013. According to the Canadian government, the contract to supply 7.1 million pounds of uranium concentrate (about 2730 tU) to India's Department of Atomic Energy was worth around CAD 350 million ($262 million).

The government of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan announced yesterday that the first shipment of uranium under the contract, which covers the period to 2020, had arrived in India. The shipment, it noted, consists of uranium mined and milled at Cameco's McArthur River and Key Lake operations in northern Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall said, "India has just received its first shipment of Saskatchewan uranium under the Canada-India nuclear cooperation agreement, and today we mark the economic milestone for our uranium mining industry and our province." He added, "All of Saskatchewan benefits from having this major new customer for our resource, but this export news is particularly welcome for uranium workers."

Cameco president and CEO Tim Gitzel said, "Strong support from the governments of Saskatchewan and Canada was instrumental in gaining timely access to the Indian market for our products. The renewal of nuclear cooperation and trade between Canada and India will create jobs and opportunity in Canada and help advance the growth of clean nuclear power in a country where more than 300 million people have no access to electricity."

India currently has 21 power reactors in operation, with another six under construction and scheduled to start up over the next four years. The country plans to increase its nuclear generating capacity from the current 5800 MWe to 27,500 MWe by 2032.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News