Cameco has said that it is preparing to resume uranium hexafluoride (UF6) production at its Port Hope conversion facility, which has been offline for almost 6-months.
Production at the plant was suspended in December 2008 after Cameco had a dispute with its supplier of the plant’s primary feed material, hydrofluoric acid. But the company has now signed a new contract with its historic supplier and deliveries of HF are expected to resume within the next month, Cameco said on 19 May. It added that the company is continuing to negotiate with other suppliers to broaden and diversify its supply base, and “intends to sign agreements with one or more additional suppliers in the near future.”
UF6 production is expected to resume early in the third quarter of 2009. Cameco will provide an update if there is any change to its 2009 fuel services production estimate, it said.
While UF6 production at Port Hope has been suspended, Cameco has met its delivery commitments to its customers. UF6 deliveries were made from inventory and contracted supply under the agreement with Springfields Fuels Limited. In addition, the company, with the cooperation of its customers, arranged for voluntary deferrals of UF6 deliveries and made limited purchases of UF6 conversion services.
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