Cameco Corp (CCJ) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Cameco Corporation Second Quarter 2023 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Rachelle Girard, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

謝謝你的支持。這是會議操作員。歡迎參加 Cameco Corporation 2023 年第二季度電話會議。 （操作員指示）我現在想將會議轉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 second 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 People and the homeland of the Metis.

謝謝接線員，大家早上好。歡迎參加 Cameco 第二季度電話會議。我想承認，我們是在我們的公司辦公室發表講話的，該辦公室位於第 6 號條約領土上，是克里人的傳統領土，也是梅蒂斯人的故鄉。

With us today on the call are Tim Gitzel, President and CEO; Grant Isaac, Executive Vice President and CFO; Heidi Shockey, Senior Vice President and Deputy CFO; Brian Reilly, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating 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 continues to drive an improving outlook for Cameco. After, we will open it up for your questions.

今天與我們一起參加電話會議的是總裁兼首席執行官蒂姆·吉澤爾 (Tim Gitzel)；格蘭特·艾薩克，執行副總裁兼首席財務官； Heidi Shockey，高級副總裁兼副首席財務官； Brian Reilly，高級副總裁兼首席運營官；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繼續推動 Cameco 前景的改善。之後，我們將打開它來回答您的問題。

As always, our goal is to be open and transparent with our communications. 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'll be happy to follow up after this call. If you joined 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.

一如既往，我們的目標是在溝通中保持開放和透明。因此，如果您對我們的季度財務業績有詳細疑問，或者您的問題在本次電話會議中未得到解決，我們將很樂意在電話會議後與您聯繫。有幾種方式可以聯繫我們。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”表單，我們將很樂意在本次電話會議後進行跟進。如果您通過我們的網站活動頁面加入電話會議，則可以使用幻燈片，這些幻燈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 上以 PDF 文件形式下載。

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.

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 may 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 will turn it over to Tim.

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，除非法律要求，否則我們不承擔更新我們今天可能做出的任何前瞻性陳述的義務。請參閱我們最新的年度信息表和 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的假設的更多信息。這樣，我就把它交給蒂姆。

Well, thank you, Rachelle, and good day to everyone. We appreciate you joining us for today's call. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer or winter months depending on where you're tuning in from. With many people vacationing in July and August, it's typically a quieter time in the business community. However, I can tell you with absolute confidence that business for Cameco has not slowed down, nor has interest in the nuclear sector. The momentum that's been building over the past 18 months continues.

好吧，謝謝你，雷切爾，祝大家都有美好的一天。我們感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我希望每個人都能享受夏季或冬季，具體取決於您從哪裡收聽。由於許多人在七月和八月度假，這通常是商界較為安靜的時期。然而，我可以絕對有信心地告訴你，Cameco的業務並沒有放緩，對核電領域也沒有興趣。過去 18 個月以來形成的勢頭仍在繼續。

Our financial performance, which reflects the expected quarterly variation in our contract deliveries this year is benefiting from our strategic decisions with gross profit improving as we transition to our Tier 1 run rate. And we've seen an uptick in the breadth of new investor interest in Cameco. It really surpasses anything I've seen in my more than 16 years at Cameco. In addition to interest from our traditional resource investors, we're seeing interest from energy investors, clean energy investors, infrastructure investors and generalists. We believe this increased interest reflects the recognition that Cameco is a proven, reliable nuclear fuel supplier that supplements Tier 1 mining assets with critical fuel service capabilities. And it is an endorsement of our strategy to capture full cycle value.

我們的財務業績反映了今年合同交付量的預期季度變化，這得益於我們的戰略決策，隨著我們向一級運行率過渡，毛利潤有所改善。我們看到新投資者對 Cameco 的興趣不斷擴大。它確實超越了我在 Cameco 16 年多以來所見過的任何東西。除了傳統資源投資者的興趣外，我們還看到能源投資者、清潔能源投資者、基礎設施投資者和通才的興趣。我們認為，這種興趣的增加反映了人們對 Cameco 是一家經過驗證的、可靠的核燃料供應商的認可，它通過關鍵的燃料服務能力補充了一級採礦資產。這是對我們獲取全週期價值戰略的認可。

It's also an acknowledgment that Cameco has a deep understanding of how the nuclear fuel market works and that we have the type of experience that gets us invited into the room when important policy decisions are being made about how best to support the nuclear fuel cycle. That, of course, is an appreciation of the compelling opportunity to invest in the growing demand for nuclear power and a clean and secure energy future. In fact, that growing demand has placed security of nuclear fuel supplies at the top of our customers' lists. With more than 118 million pounds of long-term contracting industry-wide so far this year, we're happy to say we believe there is clear evidence that the broader uranium market is moving toward replacement rate contracting, the type of contracting necessary to promote the price discovery we've already seen in the enrichment and conversion markets, contracting and price discovery that will be needed to incentivize the investments in expanding existing supply and developing the new supply that will be necessary to satisfy growing long-term requirements.

這也表明 Cameco 對核燃料市場的運作方式有著深入的了解，並且我們擁有豐富的經驗，可以在製定有關如何最好地支持核燃料循環的重要政策決策時受邀參與其中。當然，這是對投資於不斷增長的核電需求和清潔、安全的能源未來的絕佳機會的認識。事實上，不斷增長的需求已將核燃料供應安全置於我們客戶的首要考慮之列。今年到目前為止，全行業的長期合同已超過 1.18 億磅，我們很高興地說，我們相信有明確的證據表明，更廣泛的鈾市場正在轉向替代率合同，這種合同類型是促進我們已經在濃縮和轉換市場、承包和價格發現中看到了價格發現，這將需要激勵擴大現有供應和開發新供應的投資，以滿足不斷增長的長期需求。

Let's look at the key driver for those growing requirements for nuclear fuel supplies and services, which is the increasing support for more nuclear power. All over the world, we're continuing to see government policies and corporate decisions that are generating positive news flow in support of strong growth for nuclear. Very importantly, those policies and decisions are being followed up with proposals, commitments, and actions. These are the type of activities necessary to support the broader nuclear fuel cycle and reenergize nuclear power as a fundamental source of clean, secure and low-cost energy.

讓我們看看核燃料供應和服務需求不斷增長的關鍵驅動因素，即對更多核電的支持不斷增加。在世界各地，我們不斷看到政府政策和企業決策產生積極的消息，支持核電的強勁增長。非常重要的是，這些政策和決定正在得到落實，並提出建議、承諾和行動。這些活動是支持更廣泛的核燃料循環和重新激活核電作為清潔、安全和低成本能源基本來源所必需的活動。

We don't have enough time on our call today to cover all the highlights from around the world, which really says it all in terms of the volume of good news. But there have been a few announcements that have cut our interest, especially right here in Canada. The nuclear power industry is witnessing support for adding new capacity and refurbishing existing capacity in Canada like never before.

我們今天的電話會議沒有足夠的時間來涵蓋來自世界各地的所有亮點，這確實說明了好消息的數量。但有一些公告降低了我們的興趣，尤其是在加拿大。核電行業正在見證加拿大對增加新產能和翻新現有產能前所未有的支持。

Starting with Bruce Power, who with support from the Ontario government announced it will undertake an environmental assessment to add as much as 4.8 gigawatts of nuclear capacity to the almost 7 gigawatts it already has in place. The added capacity could make the Bruce site the largest nuclear complex in the world. The fact that additional large-scale nuclear installations using well-established technology are being considered in Canada speaks to the extraordinary industry and market transition that is underway.

