Cameco says it has raised its capital spending budget for this year to 405-million dollars — up from the original budget of 370-million.
The company says the nearly 10 per cent increase is mainly due to higher spending at the McArthur River-Key Lake uranium operation.
The mine and mill had been undergoing equipment maintenance and upgrades and experiencing a lower production output.
COO, Robert Steane, says the issues at the mill are behind them.
“There were a couple of mechanical issues with the existing calciner and we had to deal with the problem appropriately, but we still believe we will meet our production by adjusting the production schedules going forward”.
The revised capital spending estimates were included with Cameco’s first-quarter financial results Wednesday morning.
Cameco also reported a growth in revenue due in part to a recent supply agreement with India that will provide over 7 million pounds of uranium by 2020.
CEO Tim Gitzel says it is not a huge number, but will create more contract opportunities in the future.
“It’s the fact that we got our foot in the door in India,” said Gitzel.
“You saw the coverage it got and we think the nuclear world will take notice of that.”
The uranium company’s adjusted earnings for the quarter about doubled to 69-million dollars
(With files from the Canadian Press)