Cameco Corp (CCJ) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Cameco Corporation Third Quarter 2022 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) and the conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝你的支持。這是會議接線員。歡迎來到 Cameco Corporation 2022 年第三季度電話會議。 （操作員說明）並且正在錄製會議。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Rachelle Girard, VP, Investor Relations, Tax and Treasury. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係、稅務和財政部副總裁 Rachelle Girard。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Cameco's third quarter conference call. I would like to acknowledge that we are speaking from our corporate office, which is on Treaty 6 territory, the traditional territory of Cree Peoples and the homeland of the Metis.

謝謝接線員，大家早上好。歡迎來到 Cameco 的第三季度電話會議。我要承認，我們是在公司辦公室發言，該辦公室位於條約 6 領土、克里族的傳統領土和梅蒂斯人的故鄉。

With us today on the call are Tim Gitzel, President and CEO; Grant Isaac, Senior Vice President and CFO; Brian Reilly, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Alice Wong, Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Officer; and Sean Quinn, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. I'm going to hand it over to Tim in just a moment to discuss how the improving growth outlook for nuclear power is translating into an improving growth outlook for Cameco, and then Grant will discuss our recent announcement to acquire Westinghouse. After, we will open it up for your questions.

今天與我們通話的是總裁兼首席執行官蒂姆·吉策爾（Tim Gitzel）； Grant Isaac，高級副總裁兼首席財務官； Brian Reilly，高級副總裁兼首席運營官； Alice Wong，高級副總裁兼首席企業官；高級副總裁、首席法務官兼公司秘書 Sean Quinn。稍後我將把它交給蒂姆，討論核電增長前景的改善如何轉化為卡梅科改善的增長前景，然後格蘭特將討論我們最近宣布收購西屋公司。之後，我們將為您的問題打開它。

We've allocated an hour for this call. However, as always, our goal is to be open and transparent with our communication. Therefore, if you have detailed questions about our quarterly financial results, or should your questions not be addressed on this call, we will be happy to follow up with you after the call. There are a few ways to contact us. You can reach out to the contacts provided in our news release. You can submit a question through the contact tab on our website. Or you can use the Ask a Question form at the bottom of the webcast screen, and we will be happy to follow up after this call.

我們為此電話分配了一個小時。但是，與往常一樣，我們的目標是公開透明地進行溝通。因此，如果您對我們的季度財務業績有詳細的疑問，或者您的問題未在本次電話會議中得到解決，我們將很樂意在電話會議後與您聯繫。有幾種方法可以聯繫我們。您可以聯繫我們新聞稿中提供的聯繫人。您可以通過我們網站上的聯繫選項卡提交問題。或者您可以使用網絡廣播屏幕底部的“提問”表格，我們很樂意在此電話之後跟進。

If you join the conference call through our website event page, there are slides available, which will be displayed during the call. In addition, for your reference, our quarterly investor handout is available for download in a PDF file on our website at cameco.com. Today's conference call is open to all members of the investment community, including the media. During the Q&A session, please limit yourself to 2 questions and then return to the queue.

如果您通過我們的網站活動頁面加入電話會議，有可用的幻燈片，將在通話期間顯示。此外，供您參考，我們的季度投資者講義可在我們的網站 cameco.com 上以 PDF 文件的形式下載。今天的電話會議向投資界的所有成員開放，包括媒體。在問答環節，請限制自己回答 2 個問題，然後返回隊列。

Please note that this conference call will include forward-looking information, which is based on a number of assumptions, and actual results could differ materially. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements we make today, except as required by law. Please refer to our most recent annual information form and MD&A for more information about the factors that could cause these different results and the assumptions we have made.

請注意，本次電話會議將包含基於多項假設的前瞻性信息，實際結果可能存在重大差異。您不應過分依賴前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述存在重大差異，除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新我們今天做出的任何前瞻性陳述的任何義務。請參閱我們最近的年度信息表和 MD&A，了解有關可能導致這些不同結果的因素以及我們所做假設的更多信息。

With that, I will turn it over to Tim.

有了這個，我會把它交給蒂姆。

Well, thank you, Rachelle, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us on our call today.

好吧，謝謝你，Rachelle，大家早上好。感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。

Two weeks ago, I started my call by saying that nuclear energy is back in durable growth mode and that Cameco is back in durable growth mode. Growth that will be sought in the same manner as we approach all aspects of our business: strategic, deliberate, disciplined and responsible. I'm pleased to say that we're seeing the growth in our industry translate into improving financial performance as the exposure to increasing prices in our contracts across the fuel cycle flows through to our average realized prices.

兩週前，我一開始就說核能重新進入持久增長模式，Cameco 重新進入持久增長模式。以與我們處理業務的各個方面相同的方式尋求增長：戰略、深思熟慮、紀律嚴明和負責任。我很高興地說，我們看到我們行業的增長轉化為財務業績的改善，因為我們在整個燃料循環中的合同價格上漲的風險流向了我們的平均實際價格。

And even more important, we're seeing that industry growth translate into growth in our book of business as we responsibly build homes for our valuable Tier 1 assets, business that maintains significant exposure to rising prices for us. This is exciting because, as you know, we're still operating well below capacity, and our continued contracting success is setting us up for further growth as it lays the foundation for our transition back to a Tier 1 run rate. It's a good reminder of why we believe that Cameco remains the best way to invest in the recovery in the uranium market.

更重要的是，我們看到行業增長轉化為我們業務的增長，因為我們負責任地為我們寶貴的一級資產建造房屋，業務對我們來說保持著巨大的價格上漲風險。這令人興奮，因為如您所知，我們的運營仍遠低於產能，而我們持續的合同成功為我們的進一步增長奠定了基礎，因為它為我們過渡回 1 級運行率奠定了基礎。這很好地提醒了我們為什麼認為 Cameco 仍然是投資鈾市場復甦的最佳方式。

Thanks to our strategic and deliberate actions and our conservative financial management, we are well positioned. Well positioned for the nuclear fuel cycle tailwinds driven by the focus on clean energy, by an energy crisis and by the geopolitical realignment that's occurring. We're also well protected from the current macroeconomic headwinds. We have a growing durable contract portfolio, and our customers' nuclear plants are part of the critical infrastructure needed to guarantee the availability of 24-hour electricity to run hospitals, care facilities and other essential services.

由於我們的戰略和深思熟慮的行動以及我們保守的財務管理，我們處於有利地位。由於對清潔能源的關注、能源危機和正在發生的地緣政治調整，核燃料循環順風車處於有利位置。我們也受到了當前宏觀經濟逆風的良好保護。我們擁有不斷增長的持久合同組合，我們客戶的核電站是保證 24 小時電力供應以運行醫院、護理設施和其他基本服務所需的關鍵基礎設施的一部分。

With $1.3 billion in cash on our balance sheet at the end of September, improving fundamentals for our industry and our business, and our decision to prepare McArthur River/Key Lake for production, our plans give us line of sight to a significant improvement in our future financial performance.

截至 9 月底，我們的資產負債表上有 13 億美元的現金，改善了我們行業和業務的基本面，以及我們為 McArthur River/Key Lake 準備生產的決定，我們的計劃使我們能夠看到我們的顯著改善未來的財務表現。

So I'm going to start by talking about Cameco and the success we're having in an improving market. Then I'm going to turn it over to Grant, who is going to walk you through our strategic partnership with Brookfield Renewable to acquire Westinghouse and why we expect it to augment the core of our business, expand our ability to compete for more business and offer more solutions to our customers across the nuclear fuel cycle.

因此，我將首先談談 Cameco 以及我們在不斷改善的市場中取得的成功。然後我將把它交給格蘭特，他將向您介紹我們與 Brookfield Renewable 的戰略合作夥伴關係，以收購西屋公司，以及為什麼我們希望它能夠增強我們業務的核心，擴大我們競爭更多業務的能力和在整個核燃料循環中為我們的客戶提供更多解決方案。

In July, when we reported our second quarter results, we noted that we'd added a total of 45 million pounds to our uranium contract portfolio since the beginning of January. 2 weeks ago, we indicated that number had grown to 50 million pounds. We also noted that in our fuel services segment, where pricing is at historic highs, since the beginning of January, we had secured 7 million kilograms of uranium as you have 6 under long-term contracts; contracts that will underpin the operation of our Tier 1 assets and that we expect to benefit from for many years to come, thanks to our strategic patience.

7 月，當我們報告第二季度業績時，我們注意到自 1 月初以來，我們的鈾合同組合總共增加了 4500 萬磅。兩週前，我們指出這個數字已經增長到 5000 萬磅。我們還注意到，在定價處於歷史高位的燃料服務部門，自 1 月初以來，我們已獲得 700 萬公斤鈾，而您擁有 6 個長期合同；由於我們的戰略耐心，這些合同將為我們的一級資產的運營奠定基礎，並且我們預計將在未來許多年從中受益。

This quarter, we have provided a further glimpse into our pipeline of contracting discussions because it has us pretty optimistic. Our discussions range from initiation to accepted and awaiting finalization. We're pleased to report that we're having good success in our discussions. In addition to the 50 million pounds I noted earlier, we have had another 27 million pounds of long-term uranium business accepted. While the contracts are not yet finalized, the key terms, including pricing mechanism, volume and tenor have all been agreed to. In addition, we have had 7.5 million kgU of additional conversion business accepted, which is also being finalized. Once all contracts are finalized, the total volume of uranium successfully contracted since the beginning of this year is expected to be about 77 million pounds, and the total volume of conversion contracted is expected to be about 14.5 million kgU. That's a lot of contracting, and that's a credit to our team.

本季度，我們進一步了解了我們的合同討論渠道，因為它讓我們非常樂觀。我們的討論範圍從開始到接受和等待最終確定。我們很高興地報告，我們在討論中取得了良好的成功。除了我之前提到的 5000 萬磅之外，我們還接受了另外 2700 萬磅的長期鈾業務。雖然合同尚未敲定，但包括定價機制、數量和期限在內的關鍵條款均已達成一致。此外，我們還接受了 750 萬公斤的額外轉換業務，該業務也正在最終確定中。一旦所有合同敲定，今年年初以來成功簽約的鈾總量預計約為7700萬磅，簽約的轉換總量預計約為1450萬公斤。這是很多合同，這是我們團隊的功勞。

While the finalization of these contracts may or may not occur in the calendar year, it demonstrates that we are having significant success with our discussions. This success is expected to secure long-term value for Cameco and allow us to sustainably operate our assets and, therefore, provide our customers with access to the fuel they need to operate their reactors. We believe the key to our success is our ability to offer customers access to reliable assets across the fuel cycle. Assets that are existing, proven, Tier 1, licensed, permitted and in geopolitically attractive jurisdictions.

雖然這些合同的最終確定可能會或可能不會在日曆年內完成，但這表明我們的討論取得了重大成功。這一成功有望確保 Cameco 的長期價值，並使我們能夠可持續地運營我們的資產，從而為我們的客戶提供運營反應堆所需的燃料。我們相信，我們成功的關鍵在於我們能夠為客戶提供在整個燃料循環中使用可靠資產的能力。在具有地緣政治吸引力的司法管轄區現有的、經過驗證的、一級資產、許可的、允許的資產。

So why are we so excited about this contracting activity? Well, it's because that's what we've been patiently waiting for. It demonstrates how well Cameco is positioned to grow. Our growth is expected to come from brownfield leverage, our existing suite of Tier 1 operating assets. We do not have to build new capacity to capture the value. We just need to turn up the assets we already have, a position we have not enjoyed in previous price cycles. And of course, with the planned joint acquisition of Westinghouse, we're excited about being able to extend the base of our reach in the nuclear fuel cycle at a time when there is tremendous growth on the horizon for our industry.

那麼，為什麼我們對這項承包活動如此興奮呢？嗯，這是因為這是我們一直在耐心等待的。它展示了 Cameco 的發展定位。我們的增長預計將來自棕地槓桿，即我們現有的一級運營資產套件。我們不必建立新的能力來獲取價值。我們只需要增加我們已經擁有的資產，這是我們在以前的價格週期中沒有享受過的位置。當然，隨著計劃中的西屋公司聯合收購，我們很高興能夠在我們的行業即將出現巨大增長之際擴大我們在核燃料循環領域的基礎。

We're extending our reach with assets that like ours are strategic, that are proven, that are licensed and permitted and that are located in geopolitically attractive jurisdictions. Assets that we expect will be able to participate in the growing demand profile for nuclear energy from their existing footprint, and assets that are expected to provide new opportunities for our existing suite of uranium and fuel services segments.

