Cameco recently that due to continued uranium price weakness, production from the McArthur River mining and Key Lake milling operations in northern Saskatchewan will be temporarily suspended by the end of January 2018 and that the company’s annual dividend will be reduced to $0.08 per common share in 2018.
“With the continued state of oversupply in the uranium market and no expectation of change on the immediate horizon, it does not make economic sense for us to continue producing at McArthur River and Key Lake when we are holding a large inventory, or paying dividends out of proportion with our earnings,” said Tim Gitzel, Cameco’s president and CEO. “We regret the impact these actions will have on our workforce and other stakeholders and are doing what we can to cushion it while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the company. We believe these actions will help shield the company from the nearer term risks we face and will benefit all our stakeholders for their continued patience and support of our strategy to build long-term value.”
As a result of the suspension, the workforce at the operations will be reduced temporarily by about 845 workers (560 employees and 285 contractors). About 210 workers (160 employees and 50 contractors) will be retained to maintain the facilities in safe shutdown state.