首先是 Bruce Power，在安大略省政府的支持下，該公司宣布將進行環境評估，在現有近 7 吉瓦的基礎上增加多達 4.8 吉瓦的核電容量。增加的容量可能使布魯斯核電站成為世界上最大的核設施。加拿大正在考慮使用成熟技術建造更多大型核設施，這一事實說明了正在發生的非凡的行業和市場轉型。

With respect to existing nuclear capacity, Ontario Power Generation announced that it applied for and received approval to extend operation of its Pickering reactor until 2026. In the meantime, at the request of Ontario government, it is now considering a refurbishment project for Pickering to keep safe, clean, and reliable nuclear energy flowing from that facility for another 30 years.

現有核電方面，安大略發電公司宣布，已申請並獲得批准將其皮克林反應堆的運行期限延長至2026年。同時，應安大略省政府的要求，目前正在考慮對皮克林反應堆進行翻新項目，以保持皮克林反應堆的運行。該設施將繼續提供安全、清潔和可靠的核能 30 年。

That's positive local news on big traditional nuclear power demand. But as many of you listening today would know, small modular reactors or SMRs, have also been capturing a lot of attention. In Canada, the Province of Ontario is leading the way in that regard as well. It's working with Ontario Power Generation to begin planning and licensing 3 SMRs at the Darlington nuclear site. These SMRs are in addition to the initial SMR project at Darlington for which site preparation and licensing activities are already underway. And those are just a few of the highlights from right here in Canada.

這是當地傳統核電需求巨大的積極消息。但正如今天聽眾中的許多人所知，小型模塊化反應堆或 SMR 也引起了很多關注。在加拿大，安大略省在這方面也處於領先地位。它正在與安大略電力公司合作，開始在達靈頓核電站規劃並許可 3 個小型反應堆。這些 SMR 是達靈頓初始 SMR 項目的補充，該項目的場地準備和許可活動已經在進行中。這些只是加拿大這裡的一些亮點。

Internationally, and moving faster than policymakers, are big commercial consumers of power who are making firm plans for investments to support carbon-free nuclear power to help achieve their Net Zero commitments. For example, at the end of the second quarter, Microsoft signed an agreement with nuclear energy producer Constellation Energy to bring a data center in Virginia closer to operating 24/7 on 100% carbon-free electricity. That's in addition to a previous clean energy credit deal that Microsoft signed with OPG in Canada late last year, which is expected to support those ongoing SMR deployments I mentioned earlier.

在國際上，電力大型商業消費者的行動比政策制定者更快，他們正在製定堅定的投資計劃來支持無碳核電，以幫助實現其淨零承諾。例如，在第二季度末，微軟與核能生產商 Constellation Energy 簽署了一項協議，使弗吉尼亞州的數據中心能夠以 100% 無碳電力 24/7 運行。除此之外，微軟去年年底與加拿大 OPG 簽署了一項清潔能源信貸協議，預計該協議將支持我之前提到的正在進行的 SMR 部署。

Also, Brookfield Properties announced its plan to power its portfolio of U.S. office space totaling about 70 million square feet, utilizing only zero emissions electricity by 2026. Set to begin the transition to clean electricity supply in 2024, Brookfield's plans include an evolution to direct purchasing of clean power, including from nuclear.

此外，布魯克菲爾德地產(Brookfield Properties) 還宣布，計劃到2026 年為其總面積約7000 萬平方英尺的美國辦公空間組合供電，僅使用零排放電力。布魯克菲爾德(Brookfield Properties) 計劃於2024 年開始向清潔電力供應過渡，其中包括向直接購買的演變清潔能源，包括核能。

Those are just a handful of examples of the ongoing positive sentiment being publicly expressed through both government policy announcements and private sector initiatives that are driving full cycle demand growth. You can find several more in our MD&A. This full cycle demand growth is driving increased requirements for the uranium and various services required to fabricate fuel and run reactors. However, it's important to remember that demand doesn't drive just-in-time spot purchasing interest from customers as is often seen in other commodities. As always, in the nuclear industry, customers are looking to secure supply on a much longer-term time horizon. They're seeking supply solutions today that guarantee their reactors run well into the next decade without a costly risk of interruption. And the risk that the required supplies and services might not be available when they are needed is becoming more significant every day.

這些只是通過政府政策公告和私營部門舉措公開表達的持續積極情緒的幾個例子，這些舉措正在推動全週期需求增長。您可以在我們的 MD&A 中找到更多內容。這種全週期需求的增長正在推動對鈾以及製造燃料和運行反應堆所需的各種服務的需求增加。然而，重要的是要記住，需求並不會像其他商品中常見的那樣激發客戶的即時現貨購買興趣。一如既往，在核工業中，客戶希望在更長期的時間內確保供應。他們現在正在尋求供應解決方案，以保證他們的反應堆在未來十年內良好運行，而不會出現代價高昂的中斷風險。所需物資和服務在需要時可能無法提供的風險正變得越來越大。

With demand growth looking more robust than ever and with the industry expectation that by 2030 both primary and secondary supplies will not be sufficient, the industry needs to invest in more capacity. But expanding or building new capacity across the fuel cycle will take time. In May at the World Nuclear Fuel Markets Meeting in the Hague, it was clear that all of the major producers across the fuel cycle have learned the lessons of the past. Presentation after presentation expressed a similar sentiment that in order to solve the urgency of supply, there needs to be urgency in demand. It was clear the major suppliers are not prepared to take the risk of expanding or bringing on new capacity without long-term contracts to support their investments.

由於需求增長看起來比以往任何時候都更加強勁，並且行業預計到 2030 年一次和二次供應都將不足，因此行業需要投資更多產能。但在整個燃料循環中擴大或建設新產能需要時間。五月份在海牙舉行的世界核燃料市場會議上，很明顯，燃料循環領域的所有主要生產商都吸取了過去的教訓。一次又一次的演講都表達了類似的觀點，即為了解決供應的緊迫性，需要解決需求的緊迫性。很明顯，如果沒有長期合同來支持其投資，主要供應商不准備冒險擴大或引入新產能。

I've been around this industry for a long time and involved in every one of the new uranium projects developed in the Athabasca Basin in Northern Saskatchewan since the late 1970s. Let me tell you from experience, bringing on a new project anywhere is not easy despite some of the promises being made by those who have never done it. And today, the calls to increase uranium conversion and enrichment capacity are happening in a complex global environment. An environment where supply chain issues, general inflation, skilled labor limitations, rising interest rates, and increasing regulations and ESG standards are not making it easier or cheaper to build new assets or even operate existing assets.

我在這個行業工作了很長時間，自 20 世紀 70 年代末以來，參與了薩斯喀徹溫省北部阿薩巴斯卡盆地開發的每一個新鈾項目。讓我以經驗告訴你，在任何地方開展一個新項目都不容易，儘管一些從未做過的人做出了承諾。如今，在復雜的全球環境中，人們不斷呼籲提高鈾轉化和濃縮能力。在供應鏈問題、普遍通脹、熟練勞動力限制、利率上升以及不斷增加的監管和 ESG 標準的環境下，建設新資產甚至運營現有資產都變得更容易或更便宜。

In addition to production challenges, let's not forget that geopolitical uncertainties are leading to concerns about origin of supply. Some utilities are seeking to exclude Russia in their future contracting decisions and there is always the ongoing risk of formal sanctions.

除了生產挑戰之外，我們不要忘記地緣政治的不確定性正在導致人們對供應來源的擔憂。一些公用事業公司正尋求在未來的合同決策中將俄羅斯排除在外，並且始終存在持續的正式製裁風險。

Then tied to the origin risk, there was a recent reminder that moving nuclear material around the globe to various points in the fuel cycle is also more difficult than it once was. Concerns with the ability to obtain insurance coverage for shipments out of Russia surfaced. While the issue appears to have been resolved for now, these are shipments that are absolutely required. Any delays could be very impactful on the market. Depending on the magnitude and length of delay, we believe it could be a shock event, akin to the Cigar Lake flood in 2006.