我們正在通過與我們類似的具有戰略意義、經過驗證、獲得許可和許可以及位於具有地緣政治吸引力的司法管轄區的資產來擴大我們的範圍。我們預計資產將能夠從其現有足跡參與核能不斷增長的需求概況，以及預計將為我們現有的鈾和燃料服務部門提供新機會的資產。

Finally, we are excited because we've said all along, it is utility procurement that provides the signals we need to make the production planning decisions that will get us back to operating at our Tier 1 run rate. While we're getting closer to that day, we are not there yet, but every pound helps. And while it has already been a successful year of contracting, our pipeline of uranium and conversion negotiations remains large, and we expect to see more long-term demand to come to the market. So it's clear that utilities are increasingly recognizing the value in securing access to Cameco's strategic, proven, licensed, permitted Tier 1 assets that are located in geopolitically attractive jurisdictions to meet their fuel supply needs.

最後，我們很興奮，因為我們一直在說，是公用事業採購提供了我們做出生產計劃決策所需的信號，這將使我們恢復到一級運行速度。雖然我們離那一天越來越近，但我們還沒有到那一天，但每一磅都有幫助。儘管今年已經是成功的簽約年，但我們的鈾管道和轉化談判仍然很大，我們預計市場會有更多的長期需求。因此，很明顯，公用事業公司越來越認識到確保使用 Cameco 位於具有地緣政治吸引力的司法管轄區的戰略性、經過驗證、許可和許可的一級資產來滿足其燃料供應需求的價值。

So let's talk about where we're at in the next stage of our supply discipline as we progress toward the eventual return to our Tier 1 run rate, the restart at the McArthur River mine and at the Key Lake mill. We believe that this is one of, if not the best suite of uranium assets on the planet; assets that are proven, low cost and long lived. At the mine, all process circuits have been commissioned, and the critical mining equipment and initial production areas have been prepared and are ready to go, and trucks are now hauling ore slurry to the mill. We've talked a lot about the significant upgrades we made at the mill. We've implemented and installed a number of automated systems and incorporated a number of digital technologies that we expect will make the asset more flexible, more efficient and even safer than before. We expect the first produced pounds to come out of the mill not too long from now, and I can tell you that is a day that we will celebrate, so stay tuned on that.

因此，讓我們談談我們在供應紀律的下一階段處於什麼階段，因為我們正在朝著最終恢復到我們的一級運行率、麥克阿瑟河礦和 Key Lake 工廠的重新啟動邁進。我們相信這是地球上最好的一套鈾資產之一；經證實、成本低、壽命長的資產。在礦山，所有工藝迴路都已投入使用，關鍵的採礦設備和初始生產區域已準備就緒並準備就緒，卡車現在正在將礦漿運往工廠。我們已經談了很多關於我們在工廠進行的重大升級。我們已經實施並安裝了許多自動化系統，並結合了許多數字技術，我們預計這些技術將使資產比以前更靈活、更高效，甚至更安全。我們預計第一批生產的磅從現在開始不會太久，我可以告訴你那是我們將慶祝的一天，敬請期待。

As I said earlier, our plans, which include the return to production, sets us on a path that we expect will significantly improve our financial performance. We'll be able to source more of our committed sales from lower cost produced pounds, and we get out from under the operational readiness costs we've been expensing. And of course, all those pounds have a home in our committed contract portfolio. With our experience operating in this industry, we understand that to create long-term value and provide supply reliability for our customers, we must build a permanent home for our production before we pull it out of the ground.

正如我之前所說，我們的計劃（包括恢復生產）使我們走上了一條我們預計將顯著改善財務業績的道路。我們將能夠從成本較低的生產磅中獲得更多的承諾銷售，並且我們可以擺脫我們一直在花費的運營準備成本。當然，所有這些英鎊都在我們承諾的合同組合中佔有一席之地。憑藉我們在該行業的運營經驗，我們明白，要為我們的客戶創造長期價值並提供可靠的供應，我們必須在將其從地下撤出之前為我們的生產建立一個永久的家園。

Without line of sight to having a long-term profitable contract to deliver into, uranium shows up in the spot market, which has neither the size nor the transaction frequency to absorb uncontracted primary production. This oversupply in the spot market puts downward pressure on price, which negatively impacts producer profitability, and therefore creates a threat to the long-term security of supply for customers. It happened in the last price cycle. And those producers who thought they would wait and sell all their material in the spot market very quickly learned that it's a flawed strategy. They may have sold a few hundred thousand pounds at the peak, but they rode the price right down to where their operations were no longer sustainable, whereas our average realized price outperformed the market throughout the trough. So we'll continue to make strategic supply decisions in all segments of our business and in accordance with the signals our customers are sending.

在沒有長期盈利合同交付的情況下，鈾出現在現貨市場，既沒有規模也沒有交易頻率來吸收非合同初級生產。現貨市場供過於求給價格帶來下行壓力，這對生產商的盈利能力產生負面影響，從而對客戶的長期供應安全構成威脅。它發生在上一個價格週期中。那些認為他們會等待並在現貨市場上出售所有材料的生產商很快就發現這是一個有缺陷的策略。他們可能在高峰期賣出了幾十萬英鎊，但他們將價格降到了他們的業務不再可持續的地方，而我們的平均實際價格在整個低谷時都跑贏了市場。因此，我們將繼續根據客戶發出的信號，在我們業務的所有領域做出戰略性供應決策。

I also want to remind you of the why behind what we do, that being the increasingly important role for nuclear power in achieving the objectives of providing clean energy, but providing secure energy and of providing affordable energy. The heart of nuclear power's return to the energy policy toolbox is the reminder that energy decisions must achieve all 3 of these objectives at the same time. When energy policy decisions are determined based on these 3 objectives, it quickly becomes evident that nuclear power fits nicely at the center. Nuclear power provides safe, reliable, affordable carbon-free baseload electricity while also offering energy security and independence. Suffice it to say, we're seeing governments and companies turn to nuclear with an appetite that I'm not sure I've ever seen in my 4 decades in this business. Therefore, it's easy to conclude that the demand outlook is durable and very bright.

我還想提醒您我們所做的事情背後的原因，即核電在實現提供清潔能源、提供安全能源和提供負擔得起的能源的目標方面發揮著越來越重要的作用。核電回歸能源政策工具箱的核心是提醒能源決策必須同時實現所有這三個目標。當基於這三個目標確定能源政策決策時，很快就會發現核電非常適合放在中心位置。核電提供安全、可靠、負擔得起的無碳基荷電力，同時還提供能源安全和獨立性。可以這麼說，我們看到政府和公司懷著一種我不確定我在這個行業的 4 年中見過的胃口轉向核能。因此，很容易得出結論，需求前景是持久且非常光明的。

But supply is a different picture. Low prices have led to growing supply concentration by origin and a growing primary supply gap. Along the way, the secondary supplies that have played such a crucial role in our industry have been drawn out of the market. And taking the challenge of filling that gap to a whole new level is a desire to diversify away from Russian supply in nuclear fuel supply chains. Currently, the global nuclear industry relies on Russia for approximately 14% of its supply of uranium concentrates, 27% of conversion supply and 39% of enrichment capacity. Utilities are now considering and planning for a variety of potential scenarios ranging from an abrupt end to Russian supply to a gradual phase out.

但供應是另一回事。低價格導致原產地供應集中度不斷提高，初級供應缺口不斷擴大。一路走來，在我們行業中發揮如此關鍵作用的二次供應已被淘汰出市場。將填補這一空白的挑戰提升到一個全新的水平是希望在核燃料供應鏈中擺脫俄羅斯供應的多樣化。目前，全球核工業大約 14% 的鈾濃縮供應、27% 的轉化供應和 39% 的濃縮能力依賴俄羅斯。公用事業公司現在正在考慮和計劃各種潛在情景，從突然停止俄羅斯供應到逐步淘汰。

It's still early days, but we are already seeing some utilities beginning to pivot toward procurement strategies that more carefully weigh the origin risk. And we believe we are well positioned to help our customers derisk their fuel supply needs, and this has us very optimistic. We're optimistic about the growth in demand for nuclear power, both traditional and non-traditional. We're optimistic about the growth in demand for uranium and for the downstream fuel services. And we're optimistic about the opportunity for Cameco in capturing long-term value.

現在仍處於早期階段，但我們已經看到一些公用事業公司開始轉向更仔細權衡原產地風險的採購策略。我們相信我們有能力幫助我們的客戶降低他們的燃料供應需求，這讓我們非常樂觀。我們對傳統和非傳統核電需求的增長持樂觀態度。我們對鈾需求和下游燃料服務的增長持樂觀態度。我們對 Cameco 獲得長期價值的機會持樂觀態度。

Our decisions at Cameco are deliberate. We are a responsible, commercially motivated supplier with a diversified portfolio of assets across the nuclear fuel cycle, including a Tier 1 production portfolio that's among the best in the world. We're committed to operating sustainably by protecting, engaging and supporting the development of our people and their communities, and to protecting the environment, something we've been doing now for over 30 years. Our strategy, which emphasizes strategically aligned contracting, operationally flexible supply and financial discipline will allow us to achieve our vision. A vision of energizing a cleaner world and thereby delivering long-term value in a market where demand for safe, secure, reliable and affordable clean nuclear energy is growing.

我們在 Cameco 的決定是經過深思熟慮的。我們是一家負責任的、具有商業動機的供應商，在整個核燃料循環中擁有多元化的資產組合，包括世界上最好的一級生產組合。我們致力於通過保護、參與和支持我們的員工及其社區的發展以及保護環境來實現可持續運營，這是我們 30 多年來一直在做的事情。我們的戰略強調戰略上一致的合同、運營靈活的供應和財務紀律，這將使我們能夠實現我們的願景。為更清潔的世界注入活力，從而在對安全、可靠、可靠和負擔得起的清潔核能的需求不斷增長的市場中實現長期價值的願景。

So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Grant.

因此，我將把它交給格蘭特。

Thank you, Tim. Good morning to all who have joined us today. I want to follow Tim's spotlight on our contracting activity with a spotlight on our recent announcement to acquire Westinghouse. Obviously, since we don't own it yet, there really are significant limits to what we can disclose about a private company, especially one currently owned by a private equity firm. But what we can do is to outline our expectation for this acquisition after it closes.

謝謝你，蒂姆。今天所有加入我們的人早上好。我想關注蒂姆對我們承包活動的關注，關注我們最近宣布收購西屋公司的消息。顯然，由於我們還沒有擁有它，我們可以披露的關於一家私人公司的信息確實存在很大限制，尤其是目前由一家私募股權公司擁有的公司。但我們能做的是概述我們對此次收購完成後的期望。

We have 6 key expectations. First, we expect Westinghouse, like Cameco, to benefit as nuclear power is forecast to double over the coming decades. Growth in demand comes from several sources: existing reactors saved from early shutdown; existing reactors undergoing life extensions to operate for materially more decades; new markets for fuel products and services, like Eastern Europe, as a result of the unprecedented geopolitical realignment; and of course, new builds of large, of small and of micro reactors, a durable demand outlook that we believe is the best ever.

我們有 6 個關鍵期望。首先，我們預計西屋公司（如 Cameco）將受益，因為預計未來幾十年核電將翻一番。需求增長來自多個來源：從早期關閉中拯救的現有反應堆；現有的反應堆正在延長壽命以運行數十年；由於前所未有的地緣政治調整，燃料產品和服務的新市場，如東歐；當然，還有新建的大型、小型和微型反應堆，我們認為這是有史以來最好的持久需求前景。

Second, we expect this acquisition to enhance our ability to compete for this improving nuclear demand. As nuclear demand improves, proven suppliers have an enhanced ability to compete for that demand. At Cameco, we believe we are the very best way to invest in the recovery of nuclear fuel demand because we have always been invested in the fuel cycle with valuable, licensed existing capacity in geopolitically important jurisdictions where participation in the industry is closely regulated: the McArthur River mine and Key Lake mill; the Cigar Lake mine; the Blind River refinery; the Port Hope conversion facility; Port Hope fuel manufacturing are all examples of such valuable assets. Assets with brownfield, organic, inside the fenceline growth characteristics, meeting growing demand without the immediate need for greenfield investments, which are particularly challenged given current inflationary and supply chain pressures.

