Cameco employees walk down a tunnel to a Jet Boring System (JBS) machine during a media tour of Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium mine in Cigar Lake, Sask., Monday, June 15, 2026. (Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards)

By paNOW Staff

Repairs made

Cameco’s Cigar Lake mine resumes production

Jul 15, 2026 | 11:16 AM

Production has resumed at Cameco’s Cigar Lake uranium mine after a two-week shutdown linked to processing issues at the McClean Lake mill.

Cameco first announced the temporary suspension on July 1, saying operations were paused because of problems at the McClean Lake uranium processing facility.

The facility, operated by Orano, is located about 70 kilometres northeast of Cigar Lake and processes ore from the mine into uranium concentrate.

At the time, Cameco said McClean Lake was dealing with operational challenges at its sulphuric acid plant, which had to be shut down for repairs.

Because storage space for ore at Cigar Lake is limited, Cameco said mining activity had to be temporarily halted until enough acid was available for processing to continue at McClean Lake.

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With the issue now resolved, Cameco says production at Cigar Lake has restarted.

In an update issued Tuesday, the company said the shutdown is not expected to affect its 2026 production forecast, which remains between 17.5 million and 18.0 million pounds of U3O8, also known as uranium concentrate.

According to Cameco, Cigar Lake has produced 174.5 million pounds of uranium concentrate since it was commissioned in 2014. The company says the mine uses a jet-boring technique developed specifically for the challenging deposit.

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by paNOW Staff

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Cameco’s Cigar Lake mine resumes production

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