Cameco Corp (CCJ) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Cameco Corporation First Quarter 2023 Conference Call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

歡迎參加 Cameco Corporation 2023 年第一季電話會議。提醒一下，所有與會者都處於僅聽模式，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, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁 Rachelle Girard。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Cameco's first quarter conference call. I would like to acknowledge that you're speaking from our corporate office, which is on treaty 6 territory, the traditional territory of Cree Peoples and the homeland of MAT. With us today on the call are Tim Gitzel, President and CEO; Grant Isaac, Executive VP and CFO; Heidi Shake, Senior VP and Deputy CFO; Brian Reilly, Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer; and Sean Quinn, Senior VP, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。歡迎參加 Cameco 第一季電話會議。我想確認您是在我們公司辦公室發表講話的，該辦公室位於條約 6 領土上，是克里族人民的傳統領土，也是 MAT 的故鄉。今天與我們一起參加電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Tim Gitzel； Grant Isaac，執行副總裁兼財務長； Heidi Shake，資深副總裁兼副財務長； Brian Reilly，資深副總裁兼營運長； Sean Quinn，資深副總裁、首席法務官兼公司秘書。

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. After this, we'll open it up for your questions. 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 ASA question form at the bottom of the webcast screen, and we will be happy to follow up after this call. 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.

稍後我將把它交給 Tim，討論核電成長前景的改善如何轉化為 Cameco 成長前景的改善。之後，我們將打開它來回答您的問題。一如既往，我們的目標是公開透明的溝通。因此，如果您對我們的季度財務表現有詳細的疑問，或者您的問題是否應該在本次電話會議上解決。我們很樂意在通話後與您聯繫。有幾種方式可以聯絡我們。您可以聯絡我們新聞稿中提供的聯絡人。您可以透過我們網站上的聯絡標籤提交問題，也可以使用網路廣播螢幕底部的 ASA 問題表，我們將很樂意在此通話後進行跟進。如果您透過我們的網站活動頁面加入電話會議，可以使用投影片，這些投影片將在通話期間顯示。此外，為了供您參考，我們的季度投資者講義可在我們的網站 comeco.com 上下載 PDF 檔案。

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. 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. With that, I'll turn it over to Tim.

今天的電話會議向包括媒體在內的投資界所有成員開放。在問答環節中，請將自己的問題限制在 2 個以內，然後返回佇列。請注意，本次電話會議將包含基於多項假設的前瞻性訊息，實際結果可能存在重大差異。您不應過度依賴前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與這些前瞻性聲明有重大差異，除非法律要求，否則我們不承擔更新我們今天所做的任何前瞻性陳述的義務。請參閱我們最新的年度資訊表和 MD&A，以了解有關可能導致這些不同結果的因素以及我們所做的假設的更多資訊。有了這個，我會把它交給提姆。

Well, thank you, Rachelle, and good morning, everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. We appreciate you joining us on our call today. Let me start today by saying how excited we are about the opportunities for growth ahead of us. with demand for clean, reliable, secure and affordable baseload electricity coming from across the globe. In fact, I'm not sure there's ever been a better time to be a pure-play investment in the growing demand for nuclear energy. And that is exactly how we have positioned Cameco. From the results we published earlier today, which are clearly beginning to demonstrate the strength and purpose of our strategic decisions to the continued support we see developing for nuclear power around the world, our optimism just continues to grow.

好吧，謝謝你，雷切爾，大家早安。我希望每個人都做得很好。我們感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。首先我要說的是，我們對眼前的成長機會感到非常興奮。全球各地對清潔、可靠、安全和負擔得起的基荷電力的需求。事實上，我不確定現在是對核能不斷增長的需求進行純粹投資的更好時機。這正是我們對 Cameco 的定位。從我們今天早些時候發布的結果來看，我們的樂觀情緒正在繼續增長，這些結果顯然開始證明我們戰略決策的力量和目的，以及我們看到世界各地核電發展的持續支持。

I have to tell you about an event, I attended about a month ago, the Prime Minister Trudeau, President Joe Biden dinner, which took place in Ottawa. I think the related meetings and public statements that followed exemplify with little doubt the scale and scope of the opportunity that's in front of us. At the dinner, the 2 leaders talked about, among other things, the critical role of nuclear energy and the importance of nuclear collaboration between Canada and the U.S. It was almost hard to believe like a dream come true. Nuclear Energy would never have made top billing at a meeting between our countries even a few years ago. So it gives you a sense of just how important nuclear power and the fuel cycle to support it have become and how critical Cameco's role is to achieving this North American vision. In fact, I sat between Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson; and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, where we continue the discussion around Cameco's role in North American Nuclear Energy Security.

我必須告訴你一個活動，大約一個月前，我參加了在渥太華舉行的特魯多總理和喬·拜登總統的晚宴。我認為隨後的相關會議和公開聲明毫無疑問地證明了我們面前的機會的規模和範圍。在晚宴上，兩位領導人談到了核能的關鍵作用以及加拿大和美國之間核合作的重要性，這幾乎令人難以置信，就像夢想成真一樣。即使在幾年前，核能也永遠不會成為我們兩國之間會議的首要議題。因此，它讓您了解核電和支持核電的燃料循環變得多麼重要，以及 Cameco 在實現這一北美願景方面發揮的作用有多麼重要。事實上，我坐在加拿大自然資源部長喬納森·威爾金森（Jonathan Wilkinson）和加拿大自然資源部長喬納森·威爾金森（Jonathan Wilkinson）之間。和美國能源部長詹妮弗·格蘭霍姆，我們繼續圍繞 Cameco 在北美核能安全中的作用進行討論。

The dinner was followed up by the joint statement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada on nuclear energy cooperation. I don't know if you've read it yet, but I can tell you it is really positive and puts nuclear power front and center. It's the kind of signal from government that our industry has been waiting for, for a long time. And while the statement was largely focused on North America, it went even further and addressed the need to work together globally as the world grapples with providing clean, reliable, affordable and secure energy.

晚宴結束後，美國能源部和加拿大自然資源部發表了關於核能合作的聯合聲明。我不知道你是否已經讀過它，但我可以告訴你，它確實是積極的，並將核電置於首要位置和中心位置。這是我們產業期待已久的政府訊號。雖然該聲明主要針對北美，但它更進一步，強調了全球合作的必要性，因為世界正在努力提供清潔、可靠、負擔得起和安全的能源。

Furthermore, at the recent G7 meeting in Japan, 5 of the G7 nations, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Japan and France have created an alliance to leverage their respective civil nuclear sectors. This agreement will support the stable supply of nuclear fuels as well as the nuclear fuel needs of future advanced reactors. Almost every day in the news, you will find more examples of that same sentiment being expressed, whether it's the improving public opinion for nuclear power, changing policy decisions in support of nuclear for market-based solutions being pursued, there is increasing evidence of the strong momentum for nuclear, evidence that supports full cycle demand growth for nuclear power and the uranium fuel required to run the reactors.

此外，在最近於日本舉行的七國集團會議上，七國集團中的五個國家（加拿大、美國、英國、日本和法國）建立了一個聯盟，以利用各自的民用核部門。該協議將支持核燃料的穩定供應以及未來先進反應器的核燃料需求。在幾乎每天的新聞中，你會發現更多表達同樣情緒的例子，無論是改善核電的公眾輿論，還是改變支持核電的政策決定，尋求基於市場的解決方案，越來越多的證據表明，核電發展勢頭強勁，有證據支持核電和反應器運作所需的鈾燃料的全週期需求成長。

Though the positive fundamentals you've heard us talking about for nearly a decade, we're no longer just a long-term story, they're right in front of us, and the picture is stronger than ever. We're seeing the reversal of early reactor retirement decisions, which represents unexpected near-term demand. And as some utilities look to replace Russian fuel in their supply chains, we're seeing new markets opening up, markets where our company was previously unable to compete, such as Central and Eastern Europe. This is adding further pressure to the already tightening near-term market. In the medium term, additional demand is coming from life extensions for existing reactor fleets.

儘管近十年來我們一直在談論積極的基本面，但我們不再只是一個長期的故事，它們就在我們面前，而且前景比以往任何時候都更加強大。我們看到反應爐提前退役的決定發生了逆轉，這代表了意想不到的近期需求。隨著一些公用事業公司希望在其供應鏈中取代俄羅斯燃料，我們看到新市場的開放，我們公司以前無法競爭的市場，例如中歐和東歐。這給本已緊縮的近期市場帶來了進一步的壓力。從中期來看，額外的需求來自現有反應器壽命的延長。

Although today's focus is on energy security and fuel diversity, governments are not losing sight of their clean air and net zero carbon targets. Those who are lucky enough to count operating and fully depreciated nuclear plants as part of their baseload generation are recognizing that those assets are more valuable than ever. And then there is growth in the long term, which is coming in the form of new builds, expansions to existing reactor programs and higher nuclear energy policy targets a construction plans for small and advanced nuclear reactors, plans that are becoming more concrete every day, all of which is pointing to what we believe are truly transformative tailwinds for our industry. Tailwinds driven by the focus on clean energy by an energy crisis and by the geopolitical realignment of energy markets.