其次，我們預計此次收購將增強我們競爭不斷改善的核需求的能力。隨著核能需求的改善，經過驗證的供應商具有更強的競爭能力。在 Cameco，我們相信我們是投資於核燃料需求復甦的最佳方式，因為我們一直投資於具有寶貴的、許可的現有產能的燃料循環，這些地區具有重要的地緣政治司法管轄區，該行業的參與受到嚴格監管：麥克阿瑟河礦和基湖磨坊；雪茄湖礦；盲河煉油廠；霍普港改裝設施；霍普港燃料製造都是這種寶貴資產的例子。具有棕地、有機、處於臨界增長特徵內的資產，在不立即需要綠地投資的情況下滿足不斷增長的需求，鑑於當前的通貨膨脹和供應鏈壓力，這些資產尤其面臨挑戰。

At Westinghouse, conversion, fabrication and manufacturing assets managed by a world-class team have the very same characteristics of meeting growing demand from brownfield leverage. We expect an enhanced ability to compete at a time when the western nuclear fuel cycle needs to provide reliable and secure uranium, conversion, enrichment, fabrication, parts and service solutions to nuclear power plants that are absolutely critical in dealing with today's dual energy and climate crisis. In other words, this acquisition does not reduce our exposure to improving uranium prices; we expect it to enhance our exposure to improving uranium prices.

在西屋，由世界級團隊管理的轉換、製造和製造資產具有滿足棕地槓桿不斷增長的需求的相同特徵。我們期望在西方核燃料循環需要為核電廠提供可靠和安全的鈾、轉換、濃縮、製造、零件和服務解決方案的時候增強競爭能力，這些解決方案對於應對當今的雙重能源和氣候至關重要危機。換言之，此次收購併沒有減少我們對鈾價上漲的影響；我們預計它將增加我們對鈾價上漲的影響。

Third, we expect distributions from our investment in Westinghouse. Westinghouse has a stable and predictable core business, generating durable cash flows, and is well positioned to compete for growing nuclear demand. With a long-term contract portfolio like Cameco's, we expect Westinghouse to not only be well positioned to compete for growing nuclear demand, but also well protected from any current macroeconomic headwinds as utility customers run their critical nuclear power plants. This durable and growing business is expected to allow Westinghouse to self-fund its approved annual operating budget to maintain existing capacity and to service its financial obligations. The expected result is derisked cash flows from this investment.

第三，我們期望從我們對西屋的投資中獲得分配。西屋公司擁有穩定且可預測的核心業務，產生持久的現金流，並在競爭不斷增長的核能需求方面處於有利地位。憑藉像 Cameco 這樣的長期合同組合，我們預計西屋電氣不僅能夠很好地競爭不斷增長的核需求，而且在公用事業客戶運行其關鍵核電站時，還能很好地抵禦當前的宏觀經濟逆風。這項持久且不斷增長的業務預計將使西屋公司能夠自行為其批准的年度運營預算提供資金，以維持現有產能並履行其財務義務。預期結果是這項投資的去風險現金流。

Fourth, we expect this strategic and transformative acquisition to be accretive, accretive to our cash flows, given that the stable and predictable core business generates durable cash flows and is well positioned to compete for growing nuclear demand. And for the same reason, accretive to our earnings after customary purchase price allocation accounting and adjusting for differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS reporting standards. And accretive to our net asset value, given we have added to our existing asset base, additional valuable, strategic, licensed and permitted existing capacity in geopolitically important jurisdictions.

第四，鑑於穩定且可預測的核心業務產生持久的現金流，並為競爭不斷增長的核需求做好準備，我們預計這一戰略性和變革性收購將增加我們的現金流。出於同樣的原因，在習慣購買價格分配會計和調整美國公認會計原則和國際財務報告準則報告標準之間的差異後，我們的收益會增加。並增加我們的淨資產價值，因為我們已經增加了我們現有的資產基礎，在地緣政治重要的司法管轄區增加了額外的有價值的、戰略的、許可的和允許的現有能力。

Fifth, we expect that Westinghouse's existing long-term debt level will have no negative impact on Westinghouse's core business or growth potential. There are 2 critical questions to ask about Westinghouse's long-term debt. The first question is whether the debt level, or more precisely, the debt service cost, is expected to negatively impact the annual business plan and objectives of Westinghouse. The answer is no. We expect that given the stable and predictable core business of Westinghouse, it will be in a position to self-fund its approved annual operating budget, including servicing its financial obligations. The second question is whether the debt level is expected to negatively impact market growth opportunities. The answer again is no. We expect that Westinghouse will remain a critical supplier of essential nuclear fuel and service solutions to growing nuclear power markets around the world. Over time, as nuclear demand grows and as Westinghouse realizes opportunities to grow, the debt metrics will improve.

第五，我們預計西屋現有的長期債務水平不會對西屋的核心業務或增長潛力產生負面影響。關於西屋公司的長期債務，有兩個關鍵問題要問。第一個問題是債務水平，或者更準確地說，償債成本是否預計會對西屋公司的年度業務計劃和目標產生負面影響。答案是不。我們預計，鑑於西屋公司穩定且可預測的核心業務，它將能夠自行為其批准的年度運營預算提供資金，包括履行其財務義務。第二個問題是預計債務水平是否會對市場增長機會產生負面影響。答案再次是否定的。我們預計西屋公司仍將是為全球不斷增長的核電市場提供基本核燃料和服務解決方案的關鍵供應商。隨著時間的推移，隨著核能需求的增長以及西屋公司意識到增長的機會，債務指標將會改善。

Sixth, we expect that as we navigate by our investment-grade rating and equity account for this joint venture, the increase to our debt leverage metrics as part of financing this transaction will be temporary. We expect that our financial performance will improve significantly as increased prices and increased contracting translate into uranium and fuel services production, shifting from extreme supply discipline plans towards more production. We expect that our Tier 1 cost base will be restored as we eliminate care and maintenance costs, operational readiness costs and the higher cost of purchasing material. At closing, we expect the accretive Westinghouse transaction to add to our financial performance.

第六，我們預計，隨著我們對這家合資企業的投資級評級和股權賬戶進行導航，作為此次交易融資的一部分，我們的債務槓桿指標的增加將是暫時的。我們預計，隨著價格上漲和合同增加轉化為鈾和燃料服務生產，我們的財務業績將顯著改善，從極端供應紀律計劃轉向更多生產。我們預計，隨著我們消除維護和維護成本、運營準備成本和更高的採購材料成本，我們的一級成本基礎將得到恢復。結束時，我們預計西屋公司的增值交易將增加我們的財務業績。

And I should point out that the additional debt results in a total long-term indebtedness similar to where we were prior to retiring our 2019 maturities, which was before the recovery in the uranium price, and while McArthur River and Key Lake were still in care and maintenance. Our outlook has improved significantly since then. The result is that we expect only a temporary impact to our debt leverage metrics as we navigate by our investment-grade rating and equity account for this joint venture investment.

我應該指出，額外的債務導致總的長期債務類似於我們在 2019 年到期之前的情況，那是在鈾價回升之前，而麥克阿瑟河和基萊克仍在照顧之中和維護。自那時以來，我們的前景已顯著改善。結果是，當我們通過我們的投資級評級和該合資企業投資的股權賬戶進行導航時，我們預計對我們的債務槓桿指標只會產生暫時的影響。

And Tim, I would just add 2 final observations, if I may. We are delighted to partner with the outstanding team at Brookfield Renewable, led by Connor Teskey. Together, we have structured a strategic joint venture combining their extensive experience and expertise in clean energy transition and production with our extensive expertise and experience in the nuclear fuel cycle; a partnership where Westinghouse's key decision items, such as strategic plans and operational budgets, are reserve matters requiring both Brookfield Renewable and Cameco to support the decisions, a partnership that we expect to be a platform for growth as nuclear demand grows.

蒂姆，如果可以的話，我只想添加 2 個最後的觀察結果。我們很高興與由 Connor Teskey 領導的 Brookfield Renewable 傑出團隊合作。我們共同組建了一家戰略合資企業，將他們在清潔能源轉型和生產方面的豐富經驗和專業知識與我們在核燃料循環方面的豐富專業知識和經驗相結合；在這種夥伴關係中，西屋公司的關鍵決策項目（例如戰略計劃和運營預算）是儲備事項，需要 Brookfield Renewable 和 Cameco 共同支持這些決策，我們預計這種夥伴關係將成為隨著核能需求增長而增長的平台。

And finally, I think that everyone who has invested in the nuclear fuel cycle has, at least at one point, asked themselves why other investors have not taken notice of the fact that the investment case for western assets in the nuclear fuel cycle has never been stronger, or ask themselves why there is not more investment capacity and scale in this exciting and critical clean energy space. We too have asked that question. What I would observe is that the past couple of weeks has demonstrated to me that this is precisely the type of transaction that generates the broader investor interest we have wondered about. From a broader energy perspective, Brookfield Renewable, for example, has just clearly signaled to their global base of clean energy investors that nuclear power has a central role to play in the transition to net zero, and that the nuclear fuel cycle is absolutely critical to achieving that net zero transition.

最後，我認為每個投資於核燃料循環的人都至少在某一時刻問過自己，為什麼其他投資者沒有註意到西方資產在核燃料循環方面的投資案例從未被更強大，或者問自己為什麼在這個令人興奮和關鍵的清潔能源領域沒有更多的投資能力和規模。我們也問過這個問題。我會觀察到，過去幾周向我證明，這正是那種能夠產生我們所想知道的更廣泛投資者興趣的交易類型。例如，從更廣泛的能源角度來看，Brookfield Renewable 剛剛向其全球清潔能源投資者群體明確表明，核電在向淨零排放過渡中發揮著核心作用，核燃料循環對於實現淨零過渡。

From an industry perspective, we are providing investors with upstream exposure to valuable and strategic mining and milling assets, downstream exposure to valuable and strategic fuel service assets, and ultimately, leverage to improving prices and the growing cash flows and earnings that come from responsible, long-term contracting across the nuclear fuel cycle. Perhaps this is the moment when a broader group of investors takes notice of nuclear energy.

從行業的角度來看，我們正在為投資者提供對有價值和戰略性採礦和銑削資產的上游敞口，對有價值和戰略性燃料服務資產的下游敞口，並最終利用槓桿來改善價格以及來自負責任的、不斷增長的現金流和收益，整個核燃料循環的長期合同。也許這是更廣泛的投資者群體關注核能的時刻。

With that, back to you, Tim.

有了這個，回到你身邊，蒂姆。

Great. Thanks for that, Grant. And with that, operator, we're happy to answer any questions.

偉大的。謝謝你，格蘭特。有了這個，接線員，我們很樂意回答任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) The first question is from Orest Wowkodaw with Scotiabank.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自加拿大豐業銀行的 Orest Wowkodaw。

I wanted to ask about Westinghouse and what your plans are with respect to managing your own debt. You mentioned, Grant, that you think Westinghouse is going to be self-sustaining and basically paying out cash distributions to the partners. Can we assume that any cash distributions you receive from Westinghouse will go -- primarily go to reducing your own corporate debt? And I'm curious if you're putting in place any kind of targeted debt levels or debt reduction levels post-closing?

我想問一下西屋公司以及您在管理自己的債務方面的計劃。您提到，格蘭特，您認為西屋電氣將能夠自我維持，並基本上向合作夥伴支付現金分配。我們是否可以假設您從西屋收到的任何現金分配都將用於——主要用於減少您自己的公司債務？我很好奇你是否在交易結束後製定了任何目標債務水平或債務削減水平？

Grant, do you want to take that?

