Commissioning in Progress at Kumtor Mill

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, December 17, 1996

Cameco Corporation today reports that commissioning of the Kumtor gold mill is under way in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia.

Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akaev took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was held at the mill site 4,000 metres above sea level in the Tien Shan mountains.

Bernard Michel, Cameco's chair, president and chief executive officer, told a small distinguished audience of government officials, local guests and employees that "today is the culmination of four years of commitment, perseverance and international co-operation. Despite enormous challenges such as high altitude, isolation, rugged terrain and a diversity of culture and language, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and Cameco have achieved what no other partnership has done in Central Asia."

Construction of the $450 million (US) project, which began in mid-1994, is now 99% complete and production is expected to begin on schedule in the new year, reaching more than 400,000 ounces in 1997. Mining of the deposit began in July 1996 and a stockpile of 300,000 tonnes of ore is now available for processing in the 14,000-tonne-per-day mill.

With 16.5 million ounces of resources, Kumtor is one of the world's largest gold deposits. It is owned two-thirds by the government of Kyrgyzstan and one-third by Cameco. Kumtor Operating Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cameco, is operator. Full annual production is anticipated to be 500,000 ounces with cash production costs projected at $200 (US) per ounce.

At the ceremony held in -30 C temperatures, Michel said he looked forward to Kumtor achieving commercial production in the coming months. The owners will then schedule a full-scale official opening of the operation in 1997.

Cameco is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company and a growing gold producer. It has uranium and gold mines in Saskatchewan, uranium processing facilities in Ontario and the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan.

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