儘管當今的焦點是能源安全和燃料多樣性，但各國政府並沒有忽視其清潔空氣和淨零碳目標。那些有幸將正在運作和完全折舊的核電廠算作基本負載發電一部分的人認識到，這些資產比以往任何時候都更有價值。然後是長期的成長，其形式是新建、擴大現有反應器計劃以及更高的核能政策目標，即小型和先進核反應器的建設計劃，這些計劃每天都變得更加具體，所有這些都表明我們認為這對我們的產業來說是真正的變革性推動力。能源危機和能源市場地緣政治調整推動了對清潔能源的關注。

In the past quarters, we spent a lot of time focusing on the vital aspects of supply and demand because about 95% of the questions we have been getting we're focused on the market. There seems to be a little interest in what Cameco was up to because we had almost everything shut down. However, those fundamentals characterized by durable full cycle demand growth against the backdrop of an uncertain supply picture, are now pretty well understood. Now that we are restarting some of our operations and expanding in others, we're seeing the interest shift back to understanding how we're positioning Cameco to benefit from the tailwinds that are developing. What a difference a year has made.

在過去的幾個季度中，我們花了很多時間關注供應和需求的重要方面，因為我們收到的大約 95% 的問題都集中在市場上。人們似乎對 Cameco 的所作所為有點興趣，因為我們幾乎所有的東西都被關閉了。然而，在供應情勢不確定的背景下，以持久的全週期需求成長為特徵的基本面現在已經得到很好的理解。現在，我們正在重新啟動一些業務並擴大其他業務，我們看到人們的興趣又回到了了解我們如何定位 Cameco，以從正在發展的順風車中受益。一年的時間發生了多大的變化。

The question on everyone's mind now seems to be how quickly can you respond with more production. However, I think we've been very clear for us, it's not about volume, it's about maximizing value. The key to our production planning and potential future growth decisions is long-term utility procurement. Contracting comes first in all segments of our business. As we've said time and time again, nuclear is a long-term market and spot activity is discretionary. That said, price and availability of uranium products and services in the near term does have an impact on the market's assessment of how much uranium is available across all time horizons. And near-term scarcity makes everyone think longer term, setting the right context for a new contracting cycle, which is now well underway. Once we have finalized contracts in hand and know when and where our material is needed, we will then make the appropriate sourcing decisions to satisfy those delivery commitments.

現在每個人都在思考的問題似乎是你能以多快的速度做出反應並增加產量。然而，我認為我們已經非常清楚，這不是數量的問題，而是價值最大化的問題。我們的生產規劃和未來潛在成長決策的關鍵是長期公用事業採購。在我們業務的所有領域中，合約都是第一位的。正如我們一再說過的，核能是長期市場，現貨活動是可自由支配的。也就是說，短期內鈾產品和服務的價格和可用性確實會影響市場對所有時間範圍內可用鈾量的評估。近期的稀缺讓每個人都從長遠考慮，為目前正在順利進行的新合約週期奠定了正確的背景。一旦我們敲定了手頭上的合約並知道何時何地需要我們的材料，我們將做出適當的採購決策來滿足這些交付承諾。

We have over 3 decades of experience operating in this industry. We understand that to create long-term value and provide supply reliability for our customers. We must build homes for our production under long-term contracts before we pull it out of the ground. A bit unusual for a mining company, but then again, we're more than mining and a bit unusual for commodity. But then again, uranium is unlike most other commodities. We continue to be balanced and disciplined in layering in contract volumes where it makes sense for us while building a diversified customer base. For the past couple of years, the volumes we have placed under long-term agreements have exceeded our annual delivery volumes. The most recent supply agreements we finalized in new markets in Eastern Europe are great examples of the type of contracting opportunities we're seeing. We are incredibly proud of the pivotal role that we at Cameco will be able to play in helping these countries gain energy independence.

我們在這個行業擁有超過 30 年的營運經驗。我們明白，要為客戶創造長期價值並提供可靠的供應。我們必須根據長期合約為我們的生產建造房屋，然後才能將其拔出地面。對於一家礦業公司來說，這有點不尋常，但話又說回來，我們不僅僅是採礦業，對於大宗商品來說也有點不尋常。但話又說回來，鈾與大多數其他商品不同。我們在建立多元化客戶群的同時，繼續在對我們有意義的合約量分層方面保持平衡和紀律。在過去的幾年裡，我們根據長期協議交付的數量已經超過了我們的年交付量。我們最近在東歐新市場敲定的供應協議是我們所看到的承包機會類型的一個很好的例子。我們對 Cameco 在幫助這些國家實現能源獨立方面能夠發揮的關鍵作用感到無比自豪。

As a result of our contracting success today, we have about 215 million pounds of uranium and more than 70,000 tons of UF6 conversion under long-term contracts. Delivery under these contracts spends more than a decade, some contracts up to 2040. The average annual delivery volume in our uranium segment over the next 5 years is 26 million pounds. And many of these contracts are market-related, providing us with exposure to an improving market. In addition, we have a large and growing pipeline of business under discussion, which we expect will help further build our long-term contract portfolio and guide our future production planning. This contracting success is expected to allow us to sustainably operate our assets and generate full cycle value for Cameco, providing our customers with access to the fuel they need to operate their reactors. However, while Cameco is enjoying replacement rate contracting, the nuclear industry overall has not yet achieved that milestone. So utilities uncovered requirements continue to grow.

由於今天合約的成功，我們根據長期合約擁有約 2.15 億磅鈾和超過 70,000 噸六氟化鈾轉換量。這些合約的交貨時間長達10多年，有些合約長達2040年。其中許多合約都與市場相關，使我們能夠接觸到不斷改善的市場。此外，我們正在討論大量且不斷成長的業務，我們預計這將有助於進一步建立我們的長期合約組合併指導我們未來的生產規劃。此次簽約的成功預計將使我們能夠可持續地運營我們的資產，並為 Cameco 創造全週期價值，為我們的客戶提供運行反應器所需的燃料。然而，儘管 Cameco 正在享受替代率承包，但核工業整體上尚未實現這一里程碑。因此，公用事業公司未發現的需求持續成長。

With our experience in every commercial cycle, we believe this indicates we are still in the early stages of the market transition that is underway, and we know that additional demand must come to the market. Therefore, we are remaining patient in order to capture as much long-term value as possible. We remain very selective in committing our unencumbered Tier 1 in-ground uranium inventory and UF6 conversion capacity under long-term contracts. We want to maintain additional exposure to future improvements in the market. As a commercial supplier, our decisions have uniquely positioned the company to capitalize on the increasingly undeniable conclusion that nuclear power must be an essential part of the clean and secure energy transition. And with heightened security of supply concerns and geopolitical uncertainties stemming from Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, Cameco's nuclear fuel supplies are highly coveted with demonstrated Tier 1 assets, strategic Tier 2 assets and investments across the fuel cycle, we've taken a balanced and disciplined approach to our strategy of full cycle value capture.

憑藉我們在每個商業週期的經驗，我們相信這表明我們仍處於正在進行的市場轉型的早期階段，並且我們知道市場必須有額外的需求。因此，我們保持耐心，以獲取盡可能多的長期價值。我們仍然非常有選擇性地根據長期合約承諾我們未受限制的一級地下鈾庫存和六氟化鈾轉化能力。我們希望繼續關注市場未來的改善。作為一家商業供應商，我們的決策使公司處於獨特的地位，能夠利用越來越不可否認的結論，即核電必須成為清潔和安全的能源轉型的重要組成部分。隨著俄羅斯在烏克蘭持續戰爭引發的供應安全擔憂和地緣政治不確定性的加劇，Cameco 的核燃料供應因其已展示的一級資產、戰略性二級資產和整個燃料循環的投資而受到高度關注，我們採取了平衡和嚴格的平衡我們的全週期價值獲取策略的方法。

We believe there is significant opportunity for Cameco to grow as we help new and existing customers de-risk their fuel supply needs. But what's really exciting for us is that we do not have to build new capacity to compete for this business. We have brownfield expansion capacity. We just need to turn up the best-in-class assets we already have, a position we have not enjoyed in previous price cycles. In the context of significant growth opportunities for nuclear power, we're also excited about our strategic partnership with Brookfield Renewable to jointly acquire Westinghouse Electric Company.