格蘭特，你想接受嗎？

Yes, happy to. So Orest, thank you for that question. It's a good one. When I went through the expectations that we had to think about this at closing, one of the things I did want to dwell on was how we're looking at financing it. And financing it includes taking on some temporary debt. But I just want to remind folks of a couple of things. First of all, the temporary debt that we're looking at really is within the confines of navigating by our investment-grade rating. So that remains an important factor for us. So you can think about in terms of targets, maintaining those debt leverage metrics. And so how do we think about that? We think about that from quite a dynamic perspective. So first of all, we do expect this acquisition to be accretive, so we do expect it to pay back distributions. But remember, we're at a pretty critical turning point with respect to the uranium and fuel services segment that's core to our business. We've got McArthur coming back online with production expected here in Q4. And you know better than anybody that that begins a process of shedding care and maintenance costs and shedding operational readiness costs and actually getting out from under purchasing material that's more expensive than producing it. All of that to say, the financial performance expected going forward is quite a significant improvement for us.

是的，很高興。所以奧雷斯特，謝謝你的問題。這是一個很好的。當我經歷了我們必須在關閉時考慮這個問題的期望時，我確實想詳述的一件事是我們正在考慮如何為其融資。為其融資包括承擔一些臨時債務。但我只想提醒人們幾件事。首先，我們正在研究的臨時債務確實在我們的投資級評級範圍內。所以這對我們來說仍然是一個重要因素。因此，您可以考慮目標，保持這些債務槓桿指標。那麼我們如何考慮呢？我們從非常動態的角度考慮這一點。因此，首先，我們確實希望此次收購具有增值作用，因此我們確實希望它能夠償還分配。但請記住，對於我們業務的核心鈾和燃料服務領域，我們正處於一個非常關鍵的轉折點。我們已經讓 McArthur 重新上線，預計第四季度將在此處投產。你比任何人都清楚，這開始了一個減少維護和維護成本、減少運營準備成本的過程，實際上是從採購比生產更昂貴的材料中擺脫出來。綜上所述，預計未來的財務業績對我們來說是一個相當大的改善。

So we put that against navigating by our investment-grade rating, and we're very comfortable to make the claim that we're looking at the additional leverage as being temporary. And so I think that's probably a fair way to say it. And the other thing I just wanted to remind folks of is we're not talking about an unprecedented amount of leverage. We were sitting at $1.5 billion in long-term indebtedness when McArthur River was shut down before we retired our 2019 maturities. And so all of that factors into a much stronger outlook. So I think that's the right way to think about it.

因此，我們反對以我們的投資級評級進行導航，我們很樂意聲稱我們正在將額外的槓桿視為暫時的。所以我認為這可能是一種公平的說法。我只想提醒人們的另一件事是，我們並不是在談論前所未有的槓桿率。當麥克阿瑟河在我們退休 2019 年到期之前關閉時，我們的長期債務為 15 億美元。因此，所有這些因素都形成了更強勁的前景。所以我認為這是正確的思考方式。

Okay. Just a follow-up on that, Grant. What about from like, say, a net debt-to-EBITDA perspective target? Obviously, it'll be elevated upon closing. Where would you like to get it to?

好的。格蘭特，只是對此的跟進。比如說，從淨債務到 EBITDA 的角度目標呢？顯然，它會在關閉時升高。你想把它送到哪裡？

Yes. When I say we navigate by our investment-grade rating, there is some coded language in there, I guess. So let me just kind of back that up. Obviously when you look at the rating, it's over a period of time. It's never in a moment in time. And ratings agencies are pretty thorough in their assessment about where you sit today relative to a rating horizon of 18 to 24 months out. When I say investment-grade rating, you think about that BBB flat as being 2.5x net debt to EBITDA would be a good navigating point. And so obviously, as we have the recovery in our core business, plus the distributions for Westinghouse, we feel like that EBITDA performance is recovering really quickly and improving really quickly against what is a modest debt level relative to that level of financial performance. So that would be a good way to target it.

是的。當我說我們按投資級評級導航時，我猜裡面有一些編碼語言。所以讓我支持一下。顯然，當您查看評級時，它已經過了一段時間。它永遠不會在一瞬間。相對於 18 到 24 個月的評級範圍，評級機構對你今天所處的位置進行了非常徹底的評估。當我說投資級評級時，您認為 BBB 持平是 EBITDA 的 2.5 倍淨債務將是一個很好的導航點。很明顯，隨著我們核心業務的複蘇，加上西屋公司的分配，我們覺得 EBITDA 的表現正在迅速恢復，並且相對於相對於該財務表現水平而言適度的債務水平正在迅速改善。所以這將是一個很好的定位它的方法。

The next question is from Gordon Johnson with GLJ Research.

下一個問題來自 GLJ Research 的 Gordon Johnson。

Sorry about that little miscommunication. So congrats on the results. And my first question is, how do you guys think the geopolitical environment, where Rosatom and CGM perception has shifted dramatically, changed the strategic value of Westinghouse? And then I have a follow-up.

很抱歉那個小小的誤會。所以祝賀結果。我的第一個問題是，你們認為Rosatom 和CGM 的看法發生了巨大變化的地緣政治環境如何改變了西屋公司的戰略價值？然後我有一個跟進。

Well, I mean, we think it's very positive for Westinghouse. And we've seen it already. In fact, we were seeing it months and months ago. I was over in Prague not long ago with Westinghouse. We were there as Cameco. But you could see those Eastern European countries that have relied on the Russian technology, Rosatom, the VVERs and all their technology and servicing, turning away from the Russians and saying, we don't want to operate with them anymore, we don't want to work with them, and looking for a substitute. And that substitute is Westinghouse. They're very active in the Ukraine even today. There's Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, many of those Eastern European countries we think are potential business for Westinghouse and, quite frankly, for Cameco as well. We're very, very saddened by what's going on in the Ukraine with the Russians. We don't like that at all. But it is quite positive for our business.

嗯，我的意思是，我們認為這對西屋公司非常有利。我們已經看到了。事實上，我們幾個月前就已經看到了。不久前我和西屋公司一起在布拉格。我們作為 Cameco 在那裡。但是你可以看到那些依賴俄羅斯技術、Rosatom、VVERs 以及他們所有的技術和服務的東歐國家，對俄羅斯人轉而說，我們不想再和他們合作了，我們不想想和他們一起工作，並尋找替代品。而那個替代品就是西屋公司。即使在今天，他們在烏克蘭也非常活躍。有捷克共和國、斯洛伐克、波蘭，我們認為許多東歐國家是西屋電氣的潛在業務，坦率地說，對於 Cameco 也是如此。我們對烏克蘭與俄羅斯人發生的事情感到非常非常難過。我們根本不喜歡那樣。但這對我們的業務非常有利。

Okay. Actually, that brings up one other quick question on that topic. When the deal was announced, the stock reacted negatively. And I think it was just because of the pricing, but some people were coming out negative on the deal. We didn't quite understand it. I just want to clarify here. Our view is that it looks like you guys are trying to become -- and forgive me if this isn't the right phrase -- but the western version of Russia's Tenex or the subsidiary of Rosatom that's kind of like a one-stop shop for mined, converted, enriched and fabricated uranium fuel assemblies. And it looks like you guys are trying to grab market share there as the West pivots potentially permanently away from Tenex as a world supplier. Would you guys agree with that analogy, or am I thinking wrongly there? And I'm sorry, one more follow-up.

好的。實際上，這引發了關於該主題的另一個快速問題。交易宣布後，該股反應消極。我認為這只是因為定價，但有些人對這筆交易持否定態度。我們不太明白。我只想在這裡澄清一下。我們的觀點是，看起來你們正在努力成為——如果這不是正確的措辭，請原諒我——但西方版本的俄羅斯 Tenex 或 Rosatom 的子公司，有點像一站式商店開採、轉換、濃縮和製造的鈾燃料組件。看起來你們正試圖在那裡搶占市場份額，因為西方可能會永久遠離 Tenex 作為世界供應商。你們同意這個比喻，還是我想錯了？我很抱歉，還有一個後續行動。

Yes, Gordon. Thanks for that question. Look, I won't quite -- you can make your own judgments on that, I think. Listen, I've been -- we've been doing this for decades, 4 decades, and opportunities like this don't come around very often. We couldn't be more excited about this deal than we are. It's a great deal for Cameco, for our stakeholders, our shareholders and our employees. It's very, very rare that you get the right conditions, the right partner and the right opportunity, and we think we've got them all here with this deal. We really like our partner in the clean energy trade. Renewable energy -- nuclear energy being seen as renewable now. We've got the Westinghouse, well-run company, very good results. Turned them around over the last 4 or 5 years. And so this is -- their business is very complementary to what we do at Cameco. We're in the front end. We've got world-class uranium resources conversion. We're into the CANDU fuel business fabrication. And then they take over from there on the light water side. So we think it's very complementary. As I say, these opportunities don't come around very often. This one hit us at the right time, and we were ready for it through all the discipline we've exercised over the last decade, I would say. And so I'm just saying we are very pleased with this deal, and we think it's going to make Cameco a stronger company and set this company up for many years to come.

是的，戈登。謝謝你的問題。聽著，我不會——我想你可以對此做出自己的判斷。聽著，我一直——我們已經這樣做了幾十年，四年了，像這樣的機會並不經常出現。我們對這筆交易感到無比興奮。這對 Cameco、我們的利益相關者、我們的股東和我們的員工來說意義重大。獲得合適的條件、合適的合作夥伴和合適的機會是非常非常罕見的，我們認為我們已經通過這筆交易得到了所有這些。我們非常喜歡我們在清潔能源貿易方面的合作夥伴。可再生能源——核能現在被視為可再生能源。我們有西屋公司，經營良好的公司，結果非常好。在過去的 4 或 5 年裡，他們扭轉了局面。所以這是 - 他們的業務與我們在 Cameco 的業務非常互補。我們在前端。我們有世界級的鈾資源轉換。我們進入 CANDU 燃料業務製造。然後他們從那裡接管輕水側。所以我們認為這是非常互補的。正如我所說，這些機會並不經常出現。這一次在正確的時間擊中了我們，我會說，我們已經為過去十年所練習的所有紀律做好了準備。所以我只是說我們對這筆交易非常滿意，我們認為這將使 Cameco 成為一家更強大的公司，並讓這家公司在未來很多年建立起來。

Okay. That's very helpful. Then the last question is, and I always ask this question, but I just want to get the most recent update. Are you guys starting to see any flow of, I would say, traditional ESG money back into -- or into, rather, the uranium sector? Congrats on the results.

好的。這很有幫助。然後最後一個問題是，我總是問這個問題，但我只是想獲得最新的更新。你們是否開始看到任何傳統的 ESG 資金流入——或者更確切地說，流入鈾行業？祝賀結果。

Yes. Thanks, Gordon. Grant's been pretty much nonstop with Rachelle on the investor line over the last week or 10 days. Do you want to comment on that, Grant?

是的。謝謝，戈登。在過去的一周或 10 天裡，格蘭特幾乎不間斷地與雷切爾一起在投資者線上。你想對此發表評論嗎，格蘭特？

Yes. Gordon, it's a great question. I would say what I would call the clean energy trade really started to pivot into an interest in Cameco actually about 18 months ago and maybe on an accelerated basis about 12 months ago. And then we think that it's just poised to take another step up. We obviously had a lot of interest in our announcement and a lot of new interest in our announcement, as well as support from existing Page 1 investors, I'd put it that way. And we think that that translates into a growing awareness that as you saw Mark Carney say in the press release, there is no path to net zero that doesn't involve nuclear power. So we are seeing a pretty powerful awakening there and understanding that this is an industry that provides the E, bonafides in ESG. But it's an industry that also provides the S and the G bonafides in ESG metrics as well. So we're very enthusiastic that a broader base of investors is paying attention to this critical clean energy.

