ALL AMOUNTS ARE STATED IN CDN $ (UNLESS NOTED)/CNNC, currently China's largest nuclear generator, operates seven reactors with 5,100 megawatts (MW) capacity and has 10 reactors under construction totalling 9,100 MW capacity. By 2020, CNNC expects to be one of the world's leading nuclear power companies.
– By April Murelio –
Cameco has announced that it has signed an agreement with China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation (CNEIC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), to supply approximately 23 million pounds of uranium concentrate under a long-term agreement through 2020.
CNNC, currently China's largest nuclear generator, operates seven reactors with 5,100 megawatts (MW) capacity and has 10 reactors under construction totalling 9,100 MW capacity. By 2020, CNNC expects to be one of the world's leading nuclear power companies.
"This is Cameco's first long-term uranium supply agreement with a major Chinese nuclear utility," said Jerry Grandey, Cameco's CEO. "The agreement indicates clearly that we intend to be very active in the world's fastest growing uranium market."
Reports from China indicate the country plans to increase its nuclear capacity from the current 9 gigawatts (GW) to at least 70 GW by 2020. A further increase to 120-160 GW or more is planned by 2030.
"The rapid expansion of nuclear capacity in China demonstrates the excellent prospects for nuclear energy and the solid underpinning of our plan to double uranium production by 2018," Grandey added.
The agreement with CNEIC is subject to Chinese government approval. CNEIC conducts nuclear imports and exports and produces and markets uranium ores in China.
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) is China's largest nuclear generator and is active in all aspects of the fuel cycle in China from uranium exploration and mining through to reactor design and construction. The state-owned enterprise has been operating for nearly 50 years and is comprised of more than 100 subsidiary companies and institutes.
Cameco, with its head office in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is one of the world's largest uranium producers. The company's uranium products are used to generate electricity in nuclear energy plants around the world, providing one of the cleanest sources of energy available today. Cameco's shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.