我們相信，隨著我們幫助新舊客戶降低其燃料供應需求的風險，Cameco 將有巨大的發展機會。但真正令我們興奮的是，我們不必建立新的能力來競爭這項業務。我們擁有棕地擴張能力。我們只需要拿出已經擁有的一流資產，這是我們在先前的價格週期中沒有享有的地位。在核電面臨巨大成長機會的背景下，我們也很高興與布魯克菲爾德再生能源公司建立策略合作夥伴關係，共同收購西屋電氣公司。

Our excitement stems from being able to extend our reach in the nuclear fuel cycle at a time when there is tremendous growth on the horizon. Our planned investment in Westinghouse is an investment in assets like ours that are strategic, that are proven, that are licensed and permitted and that are located in geopolitically attractive jurisdictions. Assets that we expect we'll be able to participate in the growing demand profile for nuclear energy and downstream services from their existing footprint. Team here is working toward closing the Westinghouse investment, which is still expected to occur in the second half of this year. Once it closes, we will be able to provide more details on the exciting prospects we see for that business.

我們的興奮源自於能夠在核燃料循環即將出現巨大成長之際擴大我們的業務範圍。我們計劃對西屋電氣的投資是對像我們這樣的資產的投資，這些資產具有戰略性、經過驗證、獲得許可和許可，並且位於具有地緣政治吸引力的司法管轄區。我們預計我們的資產將能夠利用其現有足跡參與核能和下游服務不斷增長的需求。這裡的團隊正在努力完成西屋電氣的投資，預計仍將在今年下半年進行。一旦關閉，我們將能夠提供更多關於我們對該業務令人興奮的前景的詳細資訊。

This brings us to our production decisions. Our production plans are balanced with our contract portfolio and where we think the market transition is currently at. We will not front-run demand with uncommitted supply and risk being exposed to a discretionary spot market. We've seen other companies pursue a spot market strategy many times in the past and every time it failed. It only served to transfer value from shareholders' pockets into the pockets of utilities, traders or other intermediaries. Any company that understands our industry has learned the lessons of the past. They understand that in the near term, there is very little uncovered demand. You just have to look at UXC's uncovered requirements in 2023 and 2024, they're very small.

這為我們帶來了生產決策。我們的生產計劃與我們的合約組合以及我們認為目前市場轉型的情況保持平衡。我們不會以未承諾的供應來搶先需求，並冒著暴露於任意現貨市場的風險。我們過去曾多次看到其他公司採用現貨市場策略，但每次都失敗了。它的作用只是將價值從股東的口袋轉移到公用事業公司、貿易商或其他中介機構的口袋。任何了解我們行業的公司都吸取了過去的教訓。他們明白，短期內，未發現的需求很少。你只需看看 2023 年和 2024 年 UXC 的未覆蓋需求，它們非常小。

Contracts being signed today aren't for in-year demand. They're generally for requirements starting in 2025 and beyond when uncovered requirements start to grow. However, if you wait until then to contract, you'll miss the contracting cycle. The demand will already be covered under long-term contracts that are being signed today and your production will be exposed to a small discretionary spot market. So Cameco won't ramp up production to beat spot demand. We align our production plans with our long-term commitments. And I think we've shown we can be trusted, and we say we will maintain our discipline.

今天簽署的合約並非針對年內需求。它們通常適用於 2025 年及之後未覆蓋的需求開始增長的需求。但是，如果等到那時才簽訂合同，您就會錯過合約週期。今天簽署的長期合約涵蓋了需求，並且您的生產將暴露在小型可自由支配的現貨市場中。因此，Cameco 不會提高產量來滿足現貨需求。我們使生產計劃與我們的長期承諾保持一致。我認為我們已經表明我們可以被信任，我們說我們將保持我們的紀律。

Let me just take a minute to discuss where we're at with the next phase of our supply discipline. As we announced last quarter, with the contracting success we have had, we've changed our production plans from a year ago. We now plan to ramp up at McArthur River, Key Lake to produce 15 million pounds this year and 18 million pounds in 2024. At Cigar Lake, we plan to produce 18 million pounds this year and to maintain production at 18 million in 2024. But that's not the extent of our Tier 1 supply growth. As we see uncovered requirements translate into additional contract commitments, we also maintain the ability to expand and extend production from our existing Tier 1 assets. If we took advantage of all of these opportunities, our annual share of Tier 1 uranium supply could be about 32 million pounds. As for our Tier 2 assets, we plan to keep those on care and maintenance, unless we can secure long-term contracts that provide returns similar to what we can currently achieve on our Tier 1 assets.

讓我花一點時間討論一下我們供應紀律下一階段的進展。正如我們上季度宣布的那樣，隨著合約的成功，我們改變了一年前的生產計劃。我們現在計劃在McArthur River、Key Lake 加大產量，今年產量為1500 萬磅，2024 年產量為1800 萬磅。 。當我們看到未覆蓋的需求轉化為額外的合約承諾時，我們也保持了從現有一級資產擴大和擴展生產的能力。如果我們利用所有這些機會，我們每年在一級鈾供應中的份額可能約為 3200 萬磅。至於我們的二級資產，我們計劃保留這些資產的維護和保養，除非我們能夠獲得長期合同，提供與我們目前一級資產類似的回報。

In addition to our plans to increase uranium production this year and in 2024, we're also working on expanding production at our Port Hope UF6 conversion facility, satisfy our growing book of long-term business at a time when conversion prices are near historic highs, we're targeting annual production of 12,000 tons by 2024. But as is the case across all industries and jurisdictions right now, there are challenges. Inflation, the availability of personnel with the necessary skills and experience, the impact of supply chain challenges on the availability of materials and reagents and global transportation challenges all contribute to elevated risks, which we must continue to carefully manage.

除了我們計劃在今年和 2024 年增加鈾產量外，我們還致力於擴大霍普港六氟化鈾轉化設施的產量，在轉化價格接近歷史高位之際滿足我們不斷增長的長期業務需求，我們的目標是到2024 年年產量達到12,000 噸。通貨膨脹、具有必要技能和經驗的人員的可用性、供應鏈挑戰對材料和試劑可用性的影響以及全球運輸挑戰都會導致風險上升，我們必須繼續謹慎管理。

With improving market fundamentals plus our growing contract portfolio for both uranium and fuel services and our plans for increased production. Our strategy has set us on a path that provides line of sight to a significant improvement in our financial performance as we return to our Tier 1 cost structure. And you can see this is starting to play out in our first quarter results as we expected it would. Our strategic decisions are translating into better earnings and cash flow as higher uranium prices flow through our existing market-related contracts and as we begin to deliver into higher-priced UF6 conversion contracts.

隨著市場基本面的改善，加上我們不斷增長的鈾和燃料服務合約組合以及我們增加產量的計劃。我們的策略為我們指明了一條道路，隨著我們回歸一級成本結構，我們的財務表現將會顯著改善。您可以看到，正如我們預期的那樣，這一點在我們第一季的業績中開始顯現。隨著我們現有的市場相關合約的鈾價上漲以及我們開始交付價格更高的六氟化鈾轉換合同，我們的戰略決策正在轉化為更好的收益和現金流。

We are no longer incurring care and maintenance costs or operational readiness costs at McArthur River/Key Lake. And as our production increases and our purchase volumes decrease, we're relying more on our lower cost production to meet our delivery commitments. We will retain our conservative financial management to support our continued balance and disciplined contracting and supply decisions. As you know, the financial aspect of our strategy is to ensure we have a solid balance sheet and the ability to self-manage risk. At the end of the first quarter, including the proceeds from an equity issue to support our planned acquisition of a 49% share of Westinghouse, we had $2.5 billion in cash, about $1 billion in long-term debt and a $1 billion undrawn credit facility. And this doesn't include the $79 million U.S. dividend we just received from JV Inkai or the $86 million cash refund CRA just sent us on account of its revised reassessments for the 2007 through 2013 tax years.

我們不再在麥克阿瑟河/基湖產生護理和維護成本或營運準備成本。隨著我們產量的增加和採購量的減少，我們更多地依靠較低成本的生產來履行我們的交付承諾。我們將保留保守的財務管理，以支援我們的持續平衡和嚴格的承包及供應決策。如您所知，我們策略的財務方面是確保我們擁有穩健的資產負債表和自我管理風險的能力。截至第一季末，包括為支持我們計劃收購西屋電氣 49% 股份而發行股票的收益在內，我們擁有 25 億美元現金、約 10 億美元長期債務和 10 億美元未提取信貸額度。這還不包括我們剛從 JV Inkai 收到的 7,900 萬美元美國股息，也不包括 CRA 剛剛因 2007 年至 2013 年納稅年度修訂重新評估而向我們發送的 8,600 萬美元現金退款。

The refund from CRE was cash we had to pay on account of taxes previously reassessed on income earned by our foreign subsidiary from the sale of non-Canadian produced uranium. Based on the information CRA provided to us, we had actually expected to receive $89 million, but nothing surprises us anymore when it comes to the CRA. They informed us that they apparently made an error in their calculations that was not in our favor. Unfortunately, this is a serious business, which is what makes it so frustrating. We still expect them to return $211 million in letters of credit. Of course, that assumes their calculations were correct, which I'm not sure is a safe assumption, but it's all we have. So while we're happy to be getting some of our cash and security back, our broader tax dispute SAG with the CRE does continue, and you can dive further into the details on that in the Q1 MD&A.