是的。戈登，這是一個很好的問題。我想說的是，我所說的清潔能源貿易實際上大約在 18 個月前開始轉向對 Cameco 的興趣，並且可能在大約 12 個月前加速發展。然後我們認為它只是準備再邁出一步。我們顯然對我們的公告很感興趣，對我們的公告也有很多新的興趣，以及現有 Page 1 投資者的支持，我會這麼說。我們認為這意味著人們越來越意識到，正如你看到馬克卡尼在新聞稿中所說的那樣，沒有不涉及核能的淨零路徑。因此，我們在那裡看到了一個非常強大的覺醒，並理解這是一個在 ESG 中提供真正的 E 的行業。但它也是一個在 ESG 指標中也提供 S 和 G 真實性的行業。因此，我們非常熱衷於更廣泛的投資者基礎正在關注這種關鍵的清潔能源。

The next question is from Ralph Profiti with Eight Capital.

下一個問題來自八資本的 Ralph Profiti。

Grant, when you talked about your 6-point sort of conditions for this rationale at Westinghouse, I want to come back to sort of the first point. And I'm wondering if the benefits that you're seeing from these market opportunities has actually you thinking about increased attention on the upstream. And so I'm thinking about does -- is there an upstream link to uranium mining and increased exploration and taking a look at some of these greenfield and brownfield opportunities post the Westinghouse coming into the portfolio?

格蘭特，當你談到你在西屋公司提出這個理由的 6 點條件時，我想回到第一點。我想知道你從這些市場機會中看到的好處是否真的讓你考慮增加對上游的關注。因此，我正在考慮是否存在與鈾礦開采和增加勘探的上游聯繫，並在西屋公司進入投資組合後看看其中一些綠地和棕地機會？

It's an interesting way to put it. Obviously as -- we view this as very complementary and supportive. We view it as enhancing our position in the uranium market recovery. And what we simply mean there is, look, there are a lot of markets that are growing. Growing because reactors that they thought were going to be shut down are being saved. Reactors that may have come to a license limit are being extended. And of course new markets, as Tim talked about, markets that are turning away from what have been traditional sources and looking for western solutions, and quite frankly, the full suite of western solutions. All of that means greater opportunities for Cameco contracting. And of course, as we build up that book, we then turn to our production plans. We're in a very favorable position right now as Cameco in that we can grow into this market recovery from brownfield leverage. It really is just a matter of turning on the assets that we currently have versus embarking on a greenfield.

這是一種有趣的表達方式。顯然，我們認為這是非常互補和支持的。我們認為這增強了我們在鈾市場復甦中的地位。我們的意思是，看，有很多市場正在增長。增長是因為他們認為將要關閉的反應堆正在被保存。可能已經達到許可限制的反應堆正在延長。當然還有新市場，正如蒂姆所說，那些正在遠離傳統資源並尋找西方解決方案的市場，坦率地說，是全套西方解決方案。所有這一切都意味著 Cameco 的承包機會更大。當然，當我們建立那本書時，我們會轉向我們的生產計劃。作為 Cameco，我們現在處於非常有利的位置，因為我們可以從棕地槓桿中成長為市場復甦。這實際上只是打開我們目前擁有的資產與開始綠地的問題。

But you're asking a longer-term question, which is a good one, and that is, as we have success building that contract book and as we resume production, and obviously at some point get -- shed the last little bit of supply discipline and get to full capacity production at our Tier 1 assets, then it will be time to turn our attention to where that growth comes from. We have an extraordinary portfolio, whether it's an asset like Millennium, adjacent to brownfield infrastructure on the eastern side of the Athabasca Basin, whether it's our Tier 2 assets that are already licensed to permitted, whether it's an asset at the right time in Western Australia, we already have a great base to start from when we look for those growth modalities. But at the moment, we're just -- we're not there. It is about taking advantage of growth and taking advantage from a brownfield perspective. That is our priority right now, and we think that drives the greatest amount of value for our owners.

但是你問的是一個長期的問題，這是一個很好的問題，也就是說，隨著我們成功建立了合同書，隨著我們恢復生產，顯然在某個時候得到 - 減少最後一點供應紀律並在我們的一級資產中實現滿負荷生產，那麼是時候將我們的注意力轉向增長的來源了。我們擁有非凡的投資組合，無論是像 Millennium 這樣的資產，毗鄰阿薩巴斯卡盆地東側的棕地基礎設施，還是我們已經獲得許可的二級資產，無論是在西澳大利亞的正確時間的資產，當我們尋找這些增長方式時，我們已經有了一個很好的基礎。但目前，我們只是——我們不在那裡。它是關於利用增長並從棕地的角度利用優勢。這是我們現在的首要任務，我們認為這為我們的所有者帶來了最大的價值。

Great answer. Tim, if I have one for you. The collective bargaining agreement at McArthur River expires December of this year. Can you talk a little bit about the ability for the workforce to operate under the expired CBA? And are there incremental steps that Cameco needs to take or in preparedness? Because it doesn't look like building up inventories is part of the narrative going forward for Cameco, and it hasn't been for the last little while. And how well is that contract book going to be protected against potential strike risk?

很好的答案。蒂姆，如果我有一個給你。麥克阿瑟河的集體談判協議將於今年 12 月到期。你能談談勞動力在過期的 CBA 下運作的能力嗎？ Cameco 是否需要採取增量步驟或做好準備？因為看起來建立庫存並不是 Cameco 未來發展的一部分，而且最近一段時間也沒有。這份合同書對潛在罷工風險的保護程度如何？

Yes. Thanks, Ralph. Yes, we do -- our collective agreement is coming due at the end of the year, and we were just talking about it yesterday. Brian and Alice and others are preparing our team here to sit down with our colleagues in the union steelworkers at the sites, and I think we'll start those negotiations pretty soon. You know what, we have a world-class workforce, and we've had great relations with them. I think people are delighted to be back. Those that came back to McArthur River and Key Lake are happy to be back. We've got a lot of new employees. I think we've hired 500 or 600 people in the last 12 months. So yes, we'll get into those, Ralph. And we've seen -- I think Orano just went through some negotiations, so we've seen them. I think there's others in the province going through negotiations. It's a normal course, and we hope we'll be able to come to a satisfactory solution to both sides very quickly and get on with life. We obviously watch our inventories, and Grant will tell you we've got all different sources. We've got long-term agreements. We've got inventory. We've got borrowing agreements. So we're well looked after, Ralph, and we're not concerned about that.

是的。謝謝，拉爾夫。是的，我們這樣做了——我們的集體協議將在年底到期，而我們昨天剛剛還在談論它。布萊恩、愛麗絲和其他人正在準備我們的團隊在這裡與我們在工地的工會鋼鐵工人的同事坐下來，我想我們很快就會開始這些談判。你知道嗎，我們擁有世界一流的員工隊伍，我們與他們建立了良好的關係。我認為人們很高興能回來。那些回到麥克阿瑟河和基湖的人很高興回來。我們有很多新員工。我想我們在過去 12 個月裡僱傭了 500 或 600 人。所以是的，我們會進入這些，拉爾夫。我們已經看到了——我認為歐拉諾剛剛經歷了一些談判，所以我們已經看到了。我認為該省還有其他人正在談判中。這是一個正常的過程，我們希望我們能夠很快找到雙方都滿意的解決方案，繼續生活。我們顯然會關注我們的庫存，格蘭特會告訴你我們有所有不同的來源。我們有長期協議。我們有庫存。我們有借款協議。所以我們得到了很好的照顧，拉爾夫，我們並不擔心這一點。

The next question is from Greg Barnes with TD Securities.

下一個問題來自道明證券的 Greg Barnes。

I've gotten a number of questions about the business opportunities for Westinghouse --

我收到了很多關於西屋商機的問題——

Greg, it's Tim. Greg, we can't hear you. It's really muffled, Greg.

格雷格，是蒂姆。格雷格，我們聽不見你的聲音。真的很悶，格雷格。

Sorry. Hang on. Can you hear me now?

對不起。不掛斷。你能聽到我嗎？

Go ahead. We'll see what we can do.

前進。我們會看看我們能做些什麼。

I've had a number of questions from investors about the business opportunity in Eastern Europe and what that means to Westinghouse and for you. Can you quantify that in any way?

對於東歐的商機，以及這對西屋公司和您來說意味著什麼，我從投資者那裡收到了很多問題。你能以任何方式量化它嗎？

Yes. I think it would be a little early to try to quantify the business opportunities there other than to say they're quite extensive, and we know that Westinghouse is there in spades. Now there's a big meeting going on in Washington, D.C. yesterday and today. Most of those European countries are there. We know there's a bunch of meetings going on with them. So I'm not sure we can quantify it to any great extent at the moment. But maybe, Grant, do you want to add something?

是的。我認為現在嘗試量化那裡的商機還為時過早，而不是說它們相當廣泛，而且我們知道西屋公司確實存在。現在，昨天和今天在華盛頓特區舉行了一場盛大的會議。大多數歐洲國家都在那裡。我們知道有很多會議正在與他們進行。所以我不確定我們目前能否在很大程度上量化它。但也許，格蘭特，你想補充點什麼嗎？

Yes, we can provide a bit of a regional context. That is a market that has historically, as you know, been served by the Russian's 34-ish reactors of varying sizes. That market consumes close to 15 million pounds of uranium per year, about 6,000 tons of conversion. Very significant opportunities for --. Switching costs are really high in our industry. It's not easy to switch fuel fabricator. It's not easy to switch those suppliers. But when an event like the invasion of Ukraine prompts those switching costs, obviously there's a great opportunity. Westinghouse enjoys the pole position as having the certified and verified ability to produce the VVER fuel, and obviously what we want to do is help them provide those western solutions to those markets looking to turn away. And so for us, it's about a greater proportion of uranium and conversion contracting than, say, rule of thumb, what would we normally get in a market on a competitive basis. We just think it enhances our competitive position to be able to offer on a solutions basis for the full assemblies. So it is a pretty substantial new market is kind of the way to think about it.

是的，我們可以提供一些區域背景。如您所知，這是一個歷史上由俄羅斯的 34 座大小不一的反應堆服務的市場。該市場每年消耗近 1500 萬磅鈾，轉化量約為 6000 噸。非常重要的機會——。在我們的行業中，轉換成本確實很高。更換燃料製造商並不容易。更換這些供應商並不容易。但是當像入侵烏克蘭這樣的事件導致這些轉換成本時，顯然有一個很好的機會。西屋公司在生產 VVER 燃料方面擁有經過認證和驗證的能力，因此享有領先地位，顯然我們想要做的是幫助他們為那些希望拒絕的市場提供西方解決方案。所以對我們來說，鈾和轉換合同的比例比經驗法則要大，我們通常會在競爭的基礎上在市場上獲得什麼。我們只是認為，能夠在解決方案的基礎上為完整組件提供解決方案，從而增強了我們的競爭地位。所以這是一個相當大的新市場，這是一種思考方式。

Great. And just secondarily, just on the capital structure for this transaction. You've got USD 1 billion in cash, $600 million term loan. You've got the $1 billion bridge, and then you've raised $750 million in equity. Judging from all that, you will not have to really draw on that bridge to any great extent is my understanding.

偉大的。其次，就本次交易的資本結構而言。你有 10 億美元的現金，6 億美元的定期貸款。你有 10 億美元的橋樑，然後你籌集了 7.5 億美元的股權。從這一切來看，我的理解是，在很大程度上，你不必真正在這座橋上畫畫。

Grant?

授予？

Yes, it would certainly be our intention to put the permanent capital structure in place at time of closing. And obviously, there's a bit of uncertainty on that closing time because of the regulatory approvals required. But ultimately, we're very comfortable with the equity that we raised commensurate with the net asset value pickup that we just got. I talked about the debt leverage being -- we're looking at it as temporary, all against the recovery of the uranium and fuel services segment. We're at a turning point, and that's well underway now as McArthur's coming back online. So we just think we're in a good position at time of closing to maintain the permanent capital structure and actually close it out with cash.

是的，我們當然打算在交易結束時建立永久性資本結構。顯然，由於需要監管部門的批准，關閉時間存在一些不確定性。但最終，我們對我們籌集的與我們剛剛獲得的淨資產價值回升相稱的股權感到非常滿意。我談到了債務槓桿——我們認為它是暫時的，完全不利於鈾和燃料服務部門的複蘇。我們正處於一個轉折點，隨著麥克阿瑟重新上線，這一切正在順利進行。因此，我們只是認為我們在關閉時處於有利位置，可以維持永久資本結構並實際用現金關閉它。

The next question is from Lawson Winder with Bank of America Securities.

