people & community

p e o p l e   & c o m m u n i t y

Cameco's northern Saskatchewan minesites offer pleasant facilities for employees who commute to work on a seven-day-in/seven-day-out schedule.

Cameco seeks to maximize the employment of local people and the benefits flowing to communities nearest its operations, particularly when such operations are located in remote areas.

With the cessation of mining at Key Lake and the corresponding reduction in the workforce, Cameco focused on the retention of skilled northern employees for future operations. In 1997, there were 710 people working at Key Lake, Rabbit Lake, McArthur River, Contact Lake and La Ronge— almost half of these employees were northern residents, most of aboriginal ancestry. This record makes Cameco one of the leading industrial employers of aboriginal people in Canada.

At Kumtor, the percentage of local employees has increased to 87% since construction was completed and commercial operations began.

In Saskatchewan, a commitment to acquiring competitively priced goods and services wherever Cameco has operations has allowed the company to take an active role in the development of business and economic opportunities for local suppliers. Of the $188 million of goods and services purchased in Saskatchewan in 1997, $75 million was spent in northern Saskatchewan which had a significant impact on the northern economy. In Kyrgyzstan, Kumtor has relied on more than 450 local suppliers for goods and services and more than 130 contracts have been awarded to local contractors since development began in 1994.

In 1997, Cameco contributed $1 million to become a founding partner in the innovative teaching and learning centre at the University of Saskatchewan. The first project of the centre was the development of the Cameco access program for engineering and sciences. This program will help bridge the gap between the north and post-secondary education by bringing specialized courses to remote areas, thereby allowing students to prepare for an engineering and science education without leaving the north.