CRE 的退款是我們必須支付的現金，因為我們之前對我們的外國子公司銷售非加拿大生產的鈾所賺取的收入重新評估了稅款。根據 CRA 提供給我們的信息，我們實際上預計會收到 8,900 萬美元，但當涉及到 CRA 時，我們不再感到驚訝了。他們告訴我們，他們的計算顯然犯了一個錯誤，這對我們不利。不幸的是，這是一件嚴肅的事情，這就是它如此令人沮喪的原因。我們仍然預計他們將退回 2.11 億美元的信用證。當然，這是假設他們的計算是正確的，我不確定這是一個安全的假設，但這就是我們所擁有的。因此，雖然我們很高興能收回部分現金和擔保，但我們與 CRE 之間更廣泛的稅務糾紛 SAG 確實仍在繼續，您可以在第一季 MD&A 中進一步深入了解相關細節。

Our decisions at Cameco are deliberate. We are a responsible, commercially motivated supplier with a diversified portfolio of assets, including a Tier 1 production portfolio that is among the best in the world. And we're more than just mining with investments across the nuclear fuel cycle. 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 includes contracting discipline, supply discipline and financial discipline will allow us to achieve our vision. Our vision of energizing the Clean Air world and thereby delivering long-term value in a market where demand for safe, secure, reliable and affordable clean nuclear energy is growing. So thanks for your interest today, and we are happy to take any questions.

我們 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，擁有多元化的資產組合，其中包括世界上最好的一級生產組合。我們不僅僅是在整個核燃料循環領域進行投資進行採礦。我們致力於透過保護、參與和支持我們的人民及其社區的發展以及保護環境來實現永續運營，這是我們 30 多年來一直在做的事情。我們的策略，包括合約紀律、供應紀律和財務紀律，將使我們能夠實現我們的願景。我們的願景是為清潔空氣世界注入活力，從而在對安全、可靠和負擔得起的清潔核能的需求不斷增長的市場中提供長期價值。感謝您今天的關注，我們很樂意回答任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Greg Barnes with TD Securities.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自道明證券 (TD Securities) 的 Greg Barnes。

Tim and on the phone. I'm just trying to understand the jump from the 180 million pounds you had the long-term contract that you reported with the Q4 results to the 215 million pounds reporting today. Does that include the Ukraine contract and the Bulgarian contract? Or what is the composition of that jumped from 180 million pounds to 215 million pounds.

蒂姆和電話。我只是想了解從第四季度業績中報告的 1.8 億英鎊長期合約到今天報告的 2.15 億英鎊的跳躍情況。這包括烏克蘭合約和保加利亞合約嗎？或者說從1.8億英鎊躍升至2.15億英鎊的組成是什麼？

Greg are you there? Can you hear us?

格雷格你在嗎？你聽得到我們說話嗎？

Yes, we can hear you now.

是的，我們現在可以聽到你的聲音。

Thank you. Sorry about that. Greg, we got your question, and I'm going to ask the market expert Grant to answer that on our sales portfolio.

謝謝。對此感到抱歉。格雷格，我們收到了您的問題，我將請市場專家格蘭特就我們的銷售組合回答這個問題。

Yes. Thanks, Greg. Great question. So we have added in those contracts. Ukraine at the lower volumes without the Daperithia unit and the Bulgaria volumes into those volume limits. But going forward, we're going to go back to what we've done in the past, which is wait until they're executed contracts and then it lines up with our disclosure, for example, in our price sensitivity table. So that's what's been added to it. It just continues to emphasize the incumbent position that we're in, in this market as security of supply contracting is coming back, and there's an interest in contracting with proven Tier 1 producers with proven Tier 1 assets.

是的。謝謝，格雷格。很好的問題。所以我們加入了這些合約。烏克蘭在沒有 Daperithia 裝置的情況下產量較低，而保加利亞的產量則達到了這些產量限制。但展望未來，我們將回到過去所做的事情，即等到他們執行合同，然後它與我們的披露一致，例如，在我們的價格敏感度表中。這就是添加的內容。它只是繼續強調我們在這個市場中所處的現有地位，因為供應合約安全正在回歸，並且有興趣與擁有經過驗證的一級資產的經過驗證的一級生產商簽訂合約。

Greg did you catch that?

格雷格，你明白了嗎？

One moment. Let me share with us if his line is open.

一會兒。讓我與我們分享他的線路是否暢通。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Mr. Barnes, I apologize. Your line is now open again.

巴恩斯先生，我很抱歉。您的線路現已再次開通。

Okay. I think the sort out. So Grant, the 180 million pounds didn't include Ukraine and Bulgaria, but combine those 2, that adds up to about 41 million pounds and the jump is only 35 million pounds. So just trying to understand the.

好的。我想整理一下。格蘭特，這 1.8 億英鎊不包括烏克蘭和保加利亞，但將這兩個國家加起來，加起來約為 4,100 萬英鎊，增幅僅 3,500 萬英鎊。所以只是想了解一下。

Rightly put off what we've delivered to date.

正確地推遲我們迄今為止交付的內容。

Okay. Just as a follow-on, can you give us an idea on the approval that you've actually received on Westinghouse to date and what's required from this point forward?

好的。作為後續，您能否向我們介紹一下您迄今為止在西屋電氣上實際獲得的批准以及從現在起需要什麼？

Yes. We sure can. And Sean Quinn has been following this file meticulously. Obviously, it's a top priority for us. So Sean, can you give Greg an update on that?

是的。我們當然可以。而肖恩·奎因一直在密切關注這份文件。顯然，這是我們的首要任務。肖恩，你能為格雷格介紹一下最新情況嗎？

Sure, Greg. There's over 30 approvals required in total. They're in 3 different buckets, regulatory approvals associated with the nuclear industry, competition law approvals and then foreign direct investment approvals. All of them are moving along nicely. We have received a number of the nuclear regulatory approvals including some of the lead U.S. approvals, we're working on the competition law approvals and the foreign direct investment approval. I don't have a schedule of the expected recovery receipt dates for each of those in front of me, but they're all on time at this -- they're all on schedule at this point, and we're not anticipating any huge difficulties, and we're on track for closing in the second half of this year still.

當然，格雷格。總共需要 30 多個批准。它們分為三個不同的類別：與核工業相關的監管批准、競爭法批准以及外國直接投資批准。他們所有人都進展順利。我們已獲得多項核能監管批准，包括美國的一些主要批准，我們正在處理競爭法批准和外國直接投資批准。我沒有我面前的每個人的預期恢復收據日期的時間表，但他們都準時了 - 目前他們都按計劃進行了，我們預計不會有任何恢復收據日期巨大的困難，我們仍有望在今年下半年完成。

The next question is from Gordon Lawson with Paradigm Capital.

下一個問題來自 Paradigm Capital 的 Gordon Lawson。

Good morning, everyone. I just have a generic question here. So you've got your 2 keystone assets now running at or near your targeted rates and the outlook is looking significantly more promising. So what would be the required catalyst for you start talking about quarterly financial results and providing a preview call similar to -- for the downturn.

大家早安。我在這裡只是有一個一般性問題。因此，您的 2 個關鍵資產現在已達到或接近您的目標利率，並且前景看起來更加光明。那麼，您開始談論季度財務表現並提供類似於經濟低迷的預覽電話會議所需的催化劑是什麼。

Yes. Not sure I understood the question. Let me just take the first part of it. Obviously, you've seen our supply discipline. We've maintained that all the way through. We're now from McArthur, ramping up to 15 million pounds this year on our way to $18 million and $24 million cigars staying at 18% in both of those years. And we'll see what happens going forward. I think we've been very clear that we're not going to front run any demand. We will wait until we have a contract portfolio that calls for more pounds, and then we'll look at our assets to see which ones will move forward. So I'm not sure I get the part on the quarterly reporting.

是的。不確定我是否理解了這個問題。讓我只講第一部分。顯然，您已經看到了我們的供應紀律。我們自始至終都堅持這一點。我們現在來自麥克阿瑟，今年將雪茄銷量增加到 1500 萬英鎊，目標是 1800 萬美元和 2400 萬美元的雪茄，這兩年的銷量都保持在 18%。我們將看看接下來會發生什麼。我認為我們已經非常明確地表示，我們不會搶先滿足任何需求。我們將等到我們有一個需要更多英鎊的合約投資組合，然後我們將查看我們的資產，看看哪些資產將繼續前進。所以我不確定我是否得到了季度報告的部分。

It's just -- we're currently not -- we're not supposed they're not allowed to talk about, say, your EBITDA results for the quarter. But were things now running much more smoothly and much better position than they were a few years ago. I'm just wondering when you expect or what would be a key catalyst for us to start getting back into that.