下一個問題來自美國銀行證券公司的 Lawson Winder。

Just looking at the delivery schedule and the fact that your production is not able to directly meet that schedule, thank you for highlighting some of the options you have. So you mentioned inventory, long-term purchase agreements, loan arrangements. So I guess the question is, at some point, will there be a need for Cameco to go directly into the spot market and purchase, particularly if the Inkai deliveries are not realized on sort of a longer-term view, so maybe extending well into 2023? And then just with any of those existing options for filling the gap between production and deliveries, is there any indirect spot market purchases?

只需查看交貨時間表以及您的生產無法直接滿足該時間表這一事實，感謝您強調您擁有的一些選項。所以你提到了庫存、長期採購協議、貸款安排。所以我想問題是，在某個時候，Cameco 是否需要直接進入現貨市場併購買，特別是如果 Inkai 的交付沒有從長遠的角度實現，那麼可能會很好地擴展到2023 年？然後，僅使用任何現有的選項來填補生產和交付之間的差距，是否有任何間接的現貨市場採購？

Grant, why don't you talk about the market a bit and answer that.

格蘭特，你為什麼不談談市場並回答這個問題。

Yes. We have been the major purchaser in the market since we began our extreme supply discipline. As you know, Lawson, if I go back to McArthur coming down, Cameco bought roughly 56 million pounds of uranium. A lot of it for immediate delivery. Some of it under long-term purchase arrangements that were priced at much lower uranium environment under fixed contracts. We're able to access some of those today. But we do occasionally stick our nose in the spot market. Part of it is just to figure out who's selling and what's available. What I'll tell you is that whenever Cameco sticks its nose in the spot market to buy, suddenly offers move up. They move away from us, which just indicates what we've been saying all along, which is this is an incredibly thinly traded market.

是的。自從我們開始嚴格的供應紀律以來，我們一直是市場上的主要購買者。如你所知，勞森，如果我回到麥克阿瑟下台，卡梅科購買了大約 5600 萬磅的鈾。很多是為了立即交貨。其中一些是長期採購安排，在固定合同下以低得多的鈾環境定價。我們今天可以訪問其中的一些。但我們偶爾會在現貨市場上嗤之以鼻。其中一部分只是為了弄清楚誰在銷售，什麼是可用的。我要告訴你的是，每當Cameco在現貨市場上搶購時，報價就會突然上漲。他們遠離我們，這只是表明我們一直在說的話，這是一個令人難以置信的交易稀少的市場。

Looking ahead, we meet our committed sales through a combination of inventories, maybe accessing these long-term purchase arrangements and spot market purchases when it makes sense for us, when we have the right product form in the right location. All of that, of course, supportive of the price discovery in the market, supportive of this notion that it is a thinly traded market. So yes, don't expect us to leave that spot space occasionally. But look, what's never changed is our desire to manage risk. We never said we would be only a spot market buyer. We said when we went into extreme supply discipline, we would always manage our sources so that we could meet our committed sales. So don't be surprised if we buy a bit of spot material. But just remember, we've got lots of tools in the toolbox to do what the most important thing is to do, which is to meet our committed sales.

展望未來，當我們在正確的位置擁有正確的產品形式時，我們可能會通過組合庫存，在對我們有意義的情況下訪問這些長期採購安排和現貨市場採購來實現我們的承諾銷售。當然，所有這些都支持市場中的價格發現，支持市場交易稀少的觀點。所以是的，不要指望我們偶爾會離開那個地方。但是看，從未改變的是我們管理風險的願望。我們從未說過我們只會成為現貨市場的買家。我們說過，當我們進入極端供應紀律時，我們將始終管理我們的資源，以便我們能夠滿足我們承諾的銷售。因此，如果我們購買一點現貨材料，請不要感到驚訝。但請記住，我們的工具箱中有很多工具可以做最重要的事情，那就是滿足我們承諾的銷售。

Okay. And then I guess the other question I'd like to ask as my supplementary is just for the Inkai deliveries. Can you just elaborate on the latest in terms of what's happening with that? So have you managed to arrange for insurance coverage for your shipments from Inkai? Is there still reluctance to insure those shipments on some degree? And then with the material now sort of being stuck in transit, could you just explain sort of the details of how that situation has arisen and then how it might resolve itself?

好的。然後我想我想問的另一個問題，因為我的補充只是印凱交付。您能否詳細說明最新情況？那麼，您是否設法為您從 Inkai 運送的貨物安排了保險？是否仍然不願意在某種程度上為這些貨物投保？然後，由於材料現在有點卡在運輸過程中，你能否解釋一下這種情況是如何出現的以及它如何自行解決的細節？

Yes. Thanks for that question, Lawson. We were kind of anticipating that one. And Sean Quinn is here and looks after our Kazakh operations and is on top of our transportation issues on a daily basis. So Sean, why don't you give the latest on how that's working?

是的。謝謝你的問題，勞森。我們有點期待那個。 Sean Quinn 在這裡負責我們的哈薩克斯坦業務，並且每天都在處理我們的交通問題。所以肖恩，你為什麼不提供最新的工作原理？

Sure. And it is working with delays is how I would characterize it overall at this time. We are obviously, as disclosed, looking at having JV Inkai, who is responsible for shipping to Cameco, we take title when the material is delivered by JV Inkai at Blind River. We've had JVI work on using the, what we call the Trans-Caspian route. And they are doing that in conjunction with a Kazatomprom shipment, which has already made it partway through, and we are looking at that material coming through. And there are some delays in Azerbaijan permits that we are waiting for updates on, and we're still optimistic that it will get to. But it has been delayed due to regulatory requirements that JV Inkai is working on in Azerbaijan.

當然。它正在處理延遲是我目前總體描述它的方式。正如所披露的那樣，我們顯然正在考慮讓負責運送到 Cameco 的 JV Inkai，當材料由 JV Inkai 在 Blind River 交付時，我們獲得所有權。我們已經讓 JVI 致力於使用我們所說的跨里海航線。他們正在與 Kazatomprom 的貨物一起做這件事，這已經完成了一半，我們正在研究這些材料。我們正在等待更新的阿塞拜疆許可證有一些延誤，我們仍然樂觀地認為它會得到。但由於 JV Inkai 正在阿塞拜疆開展的監管要求，它已被推遲。

So more to come, Lawson.

還有更多，勞森。

If I might, so Azerbaijan is just one step along the way. Do you anticipate any further problems in like Georgia? And then what about transferring to the Black Sea?

如果可以，那麼阿塞拜疆只是其中的一步。你預計像格魯吉亞這樣的進一步問題嗎？那麼轉移到黑海呢？

We -- there are no guarantees there. We anticipate it will go smoothly once it's through Azerbaijan, but we will see. It is a delivery route that has been used before, so we're quite optimistic that it will work in due course. But we will see once it gets to Blind River.

我們——那裡沒有任何保證。我們預計一旦通過阿塞拜疆，它將順利進行，但我們會看到。這是一條之前已經使用過的交付路線，因此我們非常樂觀地認為它會在適當的時候起作用。但是一旦它到達盲河，我們就會看到。

Okay. Great. Congratulations on a great result.

好的。偉大的。祝賀你取得了很好的成績。

The next question is from Brian MacArthur with Raymond James.

下一個問題來自 Brian MacArthur 和 Raymond James。

My first question has to do with Westinghouse. And I see you've kindly put some financials in your MD&A, which is helpful. And it sort of shows capital expenditures are pretty flat over the last number of years, and you talked about how it's going to be self-funding going forward. Is there any reason why I should believe that those sustaining capital expenditures should change significantly going forward without any other acquisitions or investments to grow?

我的第一個問題與西屋公司有關。我看到你在你的 MD&A 中加入了一些財務數據，這很有幫助。這在某種程度上表明資本支出在過去幾年中相當平穩，你談到了未來它將如何自籌資金。我有什麼理由相信那些維持資本支出的人應該在沒有任何其他收購或投資增長的情況下發生重大變化？

I don't think so, Brian, but -- and thanks for the question. But Grant has studied the CapEx previous and outlook in depth. So Grant, why don't you comment on it?

我不這麼認為，布賴恩，但是——謝謝你的問題。但格蘭特已經深入研究了之前的資本支出和前景。所以格蘭特，你為什麼不評論呢？

One of the points I made earlier, Brian, was that Westinghouse enjoys some asset characteristics that Cameco enjoys, which is the ability to take advantage of growth in the nuclear industry from brownfield leverage, inside the fenceline opportunities to grow. And so we do have an expectation that that capital line stays pretty flat. It really is just attracting maintenance and replacement capital for the normal manufacturing and fabrication operations. So very similar to Cameco. It's not -- these aren't assets that require a significant greenfield investment in order to benefit from the growth. So that's the right way to think about it, Brian.

布賴恩，我之前提出的觀點之一是西屋公司享有 Cameco 所享有的一些資產特徵，即能夠利用棕地槓桿在核工業增長中獲得增長的機會。因此，我們確實期望該資本線保持相當平穩。它實際上只是為正常的製造和製造操作吸引維護和更換資金。與Cameco非常相似。不是——這些不是需要大量綠地投資才能從增長中受益的資產。所以這是正確的思考方式，布賴恩。

Great. Maybe switching to another topic. You do mention GLE made progress doing 8 months of testing, and now it's been moved to the U.S. Can you give us any update -- well, first of all, what does that actually mean in moving the process forward? And B, whether that has any implications on time lines for GLE?

偉大的。也許切換到另一個話題。您確實提到 GLE 在 8 個月的測試中取得了進展，現在它已移至美國。您能否給我們提供任何更新——首先，這對推進流程意味著什麼？ B，這是否對 GLE 的時間線有任何影響？

Yes, we're excited about the future for GLE, and it fits nicely in the larger package that we're talking about today. But our good friend, Sean Quinn, in addition to Kazakhstan is responsible for GLE. So why don't you have an update on that, Sean?

是的，我們對 GLE 的未來感到興奮，它非常適合我們今天談論的更大的包裝。但是我們的好朋友 Sean Quinn 除了哈薩克斯坦負責 GLE。那你為什麼不更新呢，肖恩？

Sure. I will answer it kind of in 2 parts. We are, on the commercial side, very interested in watching very closely developments in the U.S. on the political front in regards to funding opportunities. And there do seem to be some coming into existence, particularly under the IRA. And in conjunction with that, we are looking at next year as program and budget for GLE and the continued development of the technology, and the 2 will be twinned to some extent. So continued work on technology development towards TRL 6 continues. And that rate of progress will be tied to how we do on obtaining some funding support in the U.S. and discussions, of course, with our partner with Silex.

當然。我將分兩部分回答。在商業方面，我們非常有興趣密切關注美國在融資機會方面的政治發展。而且似乎確實存在一些，特別是在愛爾蘭共和軍下。與此相結合，我們將明年作為 GLE 的計劃和預算以及該技術的持續發展，並且 2 將在某種程度上成為雙胞胎。因此，針對 TRL 6 的技術開發工作仍在繼續。這一進展速度將與我們在美國獲得一些資金支持的方式以及與我們與 Silex 的合作夥伴的討論有關。

So you wouldn't expect major capital going out the door on this next year?

所以你不會指望明年主要資本會出局嗎？

No major capital going out the door next year.

明年沒有大資本流出。

Nice to talk to you, Brian. Thanks. Operator, can I just interrupt for a moment? I see we still have a few people in the queue, and we certainly don't want to cut anybody off. I know we said an hour. But we're prepared to stay longer to finish the lineup that's on the screen in the queue. So please let those folks ask their questions, and we're happy to stay on.

很高興與你交談，布賴恩。謝謝。接線員，我可以打斷一下嗎？我看到我們還有一些人在排隊，我們當然不想讓任何人停下來。我知道我們說了一個小時。但是我們準備停留更長時間來完成隊列中屏幕上的陣容。所以請讓這些人提出他們的問題，我們很樂意繼續。

Understood. The next question is from Justin Huhn with Uranium Insider.

