Cameco Corporation

Cameco Corporation

Cameco Corporation was established in 1988 following the merger of two Canadian Crown corporations: Eldorado Nuclear and Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation. The firm was later privatized through a public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Tim Gitzel became CEO in 2011, steering the company through a cyclical uranium market downturn. Cameco focuses on uranium mining, refining, and fuel manufacturing, with operations spanning Canada (McArthur River, Cigar Lake mines), the United States (Honeywell uranium conversion facility), and Kazakhstan (Inkai joint venture). The firm also supplies nuclear fuel bundles to utilities and owns a 40% stake in the Bruce Power nuclear station in Ontario. Revenue is derived from long-term supply contracts and spot sales, with approximately 50% of output contracted to utility clients. Cameco employs roughly 4,500 people and maintains corporate offices in Saskatoon and Toronto. The firm's Cigar Lake mine, one of the highest-grade deposits globally, restarted in 2022 after a six-year shutdown. In March 2023, Cameco completed a joint venture with Brookfield Renewable Partners to acquire Westinghouse Electric Company, the US-based nuclear fuel and services firm, for $7.9 billion. Cameco's structure as a publicly traded corporation, not a family office, distinguishes it from the typical Altss profile. The company's ownership is dispersed across public shareholders, with no single controlling family. Cameco's strategic pivot to vertically integrated nuclear energy — via the Westinghouse acquisition — signals a bet on nuclear as a climate solution, but the firm remains a pure-play commodity producer subject to uranium price volatility.