Cameco Forecasts More Cigar Lake Delays

Source from:  TORONTO (Reuters) Wed Jul 11, 2007 07/12/2007

Cameco Corp.'s (CCO.TO: Quote) overhaul of its flooded Cigar Lake uranium mine will likely take months longer than previously expected, potentially delaying production to 2011, the company said on Wednesday. The mine, which sits on one of the world's richest uranium deposits, flooded last year, putting additional pressure on global uranium supply as demand has soared. Cameco has been drilling holes down to the water inflow point to both pump in concrete and pump out water. It had hoped to have the mine pumped out by the end of the third quarter. "Cameco now expects it will require a number of additional months to seal the inflow and dewater the mine," the company said on Wednesday. It also said it was examining whether it might need to create an alternative route out of the mine and complete a second shaft to provide ventilation. Those changes could push back production from the previously expected start-up date of late 2010. Cameco, the world's No. 1 uranium supplier, said it will make a decision on the second shaft by the end of the year, and will next update the Cigar Lake progress when it releases second-quarter earnings on July 30. Shares of the company fell C$1.50, or 2.8 percent, to C$52.83 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The report was released after markets closed, but one analyst said the move was likely in part due to concern over the future of Cigar Lake. Enditem