明白了。下一個問題來自 Uranium Insider 的 Justin Huhn。

First of all, I want to just say congratulations to you guys and the team for many years of supply discipline seemingly finally paying off. I know that's a really big deal for the company, so congrats on that. I wanted to ask a question about some historical context in terms of long-term contracting. There's plenty of speculation amongst the investing community, let's say, that perhaps 2023 could be the first year in a decade of replacement rate contracting on behalf of the utilities. For example, we saw the jump in 2004 to 2005 from about 80 million pounds contracted in 2004 to 250 million pounds contracted in 2005. What are you seeing in historical context in terms of utility demand going forward? And what are your expectations for this contracting cycle that appears to be just now starting to kick off for the years going forward?

首先，我想祝賀你們和團隊多年來的供應紀律似乎終於得到了回報。我知道這對公司來說非常重要，所以恭喜。我想問一個關於長期承包的歷史背景的問題。比方說，投資界有很多猜測，也許 2023 年可能是十年來代表公用事業公司的替代率收縮的第一年。例如，我們看到 2004 年至 2005 年從 2004 年的約 8000 萬英鎊的收縮量躍升至 2005 年的 2.5 億英鎊。在歷史背景下，您對未來的公用事業需求有何看法？您對這個似乎剛剛開始在未來幾年開始的合同周期有何期望？

So Justin, let me open and just say thank you for your kind comments, and because we don't take them lightly and we appreciate them. We didn't have a whole lot of fun here. I look around the table. This team's been shoulder to shoulder for 10 years through some pretty tough times. We left pounds in the ground at $17, and we're hoping to bring them out now in a better market. But that -- we had to take some tough medicine along the way. And so we appreciate you recognizing that and we'll certainly pass that on to our team. So on the historical demand and returning to run rates of purchasing, Grant, why don't you give an overview?

那麼賈斯汀，讓我打開並感謝您的友好評論，因為我們不會掉以輕心，我們感謝他們。我們在這裡沒有很多樂趣。我環顧桌子。這支球隊已經並肩作戰了 10 年，經歷了一些相當艱難的時期。我們以 17 美元的價格將英鎊留在地下，我們希望現在將它們帶到更好的市場。但這——我們必須在此過程中服用一些強效藥物。因此，我們感謝您認識到這一點，我們一定會將其傳遞給我們的團隊。那麼關於歷史需求和採購恢復率，格蘭特，你為什麼不做一個概述呢？

Yes, Justin, it's a great question. And there are some lessons to be learned obviously from looking back. The main lesson is something you've heard me say before, which is contracting begets contracting. Utilities, I think they watch the decisions of producers very carefully, but they watch each other very carefully as well. And when big utilities aren't contracting, I don't -- I think it creates maybe a complacency for others. And then when contracting starts to pick up, and you're seeing that us at 77 million pounds year-to-date between accepted and executed, that's an extraordinary amount of contracting. And if you look at it against what some of the trade reporters are saying, what Cameco is doing, 91% of the term contracting in the market, obviously it means there's more contracting going on than what's being picked up by the trade press, which is going to be I think quite eye opening for those who have maybe been waiting in the contracting queue and thinking that they have a bit more time.

是的，賈斯汀，這是一個很好的問題。回顧過去，顯然可以吸取一些教訓。主要的教訓是你以前聽過我說過的話，那就是契約導致契約。公用事業，我認為他們非常仔細地觀察生產者的決定，但他們也非常仔細地觀察對方。當大型公用事業公司不收縮時，我不會——我認為這可能會讓其他人自滿。然後當合同開始回升時，你會看到我們在接受和執行之間的年初至今為 7700 萬英鎊，這是一個非同尋常的合同數量。如果你對照一些貿易記者的說法，Cameco 正在做的事情，市場上 91% 的期限都在承包，顯然這意味著正在進行的合同比行業媒體報導的要多，這我認為對於那些可能一直在簽約隊列中等待並認為他們有更多時間的人來說，這會讓他們大開眼界。

So historically, you look back and you see that contracting begets contracting. But looking ahead, there's actually some characteristics that are different than what we've seen in the past, and I think more supportive. Number one is, when you think about that 2004/2005 window and the contracting cycle and the volumes that came, there was a heck of a lot more inventory and a heck of a lot more secondary supply available around the world than there is today. In 2004/2005, there would have still been hundreds of millions of pounds yet to come to the market in the HEU agreement alone, which was an enormous amount of secondary supply. And of course, you had much larger inventories than you have around the world.

所以從歷史上看，你回首往事，你會看到承包產生了承包。但展望未來，實際上有一些特徵與我們過去看到的不同，我認為更有支持性。第一個是，當你考慮到 2004/2005 年的窗口和合同周期以及隨之而來的數量時，世界各地的庫存和二級供應比今天多得多。在 2004/2005 年，僅 HEU 協議就有數億英鎊尚未進入市場，這是一個巨大的二次供應量。當然，您的庫存比世界各地的要多得多。

Secondly, when you look back then, you had a lot more production being invested in. You had the Kazakh ramp-up underway in that window, which of course then went on to become an extraordinary asset base of supply. You had investments in Cigar Lake underway; obviously a really important Tier 1 asset being built. Flip forward to today, secondary supply is falling dramatically. Inventories drawn down to really low levels. It's not an inventory story. And where are the investments in supply? After years of really low uranium prices, there isn't that queue of production that's already being invested in and already being developed. And so it takes me back to the point that I made in Q2, which is we're in the early innings. We're not even at replacement rate, and we've never started a cycle at this high of a uranium price before. So historically, contracting begets contracting. Looking ahead, there are some features that are just far more supportive of the uranium price recovery than we would have seen in that window.

其次，當你回首往事時，你有更多的生產投入。在那個窗口中，哈薩克斯坦正在加速增長，這當然繼續成為一個非凡的資產供應基礎。您正在對雪茄湖進行投資；顯然，這是一項非常重要的一級資產正在建設中。翻到今天，二級供應量急劇下降。庫存降至非常低的水平。這不是一個庫存故事。供應方面的投資在哪裡？經過多年的低鈾價格之後，已經沒有已經投資和開發的生產隊列。所以這讓我回到了我在第二季度提出的觀點，即我們處於早期階段。我們甚至沒有達到替代率，而且我們以前從未以如此高的鈾價格開始一個循環。所以從歷史上看，承包產生了承包。展望未來，有一些特徵比我們在那個窗口看到的更能支持鈾價格的複蘇。

That's a great answer. And if I could follow up with -- maybe you can add a little color as far as spot market goes. So I think it's relatively understood amongst investors that the spot market is quite thin. You mentioned just sticking your nose into the market, offers start to move up. The real market is the term contracting market, and we know that. However, the spot market is what is most visible to investors. So in a private conversation we had last month, Grant, you mentioned that traders are essentially the connective tissue between the two markets. Can you add a little bit of color to that as far as what investors can expect from spot market reporting when it comes to the expected move in long-term contracting and pricing?

這是一個很好的答案。如果我能跟進 - 也許你可以在現貨市場上添加一點顏色。所以我認為投資者相對理解現貨市場相當清淡。您提到剛剛進入市場，報價開始上升。真正的市場是合約市場，我們知道這一點。然而，現貨市場對投資者來說是最明顯的。所以在我們上個月的一次私人談話中，格蘭特，你提到交易者本質上是兩個市場之間的結締組織。當涉及到長期合同和定價的預期變動時，您能否就投資者對現貨市場報告的期望增加一點色彩？

Yes. Good question. So the spot market, I always characterize it as being just a very discretionary market. It has changed significantly in the last number of years. It is no longer an inventory market. What we're still seeing, though, is a bit of uncommitted primary production. So there remains some producers around the world, they are either primary uranium producers or maybe they have uranium as an offtake -- maybe it's a copper gold operation that has uranium as a byproduct, for example -- that just haven't done the work of building homes for their production. And so it shows up when it's available. The traders are there to buy it, and then the traders are there to churn that material around the market for some period of time. And of course, it's not supportive of production economic price discovery in the market.

是的。好問題。所以現貨市場，我總是把它描述為一個非常隨意的市場。在過去的幾年裡，它發生了很大的變化。它不再是一個庫存市場。不過，我們仍然看到的是一些未承諾的初級生產。因此，世界各地仍有一些生產商，他們要么是初級鈾生產商，要么可能將鈾作為承購品——例如，可能是銅金礦業務，以鈾作為副產品——只是沒有完成工作為他們的生產建造房屋。因此，它會在可用時顯示。貿易商在那裡購買它，然後貿易商在那裡在市場上攪拌該材料一段時間。當然，它不支持市場上的生產經濟價格發現。

But what we've seen is a spot market that has actually started to develop a real fundamental floor. Even when the financial players, for example, aren't in there buying for quite a period of time, the Sprott vehicle, the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust was at a discount to its NAV, and it wasn't able to buy. Prices didn't fall through the $40 and down into $30. The floor is being set by the fundamentals and the need for production to be incented to come to the market. The ceiling in the spot market tends to be set a little bit by equity interest. And so when Sprott does have opportunities to motivate its at-the-market feature, we are seeing quite a bit of price elasticity, and it is pushing the price. So the callers are different. The floor is really the fundamentals, which is great, sort of suggestive that the days of buying uranium that started with a 3 or a low 4, those days are well over. And the question now is, how much can you buy that starts with a 5 before you have to buy it that starts with a 6 or a 7 or higher?

但我們看到的是現貨市場實際上已經開始形成一個真正的基本面。例如，即使金融業者在相當長一段時間內沒有購買，Sprott 工具，Sprott Physical Uranium Trust 的資產淨值也有折扣，因此無法購買。價格沒有跌破 40 美元，而是跌至 30 美元。基本面和刺激生產進入市場的需求正在確定底線。現貨市場的上限往往由股權設定。因此，當 Sprott 確實有機會激發其在市場上的功能時，我們會看到相當大的價格彈性，並且它正在推高價格。所以調用者是不同的。底線確實是基本面，這很好，有點暗示從 3 或低 4 開始購買鈾的日子已經結束了。現在的問題是，在你必須購買以 6 或 7 或更高開頭的產品之前，你可以購買多少以 5 開頭的產品？

So really, as you see the term contracting pick up, and more of the production sources have an opportunity to layer in production committed into long-term contract, there's going to be even less available material for the traders. There will be less uncommitted primary production. And therefore, the market will quickly return to what it's supposed to be, which is a term price set by production economics. And if you want a sense of where that needs to be, turn to TradeTech and look at their pioneering work on the production cost indicator. Right now, it sort of reflects existing capacity coming back to the market. But as they do extend their great model to include greenfield that needs to come, we're going to see that production cost indicator poke higher. And then the spot market will just be a discount on available material today versus what we lived through, which is the term price was nothing more than the forward carry on an oversupplied spot market. So we are seeing a pretty structural change underway in the way to think about spot pricing dynamic.

所以真的，當你看到合同期限回升時，更多的生產來源有機會將承諾的生產分層到長期合同中，貿易商可獲得的材料將會更少。未承諾的初級生產將減少。因此，市場將很快恢復到應有的水平，這是生產經濟學設定的期限價格。如果您想知道需要在哪裡，請轉向 TradeTech 並查看他們在生產成本指標方面的開創性工作。目前，它在某種程度上反映了現有產能重返市場。但隨著他們確實擴展了他們的偉大模型以包括需要到來的綠地，我們將看到生產成本指標更高。然後現貨市場將只是今天可用材料與我們所經歷的相比的折扣，這就是術語價格只不過是現貨市場供過於求的遠期套利。因此，我們看到考慮現貨定價動態的方式正在發生相當大的結構性變化。

Thank you so much for answering both those questions. And again, congratulations again on the Westinghouse deal. Very exciting times for nuclear.

非常感謝您回答這兩個問題。再次祝賀西屋公司的交易。核能的非常激動人心的時刻。

The next question is from John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research.

下一個問題來自 John Tumazos 和 John Tumazos 非常獨立的研究。

Should we interpret from the $3.9 billion capital allocation to processing that over the next 5 years, possibly longer, Cameco doesn't expect to have a, for example, $4 billion greenfield new mine project or discovery? That the processing is the better opportunity, the expiration queue maybe is a little thin, and you've got mines to restart.