與來源風險相關的是，最近有一個提醒稱，將全球範圍內的核材料轉移到燃料循環的各個點也比以前更加困難。人們對從俄羅斯出口的貨物能否獲得保險的擔憂浮出水面。雖然問題目前似乎已經解決，但這些貨物是絕對需要的。任何延誤都可能對市場產生非常大的影響。根據延遲的嚴重程度和持續時間，我們認為這可能是一次沖擊事件，類似於 2006 年雪茄湖洪水。

And let's not forget that the Transcaspian corridor still isn't a reliable delivery route for uranium from Central Asia to the west. After one shipment earlier this year, which was actually a delayed shipment from last year, we have not received any further uranium via this route in 2023. However, we expect transit of our 2023 production from JV Inkai to begin in Q3. Delays are a small problem for Cameco as we have other sources of supply to meet our commitments, but transportation could be a much bigger issue for the industry if these suppliers can't make their way west.

我們不要忘記，跨里海走廊仍然不是從中亞向西方輸送鈾的可靠路線。今年早些時候的一次發貨（實際上是去年的延遲發貨）之後，我們在2023 年沒有通過這條路線收到任何進一步的鈾。但是，我們預計我們的2023 年生產從JV Inkai 的運輸將於第三季度開始。對於 Cameco 來說，延誤是一個小問題，因為我們有其他供應來源來履行我們的承諾，但如果這些供應商無法向西發展，運輸可能會成為該行業的一個更大問題。

Cameco's strategy of contracting discipline, production discipline and risk-managed financial discipline is set within the context of the transitioning market environment we are currently in. A market that is expected to durably strengthen the long-term fundamentals for nuclear power and uranium supplies and services, while emphasizing energy security and sustainability. And at Cameco, we recognize that to capture value from the opportunities that are in front of us, we must get 2 things right. Volume and timing of our production. In terms of volume, we have to bring on production to meet growing demand, and we have to do it on time and on budget.

Cameco 的合同紀律、生產紀律和風險管理財務紀律戰略是在我們當前所處的轉型市場環境的背景下制定的。這個市場預計將持久加強核電、鈾供應和服務的長期基本面，同時強調能源安全和可持續性。在 Cameco，我們認識到，要從擺在我們面前的機遇中獲取價值，我們必須做好兩件事。我們的生產量和時間。就產量而言，我們必須提高產量以滿足不斷增長的需求，而且必須按時、按預算完成。

Then with respect to timing, we understand that it would be a strategic mistake to bring on production before we have contracts to deliver those pounds into. Let's look at the uncovered requirements curve to see why that's the case. It's true when you look out to 2030 and beyond, there are a lot of uncovered requirements, and that is what gets us excited about the future. But it's really important to understand the structure of our market and how that demand will come to the market.

然後就時間安排而言，我們知道，在我們簽訂交付這些磅的合同之前開始生產將是一個戰略錯誤。讓我們看看未覆蓋的需求曲線，看看為什麼會出現這種情況。確實，當你展望 2030 年及以後時，你會發現還有很多未滿足的要求，而這正是讓我們對未來感到興奮的原因。但了解我們的市場結構以及需求如何進入市場非常重要。

Uncovered requirements in 2030 does not equate to in-year spot market demand in 2030. As I said earlier, utilities, driven by security of supply, want line of sight to the nuclear fuel supplies and services they need to keep their reactors running reliably and without the risk of costly outages. They will not rely on the spot market, which is small and discretionary, to purchase the run rate requirements of their reactors. Utilities are starting to contract now to cover their requirements 2030 and beyond, which is what we mean when we say we're in the long-term contracting cycle to date.

2030 年未滿足的需求並不等於 2030 年年內現貨市場需求。正如我之前所說，在供應安全的推動下，公用事業公司希望能夠了解他們所需的核燃料供應和服務，以保持反應堆可靠運行無需承擔代價高昂的停電風險。他們不會依賴規模較小且可自由支配的現貨市場來購買反應堆的運行率要求。公用事業公司現在開始簽訂合同，以滿足 2030 年及以後的需求，這就是我們所說的迄今為止處於長期合同周期的意思。

Customers are layering in long-term contracts with reliable suppliers who have supply with the right origin. What that means is that by the time 2030 rolls around, utilities will have very little in-year requirements that aren't already covered under long-term contracts. Therefore, as has always been the case, they will have little need to participate in the spot market at that time. In fact, the spot market in 2030 will look similar to in-year spot demand this year, small and discretionary, far from a level that would support a significant volume of uncommitted supply coming out of the ground.

客戶與可靠的供應商簽訂長期合同，這些供應商的貨源來源正確。這意味著，到 2030 年到來時，公用事業公司的年內需求將非常少，而長期合同中尚未涵蓋。因此，與往常一樣，他們屆時幾乎沒有必要參與現貨市場。事實上，2030 年的現貨市場將與今年的年內現貨需求類似，規模較小且可自由支配，遠未達到能夠支持大量未承諾供應的水平。

Therefore, Cameco will continue to be balanced and disciplined in our contracting activity, layering in contract volumes where it makes sense for us, while building a diversified customer base. We will remain selective in committing our unencumbered in-ground uranium inventory and UF6 conversion capacity under long-term contracts. But indeed, our book of business is growing. You can see that our average delivery volume from 2023 through 2027 has increased from 26 million pounds per year to 28 million pounds per year from last quarter as we translate our previously announced accepted volumes into executed contracts. And that's only within the 5-year window shown in the table. We also have delivery commitments that span more than a decade, some out to 2040. And we continue to have a large and growing pipeline of contracting discussions underway.

因此，Cameco 將繼續在我們的承包活動中保持平衡和紀律，在對我們有意義的情況下分層增加合同量，同時建立多元化的客戶群。我們將繼續選擇性地根據長期合同承諾我們未受限制的地下鈾庫存和六氟化鈾轉化能力。但事實上，我們的業務正在增長。您可以看到，隨著我們將之前宣布的接受量轉化為已執行的合同，我們從 2023 年到 2027 年的平均交付量從上季度的每年 2600 萬磅增加到每年 2800 萬磅。這僅在表中顯示的 5 年窗口內。我們還做出了跨越十多年的交付承諾，有些甚至持續到 2040 年。而且我們還在繼續進行大量且不斷增長的合同討論。

Make no mistake though, in our uranium segment, we are not looking to lock in today's prices. We're looking for market-related pricing mechanisms under our long-term contracts. That means that while these contracts support our production planning decisions, they will not be priced today, but rather will be based on the future price of uranium, and in some cases, may include floor price protection and ceilings. We want to maintain exposure to the future incentive prices needed to promote investment in new supply to satisfy growing long-term demand.

但毫無疑問，在我們的鈾業務領域，我們並不希望鎖定今天的價格。我們正在根據長期合同尋找與市場相關的定價機制。這意味著，雖然這些合同支持我們的生產計劃決策，但它們不會在今天定價，而是基於未來的鈾價格，在某些情況下，可能包括底價保護和上限。我們希望保持對未來激勵價格的敞口，以促進對新供應的投資，以滿足不斷增長的長期需求。

While our approach to contracting gives us the ability to participate in further price increases, it also provides strong downside protection should headwinds arise in the macro or industry environment. And as uncovered requirements translate into additional long-term contract commitments, Cameco retains the flexibility at our existing Tier 1 assets, including the option to expand and extend production. If we took advantage of all of these opportunities, our annual share of Tier 1 uranium supply could be about 32 million pounds.

