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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and Almaty, Kazakhstan, July 21, 2000
Joint Venture Inkai, owned 60% by Cameco Corporation and 40% by National Atomic Company KazAtomProm, today announced that it will proceed to assess the reserve and resource potential of the Inkai uranium deposit in Kazakhstan.
This announcement was made possible after Joint Venture Inkai signed a resource use agreement with the government of Kazakhstan. This was a necessary step before the joint venture could exercise its rights under licences received in 1999 for uranium exploration and in situ leach (ISL) mining.
With the resource use agreement now in place, Joint Venture Inkai will be able to proceed with its plans to assess the grade, physical characteristics and quantity of a portion of the deposit by constructing a $2 million (US) test mine at the Inkai site in Kazakhstan. The test mine will also provide technical, economic and environmental information necessary for the preparation of a comprehensive feasibility study.
The Inkai deposit is located in south central Kazakhstan, about 370 kilometres from the regional capital of Shymkent and some 1,000 kilometres northwest of Almaty. The deposit comprises three blocks. Small-scale test mining of Block 1 was conducted in the late 1980s by the former Soviet Union, and resulted in the identification of some 100 million pounds of U3O8 reserves according to the Soviet ore classification system. In excess of 400 million pounds of resources were also reported for Blocks 2 and 3 according to the same Soviet classification system. KazAtomProm considers the Inkai deposit to be a large and significant uranium property ideally suited to the ISL extraction technology.
The Joint Venture Inkai will evaluate the feasibility of mining the previously-tested Block 1. In addition, the partners will conduct test mining on Block 2, which is expected to be under way within one year. As information from test mining Block 2 is compiled, the partners will prepare a full feasibility study and environmental assessment for commercial development.
The partners anticipate that the test mining of Block 2 and the preparation of a comprehensive feasibility study for the project will provide sufficient information to estimate the reserves and resources for the Inkai deposit in accordance with Canadian regulatory standards. Until this is done, these reserve and resource estimates will not be included in Cameco's reported reserves and resources.
Production from Block 1 could possibly begin in 2004 provided a number of technological, environmental, marketing and regulatory conditions are satisfied. Production could eventually be ramped up to 2.6 million pounds per year.
ISL mining involves pumping a solution down an injection well where it flows through the deposit, dissolving uranium. The uranium-bearing solution is then pumped to the surface where the uranium is recovered. Cameco owns and operates two ISL mining operations in the United States. KazAtomProm controls and operates three ISL mines in Kazakhstan.
Cameco is the world's largest uranium producer with uranium operations in Canada and the United States. The company's shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. The Kazakh government owns the majority of KazAtomProm, which controls and operates Kazakhstan's existing uranium mining and processing facilities.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include among others: volatility and sensitivity to market prices for uranium and gold, competition, the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, environmental risks, political risk arising from operating in certain developing countries, changes in government regulations, and policies including trade laws and policies, demand for nuclear power, replacement of production, receipt of permits and approvals from government authorities as well as other operating and development risks.
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For further information, please contact:
| Alice Wong Director, Investor & Corporate Relations Cameco Corporation Phone:(306) 956-6337 Fax:(306) 956-6318 |
Sergei Poltozatzky National Atomic Company "KazAtomProm" Bogenbay Batyr 168 Almaty, Kazakhstan 480012 Phone:7-3272-62-50-83 Fax:7-3272-50-35-41 |