Canadian uranium producer Cameco will next week resume production at its Port Hope Conversion Facility's uranium hexafluoride plant and its Blind River Refinery in Ontario. The Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, in which it holds a majority stake, will remain in care and maintenance.

Production figures issued by Cameco and Kazatomprom for the first quarter of 2020 show a slight decrease on the same period last year, while those announced by the US Energy Information Administration show an 86% year-on-year fall from US facilities. This follows a year when US uranium production was the lowest on record.

Bruce Power yesterday launched an initiative to leverage the supply chain developed for the Bruce Life Extension Programme to assist in the province's fight against the coronavirus and to help the economic recovery. The Bruce Power Retooling and Economic Recovery Council will include all of Bruce Power’s Ontario-based suppliers and will focus on the continued retooling of the supply chain to meet frontline COVID-19 needs.
 

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories has entered into a collaboration agreement with UK-based Moltex Energy. Funded through CNL's Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative, the agreement includes work to support aspects of Moltex Energy’s nuclear fuel development programme for its Stable Salt Reactor, a 300 MWe small modular reactor design.

The Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan is to remain in care and maintenance for an "indeterminate period" as the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic persist, Cameco announced yesterday at the same time as it withdrew its 2020 Outlook. Orano has also extended the suspension of production at its McClean Lake mill, where Cigar Lake ore is processed.

Unit 2 at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington nuclear power plant has achieved first criticality after a refurbishment that has taken over three years to complete, including disassembling and rebuilding the reactor. The unit is expected to return to full service this Spring.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power has signed a contract with Canadian nuclear engineering firm Kinectrics to provide decommissioning engineering support, building on a memorandum of understanding on the dismantling of nuclear power plants they signed in August 2019. The contract will see Korean nuclear power plant decommissioning personnel dispatched overseas for the first time.

Canadian uranium producer Cameco says Kazatomprom's decision to temporarily decrease operational activity at their Inkai joint venture is "an unplanned event that may lead to variability" in its 2020 outlook. Cameco has also announced that it is implementing a number of temporary operational changes at its fuel services division facilities in Ontario.

Reconstruction of unit 2 at the Darlington nuclear power plant in Canada has been completed and the process to restart the reactor can now begin, Ontario Power Generation has announced. The company will delay the planned start of the refurbishment of Darlington 3, scheduled to begin in May, as part of its measures to ensure stable electricity supplies during the COVID-19 crisis.

Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organisation says it remains on track to select a single, preferred site by 2023 for a deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel. The organisation has released its latest Triennial Report, including for the first time a strategic plan beyond site selection.

Cameco is temporarily suspending production at its Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan and placing the facility in safe care and maintenance mode during the COVID-19 pandemic. In consultation with Cameco, Orano Canada Inc is suspending production at its McClean Lake uranium mill, where ore from Cigar Lake is processed. The suspensions at both operations are expected to last at least four weeks.

Bruce Power has outlined the steps it is taking to ensure the Bruce nuclear power plant continues to provide reliable electricity for Ontario whilst maintaining the supply of cobalt-60 for medical sterilisation. The Major Component Replacement project at the Canadian plant remains on schedule but activities will be narrowed to essential tasks as it moves to the next stage of its COVID-19 response, the company said on 20 March.