只是——我們目前不——我們不認為他們不被允許談論你本季的 EBITDA 結果。但現在的情況是不是比幾年前順利很多，狀況也好得多？我只是想知道你期望什麼時候或什麼是我們開始重新回到這個領域的關鍵催化劑。

Yes, Gordon, I don't think that we've ever really done that. We've always maintained that we don't think about this business on a quarterly basis, it's not how our business operates. And so our focus is really on sort of our performance. for the year, not just on a quarterly basis. And that's why if you've got detailed questions on the quarter, we're happy to address those. We just feel that this isn't the right forum for that because we just don't think about our business on a quarterly basis.

是的，戈登，我認為我們從來沒有真正這樣做過。我們一直堅持認為，我們不會按季度考慮這項業務，這不是我們業務的運作方式。所以我們的重點其實是我們的表現。全年，而不僅僅是季度。這就是為什麼如果您有有關本季度的詳細問題，我們很樂意解答。我們只是覺得這不是合適的論壇，因為我們只是不按季度考慮我們的業務。

Our next question is from Orest Wowkodaw with Scotiabank.

我們的下一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Orest Wowkodaw。

Hey, good morning. I wanted to ask another question about your contract book. I was sort of pleased but surprised to see the jump in your average sales delivery over the next 5 years going up from 26 million pounds versus 21 at year-end. Does that suggest that the majority of the volume you've added to the book is all front-end loaded, if it's showing up in that 5-year guidance?

嘿，早安。我想問另一個關於你的合約書的問題。看到你們未來 5 年的平均銷售額從 2600 萬英鎊躍升至年底的 21 萬英鎊，我感到有點高興，但也感到驚訝。這是否表明您添加到書中的大部分內容都是前端加載的（如果它出現在 5 年指南中）？

That 5-year guidance is an average and you can always think about it as being more front-end loaded. So think about our leverage to the market coming from 2 distinct dimensions. The first is what we call our portfolio. So that is -- we've got planned sales this year, 29 million pounds to 31 million pounds over an average of 26 million pounds per year over 5 years. So you know it declined over that 5-year window. Those committed sales, many of them are market related in the uranium segment. So we get what we call portfolio leverage.

5 年指導是平均值，您始終可以將其視為前端負載更多。因此，請考慮我們對市場的影響力來自兩個不同的維度。第一個是我們所謂的投資組合。也就是說，我們今年的計畫銷售額為 2,900 萬英鎊至 3,100 萬英鎊，5 年內平均每年銷售額為 2,600 萬英鎊。所以你知道它在 5 年窗口期內有所下降。這些承諾的銷售，其中許多與鈾領域的市場相關。所以我們得到了所謂的投資組合槓桿。

Then the second piece is actually pipeline leverage, and that's the pounds or that we haven't sold yet. So as you point out, in the outer years of that 5-year average, we wouldn't be at the same level of sales as we are today. It's exactly where we want to be. We see a market where uncovered requirements are growing. We think we're in the early innings of the contracting cycle. We're far from sold out of our Tier 1 production. We're not even planning or running out of Tier 1 production at full capacity at the moment as we're still in supply discipline. So you're thinking about it the right way because we want to retain that leverage to improving markets. It comes from both our existing portfolio as well as our pipeline, the pounds we haven't sold yet.

第二部分實際上是管道槓桿，也就是我們尚未出售的英鎊。因此，正如您所指出的，在 5 年平均水平的最後幾年，我們的銷售額不會達到今天的水平。這正是我們想要的地方。我們看到市場中未滿足的需求正在成長。我們認為我們正處於合約週期的早期階段。我們的一級產品還遠遠沒有售罄。我們目前甚至沒有計劃或耗盡一級生產的滿載生產，因為我們仍然遵守供應紀律。所以你正在以正確的方式思考這個問題，因為我們希望保留這種槓桿來改善市場。它來自我們現有的投資組合以及我們的管道，即我們尚未出售的英鎊。

Great. I don't know if I've ever seen a 5-million-pound average by year jump in your book ever. Just the magnitude of that move is pretty impressive.

偉大的。我不知道我是否曾在你的書中看到平均每年增加 500 萬英鎊的情況。光是這項措施的幅度就令人印象深刻。

Yes. It reflects what we've been talking about, which is the transition in the market to security of supply-driven contracting. So for us, there's a couple of dimensions to think about. One, obviously, is that fundamental story. I always want to point people to the growing uncovered requirements and then reference the fact that the market is not yet even replacing what it consumes on an annual basis. Then we add to that new market opportunities we haven't seen before. You've seen our press releases about Central and Eastern Europe, a market, a region, if you will, looking to pivot away from historic sources, historic dependence on Russia.

是的。它反映了我們一直在談論的內容，即市場向供應驅動型合約安全的轉變。所以對我們來說，有幾個方面需要考慮。顯然，其中之一就是這個基本故事。我總是想向人們指出不斷增長的未覆蓋需求，然後提到市場甚至還沒有取代其每年消耗的東西。然後我們添加了我們以前從未見過的新市場機會。如果你願意的話，你已經看過我們關於中歐和東歐、一個市場、一個地區的新聞稿，希望擺脫歷史來源和對俄羅斯的歷史依賴。

Cameco is in an incredible position in order to satisfy the USVI demand in that market. So tie that to our vertical integration. It's our conversion space that allows us to generate that kind of uranium business as well. That's very advantageous for us. And so we're just seeing that incumbent advantage play out. The good news is, like I said, we're not even at replacement rate yet. So if you look at it from historical terms, we've never been at this stage of a contracting cycle at this high of a uranium price before. We've seen the enrichment price recover. We've seen the conversion historic levels. We haven't seen that kind of demand that's gone through those 2 parts of the fuel cycle, fully hit the uranium side yet. And so we're obviously pretty excited about it, tie that back to my earlier comment. It's why we want to remain leveraged in both our portfolio and our pipeline.

Cameco 在滿足美屬維京群島市場需求方面處於令人難以置信的地位。因此，將其與我們的垂直整​​合聯繫起來。正是我們的轉換空間使我們能夠開展此類鈾業務。這對我們來說非常有利。所以我們只是看到現有的優勢發揮出來。好消息是，正如我所說，我們甚至還沒有達到替代率。因此，如果從歷史角度來看，我們以前從未經歷過鈾價如此高的訂約週期階段。我們已經看到濃縮價格回升。我們已經看到轉換達到歷史水準。我們還沒有看到燃料循環這兩個部分的需求完全影響到鈾方面。所以我們顯然對此非常興奮，這與我之前的評論聯繫起來。這就是為什麼我們希望在我們的投資組合和管道中保持槓桿作用。

Thanks Grant. And just as a quick follow-up, can you give us a flavor of contracting behavior right now with respect to how the floors and ceilings in these market-related contracts are developing, like I assume they're both moving up with the market pricing.

謝謝格蘭特。作為一個快速的跟進，您能否讓我們了解這些與市場相關的合約中的下限和上限如何發展的合約行為，就像我假設它們都隨著市場定價而上漲一樣。

Yes. No question. Our preference right now at this point in the cycle is to be market related because of the demand that we can see that has to come to the market and because we know that the market isn't even at replacement rate contracting yet. Market-related contracts are very often called utilities will often, for example, ask for a ceiling. They live through price bikes before. And if they do, we will want to insert a floor. It's the coloring that has improved markedly on the market-related contracts over the last year. Not uncommon to see $45, $50 escalated floors, $75, $80 escalated ceiling. So inflation length callers that gives you a lot of upside participation, incredible downside protection as well, that is very much an improving scenario.

是的。毫無疑問。目前，我們在周期的這一點上的偏好是與市場相關，因為我們可以看到需求必須進入市場，而且因為我們知道市場甚至還沒有達到替代率收縮。例如，與市場相關的合約通常被稱為公用事業，通常會要求上限。他們以前就經歷過價格自行車的生活。如果他們這樣做，我們將需要插入地板。去年與市場相關的合約的顏色顯著改善。 45 美元、50 美元升級樓層，75 美元、80 美元升級天花板的情況並不少見。因此，通膨長度的來電者可以為您提供大量的上行參與，以及令人難以置信的下行保護，這在很大程度上是一種改善的情況。

I just want to tie it back to the term price because what we see often is a misunderstanding where people don't sort of remember that the term price that's posted is only influenced by base escalated prices in the market. So actually, as we sign market-related contracts, we're having less price formation influence than, say, another producer willing to base escalate their contracts. So what we obviously want to see over time is perhaps improvement to the price reporting in our industry, whereby the price reporters we'll look at their own price forecast and maybe even take their own base price forecast and say, if you sign a market-related contract, you're really pricing it at these levels, bring that forward to today, what does that mean for the term price. So think of that term price at 53-ish today really has the bottom of the market, the absolute floor from which the leverage is possible on top of that. Again, pretty exciting position to be in given the growing uncovered requirements and the fact we haven't even hit replacement rate contracting. That's a pretty good level to be at this stage of the cycle in.