雖然我們的承包方式使我們有能力參與進一步的價格上漲，但如果宏觀或行業環境出現不利因素，它也提供了強有力的下行保護。隨著未涵蓋的需求轉化為額外的長期合同承諾，Cameco 保留了我們現有一級資產的靈活性，包括擴大和延長生產的選擇。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。

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 achieve on our Tier 1 assets. And our strategic contracting and production decisions are translating into better earnings and cash flow as we return to our Tier 1 run rate. With $2.5 billion in cash, $1 billion in total debt and a $1 billion undrawn credit facility, our balance sheet is strong. We will retain our conservative financial management to support our continued balanced and disciplined contracting of supply decisions, to provide us with the ability to self-manage risk, and to provide us with the capacity to pursue value-added investments like Westinghouse.

至於我們的二級資產，我們計劃對這些資產進行維護和保養，除非我們能夠獲得長期合同，提供與一級資產類似的回報。隨著我們恢復到一級運行率，我們的戰略承包和生產決策正在轉化為更好的收益和現金流。我們擁有 25 億美元現金、10 億美元總債務和 10 億美元未動用信貸額度，資產負債表穩健。我們將保留保守的財務管理，以支持我們持續平衡和嚴格地承包供應決策，使我們有能力自我管理風險，並使我們有能力像西屋電氣那樣追求增值投資。

We expect Westinghouse will be able to participate in the growing demand profile for nuclear energy and downstream services from their existing footprint. The team here continues to work toward closing the Westinghouse investment later this year. Once it closes, we will be able to provide more details on the exciting prospects we see for that business, which with the positive momentum in the nuclear industry that I outlined at the beginning of the call, are only getting better.

我們預計西屋電氣將能夠利用其現有業務參與核能和下游服務不斷增長的需求。該團隊繼續致力於在今年晚些時候完成西屋電氣的投資。一旦結束，我們將能夠提供更多關於我們看到的該業務令人興奮的前景的細節，隨著我在電話會議開始時概述的核工業的積極勢頭，該業務只會變得更好。

With the market transitioning to what appears to be replacement rate contracting, these are busy and exciting times for Cameco. As a proven and reliable supplier across the fuel cycle, we remain committed to operating sustainably. We will protect, engage, and support the development of our people and their communities and protect the environment, something we've been doing for over 30 years. And our vision of Energizing a Clean-Air World keeps us focused on delivering long-term value in a market where demand for safe, secure, reliable, and affordable clean nuclear energy is growing.

隨著市場向替代率收縮的方向過渡，對於 Cameco 來說，現在是忙碌而激動人心的時刻。作為整個燃料循環領域久經考驗且可靠的供應商，我們仍然致力於可持續運營。我們將保護、參與和支持我們的人民及其社區的發展，並保護環境，這是我們 30 多年來一直在做的事情。我們“為清潔空氣世界提供能源”的願景使我們專注於在安全、可靠和負擔得起的清潔核能需求不斷增長的市場中提供長期價值。

Before I conclude, I want to recognize some upcoming changes to our Board of Directors. Joining our Board as of September 1, are Chief Tammy Cook- Searson who currently serves as Chief of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, and is the President of Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership. And Dominique Miniere, who was the Executive Vice President in charge of new nuclear and international development for Ontario Power Generation prior to his retirement. The depth of knowledge of these 2 individuals will further strengthen our board and provide new and diverse perspectives. We look forward to the contributions that these 2 individuals will make to our Board and to Cameco.

在結束之前，我想了解一下我們的董事會即將發生的一些變化。自 9 月 1 日起，塔米·庫克-西爾森 (Tammy Cook-Searson) 首席加入我們的董事會，他目前擔任 Lac La Ronge Indian Band 的首席，並且是 Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership 的總裁。還有多米尼克·米尼埃 (Dominique Miniere)，他在退休前擔任安大略發電公司執行副總裁，負責新核能和國際開發。這兩個人的知識深度將進一步加強我們的董事會並提供新的、多樣化的視角。我們期待這兩個人為我們的董事會和 Cameco 做出貢獻。

One last thing before we get to your questions. Over the last several days, we've been closely following the evolving situation in Niger in Central Africa. As the former Vice President of the Mining Business Unit for AREVA and now Orano, I was responsible for the uranium mines in Niger for a number of years, and during that time, grew very fond of the country and its people. We find the situation in Niger today to be very concerning for the people of Niger and are certainly hoping for a peaceful resolution of the situation in the very near future. With that, I will say thank you for your interest today, and we are happy to take your questions.

在我們回答你的問題之前，還有最後一件事。連日來，我們一直密切關注中非尼日爾局勢的演變。作為阿海琺(AREVA) 和現在的歐安諾(Orano) 礦業業務部門的前副總裁，我負責尼日爾的鈾礦多年，在那段時間裡，我對這個國家及其人民產生了濃厚的興趣。我們發現尼日爾今天的局勢令尼日爾人民非常擔憂，當然希望在不久的將來和平解決這一局勢。在此，我要感謝您今天的關注，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Ralph Profiti of Eight Capital.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自八資本的拉爾夫·普羅菲蒂（Ralph Profiti）。

Tim, you talked about this move to 100% replacement rate contracting and greater. And it seems as though you're also potentially speaking to this having a finite life where at some point it's followed by a quiet period. And just wondering how you reconcile this replacement rate ratio with the wedge of unfilled requirements in the context of how long you think this contracting cycle may last?

蒂姆，您談到了 100% 替代率收縮及更高水平的轉變。似乎你也可能會說，生命是有限的，在某個時刻，接下來會是一段安靜的時期。只是想知道在您認為這個合同周期可能持續多長時間的情況下，您如何協調這個替代率與未滿足的需求的楔子？

Well, Ralph, thanks for the question. Yes, we are as you say, moving into the era of replacement rate contracting, an era we haven't been in for, granted, 10 years or so. And so how long will it last? I guess you just have to look at the uncovered requirements going forward, and there's a significant chunk of material yet to be covered over the next few years. But I'll move it over to Grant, our expert. Grant, why don't you answer Ralph's question?

好吧，拉爾夫，謝謝你的提問。是的，正如你所說，我們正在進入替代率收縮時代，當然，我們已經有十年左右的時間沒有進入過這個時代了。那麼它會持續多久呢？我想您只需要看看未來未涵蓋的需求，並且在接下來的幾年中還有大量材料尚未涵蓋。但我會將其移交給我們的專家格蘭特。格蘭特，你為什麼不回答拉爾夫的問題呢？

Yes. Ralph, we would absolutely characterize the term market as very constructive right now, for the reasons that Tim was articulating. You've got a durable demand profile, a demand that is reactors being saved, reactors going through life extensions, obviously, new builds. And now the real prospect of adding to the uncovered requirements of course, small modular reactors and micro modular reactors. And this is all creating a very durable demand outlook, which is growing the uncovered requirements. No surprise, we are starting to see more contracting. To date, year-to-date, we are already at more term contracting in the uranium business than we've seen at annual rates in the last decade. You have to go back to 2012 to see a number higher than this. Obviously, the security of supply/urgency of demand cycle is underway. We would still call it early because despite all that contracting, it isn't making a marginal dent in that uncovered requirements' curve. We are adding more demand to the curve faster than we're taking it away through contracting across the industry. To your question, when these security of supply cycles set in, they typically last several years. If you go back and you look at the various points of strong contracting through the decades of the commercial uranium cycle, when these cycles set in, they do last a number of years. Utilities cover their run rate requirements, but it is true that then at some point, a bit of complacency sets in. They step back. They don't have as much immediate demand. We think there's more demand coming and this is going to be the future of the market for a while. We're not even contemplating what that step back looks like yet because of the growth of the uncovered requirements curve.