我們是否應該將 39 億美元的資本分配解釋為在未來 5 年（可能更長的時間）內，Cameco 預計不會有例如 40 億美元的新礦項目或新發現？處理是更好的機會，到期隊列可能有點薄，並且您要重新啟動地雷。

Yes, we've got all those options, John, to be honest with you. We've got some nice projects. As you know, we're just bringing McArthur/Key back on. And so that's our #1 priority, but not at full speed. We are going to continue to exercise supply discipline going forward on that. So we still have some room there. We've got some other brownfield projects that are on care and maintenance, Rabbit Lake, the United States. Grant mentioned we've got other greenfield in Australia. So we think we're looking pretty good. And I can tell you that this deal with Westinghouse doesn't tie our hands forever on other projects. We, as Grant explained right from the outset, we have the financial capability to do other things. And as we return to a Tier 1 run rate in our business, we should be very well positioned to decide what we're going to do going forward.

是的，老實說，約翰，我們有所有這些選擇。我們有一些不錯的項目。如您所知，我們只是重新啟用 McArthur/Key。所以這是我們的第一要務，但不是全速。我們將在這方面繼續行使供應紀律。所以我們還有一些空間。我們還有其他一些正在維護和保養的棕地項目，美國兔子湖。格蘭特提到我們在澳大利亞還有其他綠地。所以我們認為我們看起來很不錯。我可以告訴你，與西屋公司的這筆交易不會永遠束縛我們在其他項目上的手腳。正如格蘭特從一開始就解釋的那樣，我們有能力做其他事情。當我們在業務中恢復到 1 級運行率時，我們應該能夠很好地決定我們將要做什麼。

And John, I may be reading too much into your question, but just to make sure that it's not a question saying, is this uranium or downstream in fuel. This is an and transaction. This enhances our ability to put more uranium and conversion under contract. As we put more uranium in contract and build out that business book, it enhances our ability to turn on all of our existing assets, as Tim said, and it enhances our ability to grow the uranium and the conversion platform accordingly. So I don't want you to think about it as -- and maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I don't want you to think about it as we're unhappy with our exploration portfolio or unhappy with our base of existing uranium assets and therefore chose to invest downstream. This is an and transaction. This transaction enhances our ability to grow our uranium and our fuel services segment.

約翰，我可能對你的問題讀了太多，但只是為了確保這不是一個問題，是鈾還是燃料的下游。這是一個和交易。這增強了我們將更多的鈾和轉換置於合同之下的能力。正如蒂姆所說，隨著我們在合同中投入更多鈾並建立業務賬簿，它增強了我們打開所有現有資產的能力，並增強了我們相應地發展鈾和轉換平台的能力。所以我不希望你把它想成——也許我讀得太多了，但我不希望你這麼想，因為我們對我們的勘探組合不滿意或對我們的基地不滿意現有鈾資產，因此選擇投資下游。這是一個和交易。這項交易增強了我們發展鈾和燃料服務部門的能力。

You seem to imply that $3.25 billion net of the equity offering of debt or indirect debt doesn't count. So you're in effect viewing Westinghouse as a risk-less annuity in terms of cash flow, and then you'll never have to support that debt?

你似乎暗示，32.5 億美元的股票發行債務或間接債務不計算在內。因此，您實際上是在將西屋視為現金流方面的無風險年金，然後您將永遠不必支持這筆債務？

The way I look at it as an equity investee is that that is debt that stays at the joint venture level. And so it really comes down to the questions that I outlined earlier, which is over the period where that debt matures, which is out to 2026, does it impair Westinghouse's ability to grow? And my view is and my expectation is it doesn't. And then secondly, are there markets around where Westinghouse could perhaps get more market share where a customer might go, well, I'd like to go with their fuel assembly or I'd like to go with their reactor new build, but I'm just not comfortable with their debt level. The answer is no there, too. Ours is an industry where there actually aren't a lot of players in the nuclear fuel cycle who enjoy an investment-grade rating like Cameco does. And so if that were the barrier for utilities, they only do business with people who are investment grade, we'd have all the business as Cameco. So I don't see that causing a problem.

我將其視為股權投資方的方式是，這是保持在合資企業層面的債務。所以這真的歸結為我之前概述的問題，即在債務到期的時期，即到 2026 年，它是否會損害西屋公司的增長能力？我的觀點是，我的期望是沒有。其次，是否存在西屋公司可能獲得更多市場份額的市場，客戶可能會去那裡，嗯，我想去他們的燃料組件，或者我想去他們的新反應堆，但我'我只是對他們的債務水平不滿意。那裡的答案也是否定的。在我們這個行業，實際上在核燃料循環中沒有很多參與者像 Cameco 那樣享有投資級評級。因此，如果這是公用事業公司的障礙，他們只與投資級別的人做生意，我們將擁有所有作為 Cameco 的業務。所以我認為這不會導致問題。

So really, it's a watching file. It's not a flashing red file for either us or Brookfield Renewable. And as Westinghouse grows with the market, its financial metrics will improve organically. As the business risk of nuclear improves from a ratings point of view, its metrics will grow organically. And then as we look ahead to other growth opportunities for Westinghouse, that will trigger conversations about what the optimal capital structure is for Westinghouse. But at the moment, it's not going to constrain the incredible opportunities that Westinghouse has before it.

所以真的，這是一個觀看文件。對於我們或布魯克菲爾德可再生能源公司來說，這不是一個閃爍的紅色文件。隨著西屋隨著市場的發展，其財務指標將有機地改善。從評級的角度來看，隨著核能業務風險的提高，其指標將有機增長。然後，當我們展望西屋的其他增長機會時，這將引發關於西屋最佳資本結構的對話。但目前，這不會限制西屋公司在它面前擁有的難以置信的機會。

So if one of your uranium geos was a little nervous and got a good salary offer from Rio, and Rio pitched them that if he discovers uranium at Rio, they can write the check for a billion dollar mine, how would you reply to the geo who might not understand this private capital, the debt doesn't count arguments? Do you just offer them better stock options or an NSR on his discovery to keep them?

所以如果你的一個鈾礦工有點緊張，從里約那裡得到了不錯的薪水，里約向他們推銷說，如果他在里約發現鈾，他們可以為 10 億美元的礦開出支票，你會如何回复這個礦工誰可能不了解這種私人資本，債務不計入爭論？您是否只是為他們提供更好的股票期權或根據他的發現提供 NSR 以保留它們？

John, the folks that work in -- our amazing folks that work in our exploration and our mining unit understand that the model for creating full cycle value in uranium is one where you build the homes for the production before you build the production. So actually, it's the contracting performance that we're enjoying which is the glue that keeps those people attached to Cameco as being the absolutely best way to invest in the uranium market recovery.

約翰，在其中工作的人——我們在勘探和採礦部門工作的了不起的人都明白，在鈾中創造全週期價值的模式是在建造生產之前為生產建造房屋。所以實際上，正是我們所享受的承包業績是讓這些人依附於 Cameco 的粘合劑，它是投資鈾市場復甦的絕對最佳方式。

The next question is from Fai Lee with Odlum Brown.

下一個問題來自 Fai Lee 和 Odlum Brown。

I just was wondering regarding Westinghouse, if we do see eastern utilities -- or Eastern European utilities switch, and Westinghouse is able to capture some of the business from Rosatom, I'm just wondering what that means for enrichment capacity, and more specifically, whether that's going to drive more overfeeding and perhaps a step change in the regular demand from that region?

我只是想知道西屋公司，如果我們確實看到東部公用事業公司 - 或東歐公用事業公司轉換，並且西屋公司能夠從 Rosatom 獲得一些業務，我只是想知道這對濃縮能力意味著什麼，更具體地說，這是否會導致更多的過度餵食，並可能導致該地區的常規需求發生階躍變化？

Well, certainly, there's a shortage of enrichment supply. I mean, it's a huge issue. You heard us talk about the Russian supplying 40% of the enrichment market. I think it was 27% of conversion, 14% of uranium. So if they're pulling back, that's leaving a huge gap. And we're seeing it and spending a lot of time in D.C. with utilities everywhere, wondering where their future supply is going to come from. So it is leaving a big hole. Grant?

嗯，當然，濃縮物供應短缺。我的意思是，這是一個很大的問題。你聽到我們談論俄羅斯供應 40% 的濃縮市場。我認為是轉化率的 27%，鈾的 14%。因此，如果他們退縮，就會留下巨大的差距。我們看到了這一點，並在華盛頓特區花費了大量時間與各地的公用事業公司合作，想知道他們未來的供應將來自哪裡。所以它留下了一個大洞。授予？

Fai, it's a great question. There is no way to replace Russian enrichment today without doing 2 things. One is drawing down inventory on a temporary stop gap basis, and number two is moving to very significant overfeeding of enrichment plants. And overfeeding is just simply code for more uranium demand. So to the extent that the existing western customers look for more western enrichment capacity, and then you add to that Eastern European customers looking for that same western capacity, it will require, absolutely require more overfeeding, and more overfeeding is uranium demand. And so it's yet another point of demand that's not really reflected in any of the industry forecasts. You think about overfeeding. It's not there yet in the forecast. You think about the demand for SMRs, and the fact that some of the advanced nuclear reactors are not just more demand for uranium, but it tends to be lumpier demand because you'll fuel some of those advanced reactors upfront to run on perhaps a 10-year basis, that demand isn't factored in yet. So all of the reasons why we're pretty optimistic about these western assets in the nuclear fuel cycle.

費，這是一個很好的問題。如果不做兩件事，今天就無法取代俄羅斯的濃縮。一是在臨時停頓的基礎上減少庫存，二是轉向非常嚴重的濃縮廠過度供料。過量供給只是增加鈾需求的代碼。因此，就現有的西方客戶尋求更多西方濃縮能力而言，再加上東歐客戶尋求相同的西方產能，這將需要，絕對需要更多的過量供給，而更多的過量供給是鈾需求。因此，這是另一個沒有真正反映在任何行業預測中的需求點。你考慮過度餵養。預測中還沒有。您考慮對 SMR 的需求，以及一些先進的核反應堆不僅對鈾的更多需求，而且往往是更大的需求，因為您將預先為其中一些先進的反應堆提供燃料，以使其在 10年的基礎上，該需求尚未考慮在內。因此，我們對核燃料循環中的這些西方資產非常樂觀的所有原因。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Tim Gitzel for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我想把會議轉回給 Tim Gitzel 做閉幕詞。

Well, thank you very much, operator. And with that, I just want to say thank you to everybody who has joined us on the call today. We, as always, appreciate your interest and your support. We see a lot of opportunity ahead of us with the demand for safe, reliable, affordable and carbon-free baseload electricity coming from across the globe. As a strategic commercial supplier with a strong balance sheet, investments in long-lived Tier 1 assets across the fuel cycle, a proven operating track record and line of sight to return to our Tier 1 cost structure, we at Cameco believe we are extraordinarily well positioned to respond to changing market dynamics.

好的，非常感謝你，接線員。有了這個，我只想對今天加入我們電話會議的每個人表示感謝。我們一如既往地感謝您的關注和支持。隨著全球對安全、可靠、負擔得起和無碳的基荷電力的需求，我們看到了很多機會。作為一家戰略性商業供應商，擁有強大的資產負債表、對整個燃料循環的長期一級資產的投資、經過驗證的運營記錄以及回歸一級成本結構的視線，我們在 Cameco 相信我們非常出色定位於應對不斷變化的市場動態。

We're excited about the future we're seeing for nuclear power generation, we're excited about the fundamentals for nuclear fuel supplies, and we're excited about the prospects for our company. We'll continue to do what we said we would do, executing on our strategy and consistent with our values. We'll do so in a manner we believe will make our business sustainable over the long term. And we'll continue to make the health and safety of our workers, their families and their communities our priority. So thank you, everybody. Stay safe and stay healthy.

我們對核能發電的未來感到興奮，我們對核燃料供應的基本面感到興奮，我們對公司的前景感到興奮。我們將繼續按照我們所說的去做，執行我們的戰略並與我們的價值觀保持一致。我們將以我們相信將使我們的業務長期可持續發展的方式這樣做。我們將繼續將我們的工人、他們的家人和他們的社區的健康和安全作為我們的首要任務。所以謝謝大家。保持安全並保持健康。

This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。你可以斷開你的線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有愉快的一天。