我只是想將其與術語價格聯繫起來，因為我們經常看到的是一種誤解，人們不記得發布的術語價格僅受市場上基本升級價格的影響。因此，實際上，當我們簽署與市場相關的合約時，我們對價格形成的影響要小於其他願意升級合約的生產商。因此，隨著時間的推移，我們顯然希望看到的可能是我們行業的價格報告的改進，價格報告者我們將查看他們自己的價格預測，甚至可能採取他們自己的基本價格預測，並說，如果你簽署了一個市場相關合同，您實際上是在這些水平上定價的，將其帶到今天，這對於術語價格意味著什麼。因此，想想今天 53 左右的期限價格確實是市場的底部，是在此基礎上可以使用槓桿的絕對底部。考慮到不斷增長的未覆蓋需求以及我們甚至還沒有達到替代率合約的事實，這再次是非常令人興奮的。在周期的這個階段，這是一個相當不錯的水平。

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勞森溫德。

Just a couple of questions for me. I wanted to ask if you could help us think about the contract with Ukraine and Bulgaria and how that sets up in terms of your targeted 60-40 split market versus fixed price contracting. And generally, directionally, where the pricing -- if there's any fixed price component where that pricing sits for that contract? Thank you very much.

只是問我幾個問題。我想問您是否可以幫助我們考慮與烏克蘭和保加利亞的合同，以及如何根據您的目標 60-40 分割市場與固定價格合同進行設定。一般來說，從方向上看，該合約的定價是否有任何固定價格組成部分？非常感謝。

Yes. Thanks, Lawson, for the question. First, I'd just say we're delighted on both those fronts, both with the Ukraine. We've been working hard with them. We saw all the details of our contract with them. It's a big ticket item for them and for us. And it, of course, carries a bit of risk with it, but risk that we were prepared to take. There's more than just the commercial side to that one, we wanted to stand with Ukraine and their efforts on turning away from the Russians. And so that was an important one. Bulgaria was just there last week and signed that up. That's another new market for us. I've never been there before, never dealt with them before. And there's more of those countries to come for us. So Grant, do you want to talk about how those 2 contracts fit into our portfolio.

是的。謝謝勞森提出的問題。首先，我只想說，我們在這兩方面都感到高興，無論是與烏克蘭。我們一直在與他們一起努力。我們看到了與他們簽訂的合約的所有細節。這對他們和我們來說都是一筆大錢。當然，它會帶來一些風險，但我們已經準備好承擔風險。這不僅僅是商業方面的問題，我們希望與烏克蘭站在一起，支持他們遠離俄羅斯的努力。所以這是一件重要的事情。保加利亞上週剛在那裡簽署了該協議。這對我們來說是另一個新市場。我以前從未去過那裡，也從未與他們打過交道。還有更多這樣的國家會來找我們。格蘭特，你想談談這兩個合約如何融入我們的投資組合嗎？

You referenced, Lawson, our 60-40 market-related, base-escalated balance. And I just would remind everybody that, that is not a target per contract. It's not a target per year. It's something we think about full cycle. So you think about an entire commercial cycle of uranium prices. There are times where we want actually a lot more market-related exposure, and we would want less space escalating. That time is right now. And the reason we would want more market-related exposure right now is because, again, uncovered requirements wedge is growing. That's demand that has to come to the market. That's demand that utilities can defer and they can delay, but they ultimately cannot avoid. And that wedge is growing. It's growing because utilities have not even been contracting at a replacement rate yet. They've not even been coming to the market to buy forward what they consume in a given year. So for us, that suggests this market still has upward price momentum and we want to be market exposed to that.

勞森，您提到了我們與市場相關的 60-40 基礎升級平衡。我只是想提醒大家，這不是每份合約的目標。這不是每年的目標。這是我們考慮整個週期的事情。所以你要考慮鈾價格的整個商業週期。有時我們實際上想要更多的市場相關曝光，並且我們希望更少的升級空間。那個時間就是現在。我們現在想要更多與市場相關的接觸的原因是，再次，未覆蓋的需求楔子正在成長。這就是市場必須有的需求。公用事業公司可以推遲這項要求，也可以推遲，但最終無法避免。而且這個楔子正在成長。它正在增長，因為公用事業甚至還沒有以替代率收縮。他們甚至沒有來市場遠期購買他們在某一年消費的東西。因此，對我們來說，這表明該市場仍然具有價格上漲動力，我們希望市場能夠承受這種影響。

Now there are times where our market hits replacement rate and goes above. And when we start to get into that to, we are inclined to think more about the base escalated prices in order to lock those moments in for a long tail of cash flow and earnings. But that's not where we are today. So don't think about 60-40 with respect to any one contract or any one year. So right now, we want to be market related. So I would just say on a framework level, no surprise, those contracts are very consistent with the type of preference we have in this market today, which is market-related references for the uranium portion of those USVI contracts. For the conversion portion of those contracts will conversions at historic pricing. So we are happy to see some of that locked in and escalated over the life of the deliveries. Again, taking those moments where you have unique demand points that are pushing one part of our segment above replacement rate and capturing that. But never think about 60-40 is pertaining to any one single contract or even 1 single year.

現在，我們的市場有時會達到替代率並高於替代率。當我們開始考慮這一點時，我們傾向於更多地考慮基本上漲價格，以便鎖定這些時刻以獲得現金流和收益的長尾。但那不是我們今天的處境。因此，不要考慮任何一份合約或任何一年的 60-40。所以現在，我們希望與市場相關。因此，我只想說，在框架層面上，毫不奇怪，這些合約與我們今天在這個市場上的偏好類型非常一致，即這些美屬維京群島合約中鈾部分的市場相關參考。對於這些合約的轉換部分，將以歷史價格進行轉換。因此，我們很高興看到其中一些問題在交付過程中被鎖定並升級。再次強調，抓住那些有獨特需求點的時刻，這些需求點將我們細分市場的一部分推向替代率之上，並抓住這一點。但永遠不要認為 60-40 與任何一份合約甚至一年有關。

Okay. Thanks for those comments. Can I maybe ask one follow-up then? Just with the market purchasing that you've guided to of 9 million to 11 million. Can you kind of help us think about how active Cameco might be in the spot market this year. First of all, have you been active in the spot market and to what extent year-to-date 2023? And then what proportion of that 9 million to 11 million pounds would be pre-contracted purchase commitments from yourselves? And obviously, what proportion do you expect will be that a problem? sorry.

好的。感謝您的評論。那我可以問一位後續人員嗎？就您引導的市場採購量而言，有 900 萬到 1100 萬。您能否幫助我們思考一下今年 Cameco 在現貨市場上的活躍程度。首先，您在現貨市場上是否活躍？那麼這 900 萬到 1,100 萬英鎊中，你們自己預先簽訂的採購承諾佔多大比例？顯然，您預計有多少比例會成為問題？ 對不起。

Yes. So great set of questions. Let me just unpack it a little bit. So 9 million to 11 million is what we guided for purchases in here in 2023. Remember, our planned production or our share from JV Inkai is 4.2%. So that means we need somewhere between nearly 5 million and nearly 7 million pounds of purchasing. Remember, our purchasing comes from a couple of different sources. We can buy in the spot market today for delivery right away. We could do that. That's at our discretion. We've also entered into contracts to buy in the past when the price was a lot lower. We like to operate like a utility when we see a low price of uranium, if somebody wants to fix that price we're willing to enter into a long-term commitment. We have some of those available that we could bring forward at today's -- in today's market to source from.

是的。這麼多問題。讓我稍微打開一下包裝。因此，我們預計 2023 年的採購量為 900 萬至 1,100 萬。因此，這意味著我們需要近 500 萬至 700 萬英鎊的採購。請記住，我們的採購來自幾個不同的來源。我們今天可以在現貨市場購買並立即交貨。我們可以做到這一點。這由我們自行決定。過去，當價格低得多時，我們也簽訂了購買合約。當我們看到鈾價格較低時，我們喜歡像公用事業公司一樣運作，如果有人想要固定這個價格，我們願意做出長期承諾。我們有一些可用的資源，可以在今天的市場上提供以供採購。

And then we always put our purchase requirements against our inventory and against material that, for example, we could borrow. So in other words, we have a bunch of different factors that go into those sourcing decisions. But make no mistake, we're still in supply discipline. We still have a requirement to purchase. We will be buying in the market. To date, we've only bought about 400,000 pounds. You can see that in our quarterly uranium table. So we do have a need to buy. And we're watching really closely as we see additional interest in physical funds build as we see some utility step into the spot market to support it even in the absence of the very familiar spot vehicle that everybody keeps an eye on that really hasn't done a lot in the last couple of weeks a little bit over a month. There's been a real resistance to the uranium price. So for us, we're just going to be very opportunistic. We don't telegraph what our purchases are or when we're going to make them, but we will be a buyer in the market for sure.