是的。拉爾夫，出於蒂姆闡述的原因，我們現在絕對會認為“市場”一詞非常有建設性。你有一個持久的需求概況，這個需求是反應堆被保存，反應堆經歷壽命延長，顯然，是新建反應堆。現在，真正的前景是添加未覆蓋的需求，當然，小型模塊化反應堆和微型模塊化反應堆。這一切都創造了一個非常持久的需求前景，從而增加了未覆蓋的需求。毫不奇怪，我們開始看到更多的合同。迄今為止，今年迄今為止，我們在鈾業務方面的合同期限已經超過了過去十年的年利率。你必須回到 2012 年才能看到比這個更高的數字。顯然，供應的安全/需求的緊迫週期正在進行中。我們仍然會儘早調用它，因為儘管有所有的收縮，但它並沒有對未覆蓋的需求曲線產生邊際影響。我們在曲線上增加的需求比通過整個行業的合同減少需求的速度更快。對於你的問題，當這些供應週期的安全性開始時，它們通常會持續幾年。如果你回顧過去幾十年商業鈾循環中各個強烈收縮的點，就會發現當這些循環開始時，它們確實會持續數年。公用事業公司滿足了他們的運行率要求，但確實，在某些時候，他們會感到有點自滿。他們會退縮。他們沒有那麼多的直接需求。我們認為需求將會增加，這將成為市場一段時間內的未來。由於未覆蓋的需求曲線的增長，我們甚至還沒有考慮後退會是什麼樣子。

That's quite helpful, very much. Thanks. And Tim, does any of the Niger sourced material get processed in any of the downstream conversion facilities of Cameco operations where now you're sort of faced with a sources and uses of supply decisions where you may have to move material around?

這很有幫助，非常有幫助。謝謝。蒂姆，尼日爾採購的任何材料是否會在 Cameco 業務的任何下游轉換設施中進行加工，現在您面臨著供應決策的來源和用途，您可能必須四處移動材料？

Yes, that won't affect us, Ralph. There might be a bit that comes in, but mostly it goes into France, as you can imagine, through the French entities.

是的，這不會影響我們，拉爾夫。可能會有一點進來，但正如你可以想像的那樣，大部分都是通過法國實體進入法國的。

Our next question comes from Orest Wowkodaw of Scotiabank.

我們的下一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Orest Wowkodaw。

Nice to see the continued momentum here. For the past several quarters, you've disclosed the amount of pounds that you added to the long-term contract book. I didn't see that disclosure this quarter. Can you give us any update there?

很高興看到這裡持續的勢頭。在過去的幾個季度中，您披露了添加到長期合同簿中的英鎊金額。我本季度沒有看到該披露。您能給我們提供任何更新嗎？

Yes. Orest, I think we said we weren't going to be reporting on a quarterly basis. But Grant, you can speak to the --

是的。奧雷斯特，我想我們說過我們不會按季度報告。但是格蘭特，你可以跟——

Our normal process, Orest, and you've been around this story for a long time so you know this, we would just, on an annual basis, talk about the uranium and conversion services that we had brought into our portfolio. And we do that in sort of February in Q4. We undertook the practice of doing it quarterly because we were seeing demand before others were. And we just thought it was important for as we talked about demand coming to the market, we had to prove it. And we were proving it by talking about our accepted and executed contracts. But now we're seeing more broadly across the industry, and I just referenced it to Ralph, the 118 million pounds that have been contracted already across the industry in the term market. The proof is out there. It no longer requires us to be showing that leading indicator. And the market is in a very constructive spot, and we think that demand is only going to continue to grow. We just stepped back from being the ones who were constantly showing what the demand formation was because the evidence is now there for everybody to see.

我們的正常流程，Orest，您已經關注這個故事很長時間了，所以您知道這一點，我們只會每年討論我們已納入投資組合的鈾和轉換服務。我們在二月份的第四季度這樣做了。我們採取每季度進行一次的做法，因為我們先於其他人看到了需求。我們只是認為這很重要，因為當我們談論市場需求時，我們必須證明這一點。我們通過談論我們接受和執行的合同來證明這一點。但現在我們看到了整個行業更廣泛的情況，我剛剛提到了拉爾夫，整個行業已經在期限市場上簽訂了 1.18 億英鎊的合同。證據就在那裡。它不再要求我們展示領先指標。市場正處於一個非常有建設性的位置，我們認為需求只會繼續增長。我們只是從那些不斷展示需求形成的人中退了一步，因為現在證據已經擺在大家面前了。

Okay. But clearly, your book has increased again, just given that your 5-year average sales has increased to 28 million pounds from 26.

好的。但顯然，你的書又增加了，只是考慮到你的 5 年平均銷售額從 26 增加到了 2800 萬英鎊。

Yes, absolutely. We always think about it, as you know, with respect to our portfolio, which is the committed sales we've already captured and our pipeline. Which is the negotiations we have underway to capture value out into the future. And I've been saying for some time now, that pipeline is big. And despite the fact we've taken a lot of demand, translated it into an executed contract, we still have a big pipeline. The replenishment of the demand into the pipeline continues to be very strong. That's what our marketing team is focused on and those folks just do an incredible job negotiating the type of contracts that provide us with great upside participation in the market, really strong downside protection should there be any macro headwinds. And that long tail of cash flow and earnings that comes from having such a robust contracting portfolio, which we can then serve as we resume our Tier 1 costs from our Tier 1 infrastructure. That margin improvement flows through to our owners. We're very excited about how constructive it is.

是的，一點沒錯。如您所知，我們總是考慮我們的產品組合，即我們已經獲得的承諾銷售和我們的管道。這就是我們正在進行的談判，以獲取未來的價值。我已經說過一段時間了，管道很大。儘管我們已經接受了大量需求，並將其轉化為已執行的合同，但我們仍然有大量的管道。管道的補充需求仍然非常強勁。這就是我們的營銷團隊所關注的重點，這些人在合同類型談判方面做了令人難以置信的工作，為我們提供了市場上巨大的上行參與度，如果出現任何宏觀阻力，則提供真正強大的下行保護。現金流和收益的長尾來自於擁有如此強大的承包投資組合，當我們從一級基礎設施恢復一級成本時，我們可以利用這些投資組合。利潤率的提高也會惠及我們的所有者。我們對它的建設性感到非常興奮。

Can you give us maybe just a quick flavor of where current floors and ceilings are on new contracts?

您能否讓我們快速了解一下新合同中當前樓層和上限的情況？

Yes. I can sort of speak to what our experience is. I don't know where others are. But our preference right now in the term contract space is for market-related volume. We're willing to commit volumes out into the future, but we just want to price them out into the future. We're not looking to price them today. Those would be called fixed contracts or base-escalated contracts. On market related, they're often called, they're collared in part because utilities have lived through price cycles before, and they've seen spikes. They'll ask for ceilings. And if they ask for ceilings, we'll ask for floors. Both floors and ceilings are escalated, so that's another important dimension to remember. For Cameco, in today's market, mid-50 spot, we can drive $50 escalated floors and we can drive $80 escalated ceilings. I'm assuming others would be somewhat close to that, but probably not quite as attractive. And then with each contract, we just like to turn those indicators higher. With every contract that comes to the market and secures future supply, well, there's less future supply for the next slice of demand. Which then makes for an even more constructive conversation. And that's how we go and build that contract portfolio with good upside protection and incredible downside protection.

