Cigar Lake uranium mine to remain closed for now: Cameco

A Cameco uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan is going to remain closed for an “indeterminate period” due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cigar Lake location was originally placed in “safe care and maintenance mode” on March 23. The company originally indicated that the production suspension would run for the next four weeks, according to a press release Monday afternoon.

“With the impact of COVID-19 continuing to escalate, we have determined that the Cigar Lake workforce will need to remain at its current reduced level for a longer duration,” Cameco stated in the release.

Cameco explains that precautions and restrictions set in place by federal and provincial governments, along with concern from leaders of isolated northern communities were factors in the decision. Additionally, challenges remain with recommended physical distancing at “fly-in/fly-out” sites with a full workforce.

“We will monitor the situation on a continual basis to determine when a safe, sustainable restart is possible,” the company states.

Cameco says it expects to have the financial capacity to manage the disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, it says the company is “withdrawing our outlook for 2020.” Cameco expects to provide a further update on its business after the report of the first-quarter results before markets open on May 1, but it doesn’t expect to resume providing outlook information until “we have a sufficient basis to assess the future implication for us.”