Cameco inks long-term uranium deal with India

Saskatoon’s Cameco will supply 22 million pounds of uranium to India over the next nine years. Sierra D’Souza Butts reports.

Saskatoon-headquartered Cameco has entered into a long-term agreement to supply uranium ore to India.

Announced early Monday morning, the company said the agreement will see 22 million pounds of uranium ore concentrate (U₃O₈) supplied to the Government of India’s Department of Atomic Energy over a nine-year period.

The total value of the contract is estimated at approximately $2.6 billion, according to Cameco.

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The announcement comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Scott Moe are in India for a trade mission.

In a lengthy joint statement between Carney and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two leaders agreed to a new “Strategic Energy Partnership” which includes liquified natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, solar and uranium.

“It’s going to be good for the electricity outbuild here in India, as well as good for the economy and good for, in particular, northern Saskatchewan, and Canada I would say as well,” Moe told reporters in New Delhi.

The announcement also coincided with the return of the Saskatchewan Legislature for its spring sitting.

Minister of Trade & Export Development Warren Kaeding said the deal will help stabilize the amount of uranium the province exports.

“That certainly helps [Cameco] in developing their business plans for the next ten years, certainly helps them do their capital planning and building up their employment numbers and certainly their investment in the north,” Kaeding told reporters.

“… What you’re seeing is potentially three more companies that are going to be developing uranium resources in northern Saskatchewan, NexGen Denison, Paladin. What that does is it literally opens a door for more agreements that are going to happen, as we can likely anticipate are going to happen in the next few years for them as well.”

This is not the first time the province has committed to a trade agreement with India. Back in 2015, Cameco was contracted to supply over seven million pounds of uranium to India over the course of five years under Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government.

However, the Saskatchewan NDP says there’s more that needs to be done.

“On the surface it sounds like it was it was a good deal. Two things that I had said when they left [are] I think it’s important that they get a deal on the pea tariffs. That would be very beneficial, especially at this time of year,” NDP Leader Carla Beck said.

“While he has the Prime Minister’s ear I would hope that we see Saskatchewan get our fair share of the infrastructure dollars that are floating around the country right now. We’ve seen other provinces be able to ink some of those deals and get that investment in their provinces. That’s something that I would hope to see as well.”

Moe also referenced discussions about establishing a Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence in India. However, negotiations over tariffs on Canadian peas and lentils are expected to continue, as both countries aim to finalize a broader trade agreement by the end of the year.

“The Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence which is going to provide a real opportunity to, in part, provide some additional nutritional value to many in India, literally hundreds of millions of people, but to push the value added aspect and the additional sales essentially of both Indian and Canadian pulses,” Moe said, referring to the second deal signed so far between Carney and the Indian prime minister.

With having the federal government’s support now, Kaeding said it has allowed the province to continue building its uranium export opportunities.

“It’s not like this is a brand new market force. It had expired, and what we didn’t have was a federal government at the time that really felt the need or the interest in expanding that,” Kaeding explained.

“We finally have a federal government now that sees trade for what it is and that is very valuable, certainly to support us as a province, but also to support the nation.”

Also included in Carney and Modi’s joint statement was the commitment to conclude a new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) this year.

The agreement is expected to double two-way trade to $70 billion by 2030 between the two nations.

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