然後，我們總是將採購需求與我們的庫存和我們可以藉用的材料進行比較。換句話說，我們有許多不同的因素影響這些採購決策。但毫無疑問，我們仍然遵守供應紀律。我們仍然有購買的要求。我們將在市場上購買。到目前為止，我們只購買了大約 40 萬英鎊。您可以在我們的季度鈾表中看到這一點。所以我們確實有購買的需要。我們正在密切關注，因為我們看到人們對實體基金產生了額外的興趣，因為我們看到一些公用事業公司進入現貨市場來支持它，即使沒有每個人都在關注的非常熟悉的現貨工具，但實際上還沒有在過去的幾週一個多月的時間裡做了很多事情。鈾價確實遇到了阻力。所以對我們來說，我們只會非常機會主義。我們不會透露我們的採購內容或何時採購，但我們肯定會成為市場上的買家。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is from Grace Symes with MG Intelligence.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 MG Intelligence 的 Grace Symes。

It's Energy Intelligence. I have 2 questions. One is about the expanding investor hope. How many tonnes did portion 2022? And do any steps need to be taken or have already been taken to get to 12,000 tonnes by 2024. And then I know that at the end of 2022, there were potentially some issues with ramping up the fees mill. And I want to know there's a ceiling results by now.

這就是能源情報。我有 2 個問題。一是投資者希望不斷擴大。 2022 年分配了多少噸？是否需要採取或已經採取任何措施，以在 2024 年之前達到 12,000 噸的目標。我想知道現在有一個上限結果。

So thanks for the question. So just there's a few pieces in there. Production at Port Hope in 2022 was just over 10,000, 10,600 tonnes. And I believe, and we are in the process of ramping up to 12,000 by 2024. So that's on track. Nothing really new to report there. And then maybe I'll ask Brian Reilly, just to give an update on the Key Lake McArthur ramp-up and the work that's going on there, and we're excited about that project coming back. So Brian.

謝謝你的提問。所以裡面只有幾塊。 2022 年霍普港的產量略高於 10,000、10,600 噸。我相信，到 2024 年，我們的數量將增加到 12,000 個。那裡沒有什麼真正值得報告的新內容。然後也許我會問 Brian Reilly，只是為了提供有關麥克阿瑟基湖升級和那裡正在進行的工作的最新信息，我們對這個項目的回歸感到很興奮。所以布萊恩.

Thanks, Tim, and thanks, Grace, for the question. Look, a good quarter for McArthur River mine and Key Lake mill. And our objective was and is very clear, ramp up our production, safe, orderly fashion to achieve our production targets. So today, we have over 800 workers at the sites. That includes our comment going forward on long-term contractors. The mine is in good shape. There are over 100 million behind 3 wells available for mining, and we have 5 active headings. I would share that we commenced underground mine development and freeze drilling in the quarter as well, preparing new mining areas for future production.

謝謝提姆，也謝謝葛蕾絲提出的問題。看，麥克阿瑟河礦和基湖工廠的季度表現不錯。我們的目標過去和現在都非常明確，加大生產力度，安全、有秩序地實現我們的生產目標。今天，我們的工地有超過 800 名工人。這包括我們對長期承包商的評論。該礦狀況良好。 3 口井後面有超過 1 億可供開採，我們有 5 個活躍的方向。我想說的是，我們也在本季開始了地下礦場開發和凍結鑽探，為未來的生產準備新的礦區。

Specific to your question about the Key Lake mill, look, production is ramping up as planned. We made significant changes to the side, and I think you referenced that. And I can tell you, the new operating system and the various digital and automation projects are all working well. Our normal commissioning challenges, they are pure and fewer number. So we expect to achieve our target of 15 million in 2023.

具體到你關於基湖工廠的問題，你看，產量正在按計畫增加。我們對側面做了重大改變，我想你也提到了這一點。我可以告訴你，新的作業系統以及各種數位和自動化專案都運作良好。我們正常的調試挑戰，它們是純粹的並且數量較少。因此，我們預計在 2023 年實現 1500 萬的目標。

Thanks, Brian.

謝謝，布萊恩。

Our next question is from Orest Wowkodaw with Scotiabank.

我們的下一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Orest Wowkodaw。

Thanks for taking the follow up. Just curious if you continue to see good demand in terms of filling up the contract book, should we assume that the expansion of Ricardo River is likely the next source of your supply growth? I mean taking it up to the 25 million pound license capacity. And then I was also wondering on when we could anticipate getting the market to get details on what's entailed with respect to the Cigar Lake extension project.

感謝您的跟進。只是好奇，如果您繼續看到合約書的良好需求，我們是否應該假設里卡多河的擴張可能是您供應成長的下一個來源？我的意思是把許可證容量提高到 2500 萬英鎊。然後我還想知道我們什麼時候可以讓市場了解雪茄湖擴建項目的詳細資訊。

Yes. Clearly, McArthur is a Tier 1 asset that we are just delighted with our partners to have. And so our first move is to 15% this year and then to 18% next year. And then we'll see what the contract book looks like after that, we do have room to go up to 25%. We've got approval licensing approval. So yes, that would be our first and best source of additional production. I mean, it's unbelievable that we've got that capacity. Cigar, we're looking at that going forward. And Brian, do you want to give an update on Cigar.

是的。顯然，麥克阿瑟是我們的合作夥伴擁有的一級資產。因此，我們的第一步是今年提高到 15%，然後明年提高到 18%。然後我們會看看合約書是什麼樣子，我們確實有上升到 25% 的空間。我們已經獲得許可批准。所以，是的，這將是我們第一個也是最好的額外生產來源。我的意思是，我們擁有這樣的能力真是令人難以置信。雪茄，我們正在關注這一點。布萊恩，你想介紹一下雪茄的最新情況嗎？

Yes, sure. So just in terms of extension beyond the current life of mine at Cigar, we have reserves in the ground that will carry us to 2031. But look, no -- first and foremost, no decision has been made yet, but we know there are additional measured and indicated mineral resources located to the west of the existing costs. just define the port cigar rate ore body. But we would have to do some work. We would have to do surface delineation drilling. We would have to do underground geotechnical drilling, and that would be required to convert those resources to reserves. So that work has not been completed and the final investment decision hasn't been made. But that's the optionality that would extend production beyond 2031.

是的，當然。因此，就延長雪茄目前的壽命而言，我們的地下儲備將帶我們到 2031 年。的額外測量和指示礦產資源。只需定義港口雪茄率礦體即可。但我們必須做一些工作。我們必須進行表面輪廓鑽孔。我們必須進行地下岩土鑽探，這需要將這些資源轉化為儲備。因此這項工作尚未完成，最終的投資決定尚未做出。但這就是將生產延長到 2031 年之後的選擇。

Just as a follow-up, when would that decision have to be made in order to secure sort of continuous production at Cigar?

作為後續行動，為了確保雪茄的連續生產，什麼時候必須做出這個決定？

Brian?

布萊恩？

Yes. Look, we've got a runway up to 2031. We have time. But given the feasibility studies required a long-lead procurement, I mean, that's a decision we would have to take sooner than later. But we have time at the moment because the runway is out until 2031.

是的。看，我們有一條到 2031 年的跑道。但考慮到可行性研究需要長期採購，我的意思是，這是我們必須儘早做出的決定。但我們現在還有時間，因為跑道要到 2031 年才能完成。

It's early to jump in. I would just tie to our contracting as well because remember, the decisions on the production side follow the procurement, follow the success we have in building the contract portfolio. And just as we've said in the past, we entered into a new term contract today, well, we typically don't start delivering into that term contract for 2 years. So that actually gives us an enormous amount of time to plan the production and to line up the studies and line up the work that Brian was talking about. It's a very advantageous position for us.

現在介入還為時過早。正如我們過去所說，我們今天簽訂了一份新的定期合同，我們通常不會在兩年內開始交付該定期合約。因此，這實際上給了我們大量的時間來計劃製作、排列研究以及排列布萊恩所說的工作。這對我們來說是一個非常有利的位置。

We don't have to try to turn on production rapidly to jam it into a spot market. We get this long lead signal so that we can very responsibly rationally develop up the production. So as you mentioned in the outset, as the procurement starts to build as we layer in more contract, we then have a runway to plan these decisions and then that obviously means lots of time to signal to you and others about where our thinking is with that. But at the moment, while there is contracting cycle underweight, it's not at a level that would justify those types of decisions. We remain in supply discipline. We remain very deliberate and strategic.