是的。我可以談談我們的經歷。我不知道其他人在哪裡。但我們目前對合約空間一詞的偏好是與市場相關的交易量。我們願意在未來承諾產量，但我們只想為未來定價。我們今天不打算給它們定價。這些將被稱為固定合同或基礎升級合同。在與市場相關的方面，它們經常被稱為，它們被限制的部分原因是公用事業公司之前經歷過價格週期，並且它們已經看到了峰值。他們會要求天花板。如果他們要求天花板，我們就會要求地板。地板和天花板都是升級的，所以這是另一個需要記住的重要維度。對於 Cameco 來說，在今天的市場中，50 美元左右的位置，我們可以驅動 50 美元的升級地板，我們可以驅動 80 美元的升級天花板。我假設其他人會有點接近這一點，但可能沒有那麼有吸引力。然後，對於每份合同，我們都希望將這些指標調高。隨著每一份進入市場並確保未來供應的合同，下一部分需求的未來供應就會減少。這樣就可以進行更具建設性的對話。這就是我們如何構建具有良好上行保護和令人難以置信的下行保護的合約投資組合。

Our next question comes from Greg Barnes of TD Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自道明證券的格雷格·巴恩斯。

I was wondering if at this point, you can get a little more granular on the timing of the closing of the Westinghouse deal. And any comments on the U.K. comment period they announced today on their regulatory approval process would be helpful, too.

我想知道此時您是否可以更詳細地了解西屋電氣交易完成的時間。他們今天宣布的英國監管審批程序徵求意見期的任何評論也會有所幫助。

Yes, Greg, thanks for the question. Nice to hear from you. Those approvals, as you know, are kind of standard practice. I think we had 30 to start out, I'm looking at Sean, and we're down to just a couple, one of which you've mentioned. I don't know if we have timing. I think we're still looking at Q3 or before the end of the year for the closing on Westinghouse. We're working. I can tell you we've got a team of many working on it and so we're hoping this fall to be able to close that, Greg. But I don't have a whole lot more detail for you right now.

是的，格雷格，謝謝你的提問。很高興聽到你的消息。如您所知，這些批准是一種標準做法。我想我們一開始有 30 個人，我看著 Sean，現在只剩下兩個了，你提到過其中一個。不知道我們有沒有時間。我認為我們仍在考慮第三季度或年底前完成西屋電氣的收購。我們正在工作。我可以告訴你，我們有一個由很多人組成的團隊正在努力解決這個問題，所以我們希望今年秋天能夠完成這個任務，格雷格。但我現在沒有更多的細節可以告訴你。

Is the fact that U.K. launched a comment period now so far into this process unusual? Or is this standard practice for them?

到目前為止，英國在這一過程中啟動了評論期，這一事實是否不尋常？或者這是他們的標準做法？

No, we started them all off on the same foot and some of them reacted really quickly. I think we got the U.S. and China right off the bat, and that's one of the ones we still have to get in the U.K. Pretty normal for actives, Greg.

不，我們一開始就齊心協力，其中一些人反應非常快。我認為我們立即獲得了美國和中國的許可，這是我們仍然需要在英國獲得的許可之一。對於積極分子來說這很正常，格雷格。

Our next question comes from Grace Symes of Energy Intelligence.

我們的下一個問題來自 Energy Intelligence 的 Grace Symes。

My question is on the (inaudible) from Kazakhstan. You said the result is delayed, and I was wondering if you could give any reason or detail on that.

我的問題是來自哈薩克斯坦的（聽不清）。你說結果被推遲了，我想知道你是否能給出任何原因或細節。

Grace, you were cutting in and out on us, but I think you asked about the transportation routes out of Kazakhstan. As you saw from the information we published in the MD&A, we're still working on that. We haven't had any shipments come through that passageway yet. This year, we're hoping Q3 we'll be able to get one through. Again, we're working on that day to day. We're in touch with the different countries and governments involved. Kazatomprom, obviously, is leading the charge on that, so we're hopeful that we'll see some deliveries come through there sometime this year.

格蕾絲，你插話了我們，但我想你問的是從哈薩克斯坦出發的交通路線。正如您從我們在 MD&A 中發布的信息中看到的，我們仍在努力解決這一問題。我們還沒有任何貨物通過該通道運來。今年，我們希望第三季度能夠順利通過。同樣，我們日復一日地致力於這一點。我們正在與相關的不同國家和政府保持聯繫。顯然，Kazatomprom 在這方面處於領先地位，因此我們希望今年某個時候能看到一些貨物通過那裡交付。

All right. And just one quick follow-up. Does Cameco ship all of its material from Inkai through the transcaspian route now? Or does any of it get sent to China?

好的。只需一個快速跟進。 Cameco 現在是否通過跨里海航線從 Inkai 運送所有材料？或者是否有任何內容被發送到中國？

We are sending it all, if we can, through the transcaspian route at this point.

如果可以的話，我們目前將通過跨里海航線將其全部發送。

Our next question is a follow-up from Greg Barnes of TD Securities.

我們的下一個問題是道明證券 (TD Securities) 格雷格·巴恩斯 (Greg Barnes) 的後續提問。

Just for you, Grant, the 118 million pounds contracted year-to-date, what kind of line of sight do you have on what the rest of the year holds in terms of long-term contracting for the industry as a whole, not just for Cameco?

格蘭特，就您而言，今年迄今已簽訂了 1.18 億英鎊的合同，您對今年剩餘時間整個行業（而不僅僅是行業）的長期合同有何看法？卡梅科？

Yes, it's a great question. When we look at our own pipeline of negotiations, and I said earlier that it remains quite large, we've got a lot of pounds under negotiation, a lot of conversion service under negotiation. If I then sort of reflect that, it must be indicative of what others are seeing, I think we can expect quite a bit of demand to come to the market in the second half of the year. I'm not prepared to say we can just simply annualize 118 million pounds to simply double it. I don't know for sure, but I think this is a year where we can expect to see a material increase over last year's contracting rate. And as we know in our industry, contracting begets contracting. I mean, as more and more of the known production is spoken for under long-term contract, it will just increase pressure on those who have not contracted yet to get their hands on an even smaller slice of certain supply. And then obviously, attention will turn to the contracting and the prices required to get real greenfield moving. And that's all in front of us, and that's all value we intend to capture. But we are expecting a constructive term market to continue through this year. And it passed its prolog these last several years.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。當我們審視我們自己的談判渠道時，我之前說過，它仍然相當大，我們有很多英鎊正在談判，很多轉換服務正在談判。如果我再反思一下，它一定表明了其他人所看到的情況，我認為我們可以預期下半年市場會有相當多的需求。我不准備說我們可以簡單地將 1.18 億英鎊年化，使其翻倍。我不確定，但我認為今年我們預計合同率將比去年大幅增加。正如我們在行業中所知，承包會產生承包。我的意思是，隨著越來越多的已知生產是根據長期合同進行的，這只會增加那些尚未簽訂合同的人獲得更小部分供應的壓力。顯然，注意力將轉向讓真正的綠地動起來所需的承包和價格。這一切就在我們面前，這就是我們想要捕捉的所有價值。但我們預計今年將持續建設性的定期市場。最近幾年它已經通過了序言。

Great. And just a follow-up question regarding the operations themselves, McArthur and Cigar. The cash costs there in the last technical reports were $16 to $18 a pound, depending on which operation you're talking about. But we've had inflation and other cost pressures and supply chain issues and the rest of it. What do you think the cost profiles look like now at each operation from this point?

