Producers announce pre-COVID uranium output

Production figures issued by Cameco and Kazatomprom for the first quarter of 2020 show a slight decrease on the same period last year, while those announced by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) show an 86% year-on-year fall from US facilities. This follows a year when US uranium production was the lowest on record. Kazatomprom …

U.S. Nuclear Industry Shaved Generating Costs by 7.6% Compared to 2018

The U.S. nuclear power fleet last year achieved its lowest recorded average total generating costs in two decades—$30.42/MWh—though it ran at a record-high 93.4% average capacity factor. Total generating costs were 7.6% lower last year compared to the prior year, and have fallen nearly 32% since 2012. The numbers, highlighted in the Nuclear Energy Institute’s …

About half of world’s production of uranium has been cut

Due to COVID-19 containment measures as well as a slump in most every commodity outside of precious metals, uranium production is down by about 50%. Haywood Securities added up the numbers after Cameco (TSE: CCO) announced operation suspensions, writing in a note published Tuesday that “the world’s largest producers [are] announcing a string of temporary …

World’s top uranium miner Cameco halts Canadian plant

Canada’s Cameco (TSX:CCO) (NYSE:CCJ), the world’s largest publicly traded uranium miner, is placing its plant at the Port Hope conversion facility, in Ontario, in a temporary safe shutdown state for four weeks. The move comes as the company faces the increasing challenge of maintaining an adequate workforce as a result of screening protocols and other measures put …

COVID-19: Update on Kazatomprom Operations

JSC National Atomic Company “Kazatomprom” (“Kazatomprom” or “the Company”) announces the following update related to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Company’s business. “As the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt around the world, Kazakhstan has taken strong steps to slow the spread of the virus,” said Galymzhan Pirmatov, chief executive officer …

How to Refuel a Nuclear Power Plant During a Pandemic

To swap out the spent uranium rods, hundreds of technicians from around the country must work in close quarters for weeks. That’s a challenge during a quarantine. EACH SPRING, NEARLY 1,000 highly specialized technicians from around the US descend on the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station near Phoenix, Arizona, to refuel one of the plant’s three nuclear …

Is the long-awaited supply shock finally here for uranium?

Canada’s Cameco this week announced it was shuttering Cigar Lake, the world’s largest uranium mine, for at least four weeks after directives from the Canadian and Saskatchewan provincial governments. The Canadians are concerned about the use of fly-in, fly-out workers while COVID-19 is spreading. Meanwhile, Namibia, a key supplier of uranium to China’s nuclear fleet, …