我們不必試圖迅速恢復生產以將其投入現貨市場。我們得到這個長引導訊號，以便我們能夠非常負責任地合理地開發生產。因此，正如您一開始提到的，隨著我們簽訂更多合同，採購開始建立，我們就有了一個跑道來規劃這些決策，這顯然意味著需要大量時間向您和其他人表明我們的想法那。但目前，雖然收縮週期被低估，但還沒有達到證明此類決策合理的程度。我們仍然遵守供應紀律。我們仍然非常深思熟慮和具有策略性。

Okay. And just a quick follow-up, if I could, Grant. Is there much capital required to take McArthur from 18 to 25?

好的。如果可以的話，請快速跟進，格蘭特。把麥克阿瑟從18歲帶到25歲需要多少資金嗎？

Yes. The really exciting part of our story is the ability to benefit from an improving market with those points of leverage that you asked about earlier. So we have leverage to rising prices. against the falling cost structure. As we bring on assets we already have licensed, already have permitted, already have built and run them at a higher unit cost, we get OpEx improvements. And then on top of that, as Tim mentioned, a lot of brownfield leverage. That brownfield leverage means what we're really talking about is replacement and maintenance capital, not greenfield capital. So we have a very steady capital profile.

是的。我們故事中真正令人興奮的部分是能夠利用您之前提到的槓桿點從不斷改善的市場中受益。因此，我們有能力應對價格上漲。對抗成本結構下降。當我們引入已經獲得許可、已經獲得許可、已經以更高的單位成本建造和運行的資產時，我們的營運支出得到了改善。除此之外，正如蒂姆所提到的，還有大量的棕地槓桿。棕地槓桿意味著我們真正談論的是更換和維護資本，而不是綠地資本。所以我們的資本狀況非常穩定。

It's not the type of capital that you would expect to see if somebody was building a mine in the mill, especially in today's market of supply chain challenges and inflationary pressures. So I would say, no, it's not a lot of capital relative to the extra pounds because it is brownfield expansion. So you see a very steady capital profile in our forward guidance. We're very excited about that. That's margin improvement that's return for our owners.

如果有人在工廠建造礦山，您不會期望看到這種類型的資本，特別是在當今供應鏈挑戰和通膨壓力的市場中。所以我想說，不，相對於額外的英鎊來說，這並不是很多資本，因為這是棕地擴張。因此，您在我們的前瞻性指引中看到了非常穩定的資本狀況。我們對此感到非常興奮。這就是利潤率的提高，也是我們所有者的回報。

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勞森溫德。

Thank you for taking the follow up. I wanted to ask about SILEX and whether Cameco is in the running for the several hundred million dollars of money from the DOE for HEU. And also ask, in your conversations with your customers when you're talking contracting on conversion and natural uranium, are they also asking for SILEX enrichment capacity? And could there be increased involvement from your customers to sort of help accelerate the rollout?

感謝您的跟進。我想詢問 SILEX 以及 Cameco 是否正在爭取能源部為 HEU 提供數億美元資金。也要問一下，在與客戶的對話中，當您談論轉換和天然鈾合約時，他們是否也要求 SILEX 濃縮能力？您的客戶是否可以更多地參與以幫助加速推出？

Yes. Thanks, Lawson, for the question. We're obviously quite excited about the GLE project and its potential going forward. Sean is overseeing that one from our side. So Sean Quinn, to ask you to answer.

是的。謝謝勞森提出的問題。顯然，我們對 GLE 專案及其未來的潛力感到非常興奮。肖恩正在我們這邊監督那個人。所以肖恩·奎因請你回答。

Sure. I'll take the first question about the IRA funding in the U.S., $700 million that was referenced. Yes, GLE is poised to pursue that money when if the programs formally announced on the DOE, and we're excited about the opportunities to try and capture some of that funding. We are -- have been waiting for the DOE to come out with its request the proposals, and they're still waiting, but it's imminent as we told. Then on the marketing question, what you're hearing from your customers, maybe I'll turn that over to you, Grant.

當然。我將回答關於美國 IRA 資金的第一個問題，所提到的 7 億美元。是的，當這些計劃在能源部正式宣佈時，GLE 準備尋求這筆資金，我們對有機會嘗試獲得部分資金感到興奮。我們一直在等待能源部提出其要求的提案，他們仍在等待，但正如我們所說，它即將到來。然後關於行銷問題，你從客戶那裡聽到的，也許我會把它交給你，格蘭特。

Yes, absolutely. Just like in the uranium segment or the conversion segment, you don't build productive capacity and then start knocking on people's doors and saying, you want to buy it because that will be value disruptive. The support case needs to be made, just like it does for a mining investment in the uranium space. That support case for GLE would include the type of government support that Sean is talking about, but it would also include customer support. You've seen GLE have success signing some MOUs with some fairly large U.S. utilities who are excited about that as both a supplier diversification and a technology diversification to really important pillars in a world where enrichment is so scarce.

是的，絕對是。就像在鈾部門或轉換部門一樣，你不會建立生產能力，然後開始敲人們的門並說，你想買它，因為這會破壞價值。需要提出支持案例，就像鈾礦領域的採礦投資一樣。 GLE 的支援案例將包括肖恩正在談論的政府支援類型，但也包括客戶支援。您已經看到GLE 成功與一些相當大的美國公用事業公司簽署了一些諒解備忘錄，這些公用事業公司對此感到興奮，因為供應商多元化和技術多元化在濃縮如此稀缺的世界中成為真正重要的支柱。

We have experience as Cameco actually contingently contracting production from laser enrichment back prior to the Fukushima cycle. So we would have to build up that support case -- the best way to bring on a uranium asset, of course, is to stream it into a well-developed contract portfolio. The same would go for an enrichment asset. So we would treat it with the same strategic discipline that we would developing a new mine. But ultimately, we're very excited about that project and the supply source it can be and the solution it can be to global utilities looking for more enrichment.

我們有經驗，因為 Cameco 實際上在福島週期之前臨時承包了雷射濃縮生產。因此，我們必須建立支持案例——當然，引入鈾資產的最佳方式是將其納入完善的合約組合中。濃縮資產也是如此。因此，我們將採用與開發新礦相同的戰略原則來對待它。但最終，我們對該項目及其供應來源以及它為尋求更多濃縮的全球公用事業提供的解決方案感到非常興奮。

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

問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回蒂姆·吉澤爾（Tim Gitzel）發表閉幕詞。

Okay. Well, thank you very much, operator. With that, I just want to say thanks to everybody who joined us on the call today. As always, we appreciate your interest and your support. Just a couple of comments. Our world today is facing some pretty significant challenges, including de-carbonization, electrification, while trying to ensure energy affordability and security without jeopardizing the ambitious net 0 targets that have been set. These are exciting times for Cameco. We're excited about the increasing recognition of the critical role nuclear power is going to play in helping address these challenges.

好的。嗯，非常感謝你，接線生。在此，我只想對今天加入我們電話會議的所有人表示感謝。一如既往，我們感謝您的關注與支持。只是幾點評論。當今世界正面臨一些相當重大的挑戰，包括脫碳、電氣化，同時努力確保能源的可負擔性和安全性，同時又不損害已設定的雄心勃勃的淨零排放目標。對於 Cameco 來說，這是一個令人興奮的時刻。我們很高興看到人們越來越認識到核電在幫助應對這些挑戰方面將發揮的關鍵作用。

We're excited about the fundamentals in the nuclear fuel market. And we're excited about the prospects for Cameco as we continue to build our long-term contract portfolio, which allow us to further expand production from our brownfield capacity and to invest in opportunities across the fuel cycle. We, as you know, are a responsible commercial supplier with a strong balance sheet, long-lived Tier 1 assets and a proven operating track record and line of sight to return to our Tier 1 cost structure. We will 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 as always, we'll continue to make the health and safety of our workers, their families and their communities, our top priority. Thank you, everybody. Stay safe and stay healthy.

我們對核燃料市場的基本面感到興奮。我們對 Cameco 的前景感到興奮，因為我們繼續建立長期合約組合，這使我們能夠進一步擴大棕地產能的產量，並投資於整個燃料循環的機會。如您所知，我們是一家負責任的商業供應商，擁有強大的資產負債表、長期的一級資產、良好的營運記錄以及回歸一級成本結構的視野。我們將繼續言出必行，執行我們的策略。根據我們的價值觀，我們將以一種我們相信能夠使我們的業務長期可持續發展的方式這樣做。一如既往，我們將繼續將工人、他們的家人和社區的健康和安全作為我們的首要任務。謝謝大家。保持安全並保持健康。

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

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有個愉快的一天。