Cameco reports improved economics at McArthur River mine, no date set for reopening

Sask.-based mining company Cameco says the financial outlook at its McArthur River mine has improved, but there are still no plans as to when the mine will start up again.

In a recent technical report, Cameco said McArthur River's mineral reserve estimates have increased by more than 9 per cent compared to estimates from 2017.

As well, operating costs are now estimated at an average of $14.97 per pound over the mine's lifespan. That's a sharp decrease from a 2012 estimate of $19.23 per pound.

However, aweakuranium market means that the company still has no plans to reopen the mine, which shut down last year.

"We want to be very clear, the market conditions necessary for a restart decision have not been achieved," said Tim Gitzel, Cameco's president and CEO in a press release. "Therefore the production suspension will continue for an indeterminate duration,"

The Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 caused a sharp slowdown in the global nuclear market and declining revenues for Cameco.

In response, the company shut down its operations at its McArthur River and Rabbit Lake mines as well as its Key Lake mill. There were 810 mine workers and 219 head office workers laid off.

In its 2018 year end financial report, Cameco made $166 million, an increase from a loss of $204 million in 2017.

In the past, Cameco has said it plans on cutting costs as much as possible while it waits for prices to rebound.

The company's annual filing said demand is growing with eight new reactors beginning operation in 2018 and 50 reactors under construction around the world.