Cameco now mining ore at Cigar Lake

Cameco is now mining and shipping uranium at its long-delayed Cigar Lake mine in northern Saskatchewan.

The Saskatoon-based company said Thursday that ore production has begun at the site, which has been slow getting off the ground after a catastrophic flood in 2006.

Ore is being transported to the McClean Lake mill, located 70 kilometres to the northeast, which is operated by AREVA Resources Canada Inc., a minority owner of the mine.

When the mine is in full production in 2018, it's expected it will be producing 18 million pounds of uranium concentrate a year.

The uranium deposit at Cigar Lake is expected to be one of the richest in the world, but getting to this point hasn't been cheap as of late last year, the capital costs were around $2.6 billion.

The mine will employ about 600 people, Cameco said.

Investors welcomed news of the first production atCigar Lake. Cameco stock closed the trading day at an almost three-year high on Thursday. The shares closed at $27.63, up 72cents.