偉大的。接下來是關於行動本身、麥克阿瑟和雪茄的後續問題。最新技術報告中的現金成本為每磅 16 至 18 美元，具體取決於您所談論的操作。但我們面臨著通貨膨脹和其他成本壓力以及供應鏈問題等等。您認為從此時起每項操作的成本概況是什麼樣的？

Yes. It's a great question, Greg. There are 2 things going on simultaneously moving in different directions. Obviously, as we ramp up production at something like McArthur and Key, we're going to have the unit cost effect, and that will be very positive. More production, lower unit cost, that will be offsetting. But then, of course, when you look at just the challenges that have been in the market, the challenges on supply chains, the challenges on inflation, the challenges on finding skilled labor and appropriate contractors at the right time, that kind of offsets that improvement. But on balance, we would just kind of go back to our annual information form numbers. That's the update to our technical reports, and we're looking at that $16 to $18 cash cost, and that's what we're negotiating towards. And we're very excited, obviously, about meeting the growth in this market, meeting the new demand, meeting our contract from already licensed, already permitted existing facilities that we simply just have to get back up and running.

是的。這是一個很好的問題，格雷格。有兩件事同時發生並朝不同的方向發展。顯然，當我們提高 McArthur 和 Key 等工廠的產量時，我們將產生單位成本效應，這將是非常積極的。更多的產量，更低的單位成本，這將被抵消。但是，當然，當你只考慮市場上的挑戰、供應鏈的挑戰、通貨膨脹的挑戰、在正確的時間找到熟練勞動力和合適的承包商的挑戰時，這種抵消改進。但總的來說，我們只是回到我們的年度信息表數字。這是我們技術報告的更新，我們正在考慮 16 至 18 美元的現金成本，這就是我們正在談判的目標。顯然，我們對滿足這個市場的增長、滿足新的需求、滿足我們已經獲得許可、已經允許的現有設施的合同感到非常興奮，我們只需恢復並運行這些設施即可。

Our next question is a follow-up from Orest Wowkodaw of Scotiabank.

我們的下一個問題是豐業銀行 Orest Wowkodaw 的後續問題。

Just, Grant, on the same lines as Greg's question, but maybe a little bit different. At what point do you need to see the contract book? Or I guess at what level do you need to see the long-term contract book before we start hearing more about life extensions at Cigar Lake for example and even potentially taking Macarthur up to the full license capacity of 25 million pounds?

只是，格蘭特，與格雷格的問題相同，但可能有點不同。什麼時候需要看合同書？或者我猜想，在我們開始聽到更多關於雪茄湖的壽命延長甚至可能使麥克阿瑟達到 2500 萬英鎊的全部許可容量之前，您需要在什麼級別上看到長期合同書？

Yes. Great question. It is one where we would say whether it's the excellent work done by TradeTech for example, Treva and her team, where there is very clear urgency of supply building in the market, we just simply respond to that by saying we need to see an urgency of demand. Yes, 118 million pounds year-to-date in the term market is a good indicator of urgency of demand. And yes, a $55 U.S. price is a much better price than the $17.75 per pound that it was when we brought McArthur and Key Lake into supply discipline. But it's not at the level from a pricing point of view that is required to make serious investment in expansion, or quite frankly, in greenfield. We would need to see more urgency of demand as evidenced by more term contracting coming into the market and stronger price formation, and then we would capture that in our contract portfolio. Those are the milestones to watch for. Those are what will determine our production decisions, the expansion decisions at McArthur River, the extension decisions at Cigar Lake. The market is constructive right now. It has to be more constructive to incent us to grow that base of production.

是的。很好的問題。我們會說這是否是 TradeTech 所做的出色工作，例如 Treva 和她的團隊，市場上供應建設的緊迫性非常明顯，我們只是簡單地回應說我們需要看到緊迫性的需求。是的，今年迄今為止 1.18 億英鎊的定期市場規模是需求緊迫性的一個很好的指標。是的，55 美元的美國價格比我們讓 McArthur 和 Key Lake 納入供應紀律時每磅 17.75 美元的價格要好得多。但從定價的角度來看，這還達不到對擴張或綠地進行大量投資所需的水平。我們需要看到更多的需求緊迫性，這可以通過更多的定期合同進入市場和更強勁的價格形成來證明，然後我們將在我們的合同組合中捕捉到這一點。這些都是值得關注的里程碑。這些將決定我們的生產決策、麥克阿瑟河的擴建決策、雪茄湖的擴建決策。目前市場是建設性的。它必須更具建設性，才能激勵我們擴大生產基地。

Okay. And just as a quick follow-up, do you think -- are you happy with your current portfolio of growth options within uranium? Or do you see any opportunity for M&A in terms of adding undeveloped deposits?

好的。作為一個快速跟進，您認為您對目前鈾礦領域的增長選擇組合感到滿意嗎？或者您認為在增加未開發存款方面存在併購機會嗎？

Well, we're really happy, Orest, with what we've got. We've got assets that are built and licensed and ready to go, and so we're just, as you know, in the process of ramping them up. And as Grant just said, looking at whether we need to extend and expand those. We've got Tier 2 assets that are licensed and permitted on standby, but under the right conditions could go ahead. We're not looking too far afield than our own house here, and we've got some great assets that we want to bring back in.

好吧，奧雷斯特，我們對我們所擁有的一切感到非常高興。我們已經擁有已建成、已獲得許可並已準備就緒的資產，因此，如您所知，我們正處於提升這些資產的過程中。正如格蘭特剛才所說，看看我們是否需要擴展和擴展這些。我們擁有已獲得許可並允許待命的二級資產，但在適當的條件下可以繼續進行。我們並沒有把目光投向比我們自己的房子更遠的地方，而且我們有一些很棒的資產想要帶回來。

And Orest, we might just juxtapose that a little bit with the last price cycle. People reflect on that '06/'07 window, a lot of contracting was done, a lot of strong price formation. But at that time, Cameco was looking to add a new mine. The Cigar Lake mine has a supply source in order to fulfill those contracts this time around because of our supply discipline. We left a lot of pounds in the ground in a low-price environment. Those pounds are now available in a much higher price environment. We're meeting this new contracting cycle from we think an extraordinarily strong brownfield leverage position, which gives us a very attractive capital profile. We're only talking replacement and maintenance capital. We're not talking greenfield capital in order to meet it. We just think it's a much different value proposition for investors in Cameco in this contracting cycle than it was in past cycles. This is our deliberate execution of our strategy.

奧雷斯特，我們可以將其與上一個價格週期稍微並列起來。人們反思'06/'07窗口期，進行了大量的簽約，形成了很多強勁的價格。但當時，Cameco 正在尋求增加一個新礦場。由於我們的供應紀律，雪茄湖礦有一個供應來源，可以履行這次的合同。我們在低價環境下留下了很多英鎊。這些英鎊現在可以在更高的價格環境中獲得。我們正在迎接這個新的承包周期，我們認為這是一個非常強大的棕地槓桿頭寸，這給我們帶來了非常有吸引力的資本狀況。我們只討論更換和維護資本。我們並不是為了滿足這個目標而談論綠地資本。我們只是認為，對於 Cameco 的投資者來說，在這個承包周期中，這是一個與過去週期截然不同的價值主張。這是我們對戰略的刻意執行。

Our next question is a follow-up from Ralph Profiti of Eight Capital.

我們的下一個問題是八資本 (Eight Capital) 的拉爾夫·普羅菲蒂 (Ralph Profiti) 的後續問題。

Thanks, Tim and Grant, for the follow-up. We have seen a little bit of volatility in the Inkai pounds, both from deliveries and a shipments perspective. I'm just wondering, when it comes to delivering those pounds in this sort of uncertain market, are you making up those pounds in the spot market? Because the actual inventory situation at Cameco has been relatively stable and the purchase commitments have actually moved lockstep with the sales guidance. Just wondering how you make up for that volatility.

感謝蒂姆和格蘭特的跟進。無論從交付量還是出貨量的角度來看，我們都看到 Inkai 英鎊出現了一些波動。我只是想知道，當談到在這種不確定的市場中交付這些英鎊時，您是否會在現貨市場上彌補這些英鎊？因為Cameco的實際庫存情況一直相對穩定，採購承諾實際上與銷售指導保持一致。只是想知道如何彌補這種波動。

Ralph, I'm just going to go backwards a little bit and provide some context because we just have to set our purchasing to meet our committed sales in the proper context of our strategy. As you know, and a lot of callers, a lot of folks on this call know, what we do is we build the homes first through the contracting cycle and then we source those commitments. And we source them obviously from production. We've got production increasing with the ramp-up of McArthur River, Key Lake. We've got production from Cigar, production from Inkai. We source through inventory, and we source through purchases, and occasionally, we'll source through loans, but let's focus on the Big 3, the production inventory and purchases. With respect to purchases, if we have a delay in production, remember, we set kind of quarterly and annual guidance on production. But if we miss that, the pounds are still there. We get them a little bit later. Occasionally, we might have to go into the market and supplement with some purchases. When we purchase, and say for example if we had to purchase to replace Inkai pounds, just think about those in the proper context. We can purchase either in the spot market today, and we'll do that occasionally. It's a very thin market, and our presence, our demand would be noted and would probably create upward price pressure if Cameco showed up in the spot market. Sometimes, we also purchase under long-term purchase commitments. As somebody might be offering pounds at a fixed price out into the future, and when we look at the dynamics in the construction in the market, we might say those are cheap pounds today. And we always retain the right to harvest those contracts whenever we want. We don't have to wait until the terminal date in the contract. We can purchase in the spot market or we can purchase long-term and just retain the option of when we pull that source in. And then when you think about those spot purchases, the final thing I would make is they have both a cost, but they also have a benefit. The cost of us purchasing obviously, is it costs more to purchase it than it does to produce. There's a margin impact, that's definitely a cost. The benefit though is when our demand is in the market, it tends to thin out the spot market, it tends to be price constructive. So now our portfolio of committed sales that are market-related are also capturing that higher price, and it's capturing it over our true margin. And then, of course, anything we're negotiating is now negotiating at higher price references. We always look at that short-term in-year cost against the in-year and multiyear benefit when we make purchases. Never something we fear, always something we do strategically and deliberately. And that's how we would replace any shortfalls or timing shortfalls with respect to either production from our Canadian assets or arrival of material from JV Inkai.

拉爾夫，我只是要回顧一下並提供一些背景信息，因為我們只需在適當的戰略背景下設置採購以滿足我們承諾的銷售。正如你所知，很多來電者，很多參加這次電話會議的人都知道，我們所做的是，我們首先通過承包周期建造房屋，然後我們獲得這些承諾。我們顯然是從生產中採購它們的。隨著麥克阿瑟河和基湖的產量增加，我們的產量也在增加。我們有 Cigar 的生產，Inkai 的生產。我們通過庫存來採購，我們通過採購來採購，有時，我們會通過貸款來採購，但讓我們重點關註三巨頭，即生產庫存和採購。關於採購，如果我們的生產出現延遲，請記住，我們會制定季度和年度生產指導。但如果我們錯過了這一點，英鎊仍然存在。我們稍後會收到它們。有時候，我們可能需要去市場採購一些東西來補充。當我們購買時，例如，如果我們必須購買以替換 Inkai 磅，請在適當的背景下考慮這些。今天我們可以在現貨市場購買其中任何一個，而且我們偶爾也會這樣做。這是一個非常清淡的市場，我們的存在、我們的需求將會被注意到，如果 Cameco 出現在現貨市場上，可能會造成價格上漲的壓力。有時，我們也會根據長期採購承諾進行採購。由於有人可能會在未來以固定價格提供英鎊，當我們觀察市場建設的動態時，我們可能會說今天的英鎊很便宜。我們始終保留隨時獲取這些合同的權利。我們不必等到合同中的終止日期。我們可以在現貨市場購買，也可以長期購買，只保留何時引入該來源的選擇權。然後當你考慮這些現貨購買時，我要做的最後一件事是它們都有成本，但它們也有一個好處。我們購買的成本顯然是購買成本高於生產成本。利潤率會受到影響，這絕對是成本。但好處是，當我們的需求出現在市場上時，現貨市場往往會變得稀薄，價格往往會上漲。因此，現在我們與市場相關的承諾銷售組合也捕捉到了更高的價格，並且捕捉到的價格超過了我們的真實利潤。當然，我們正在談判的任何東西現在都在以更高的參考價格進行談判。當我們進行採購時，我們總是將短期年內成本與年內和多年收益進行比較。從來沒有我們害怕的事情，而是我們有策略、有意識地做的事情。這就是我們如何彌補加拿大資產生產或 JV Inkai 材料抵達方面的任何短缺或時間短缺。

And I might just add to that, purchase volume does include our expected Inkai deliveries. It's moved up mainly because of the increase in the in-year sales and our desire for working inventory, so I would just note that as well.

我想補充一點，購買量確實包括我們預期的 Inkai 交付量。它的上升主要是因為年內銷售額的增加以及我們對工作庫存的渴望，所以我也想指出這一點。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would 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, Operator. With that, I just want to say thanks to everybody who's joined us on the call today. We certainly appreciate your interest and your support. I'd just say we're excited to see the positive momentum building for nuclear around the world. We at Cameco expect to play an important role in providing the solution for the existential problems of decarbonization, electrification and energy security.

好的。好吧，謝謝你，接線員。在此，我只想對今天加入我們電話會議的所有人表示感謝。我們當然感謝您的興趣和支持。我只想說，我們很高興看到世界各地核能發展的積極勢頭。 Cameco 希望在解決脫碳、電氣化和能源安全等現實問題方面發揮重要作用。

More than ever, we're being asked by countries, leaders and government officials to participate in discussions on where that world energy picture is going. And I can tell you that we at Cameco worked hard to gain that kind of standing on the world stage to be recognized as a global company, making a difference on a global scale, and providing something the world desperately needs. And as the interest continues to grow, last month we hosted a tour of our Cigar Lake operation for Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, the Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. And just last week, Ambassador David Cohen, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, toured McArthur River. I can tell you the positive feedback from these officials and their teams following the tours was nothing short of flattering, and that's of course thanks to the hard work of our people over the years. We've built a reputation as a proven and reliable producer with key assets in a stable jurisdiction with a long history of strong environmental, social and governance performance.

各國、領導人和政府官員比以往任何時候都更要求我們參與有關世界能源格局走向的討論。我可以告訴你，我們 Cameco 努力工作，在世界舞台上獲得了這樣的地位，被公認為一家全球性公司，在全球範圍內做出了改變，並提供了世界迫切需要的東西。隨著人們興趣的不斷增長，上個月我們為加拿大駐美國大使克爾斯滕·希爾曼大使參觀了我們的雪茄湖業務。就在上週，美國駐加拿大大使大衛·科恩大使參觀了麥克阿瑟河。我可以告訴你，這些官員及其團隊在參觀後所給予的積極反饋簡直令人受寵若驚，這當然要歸功於我們人民多年來的辛勤工作。我們已成為久經考驗且可靠的生產商，在穩定的司法管轄區擁有關鍵資產，長期以來在環境、社會和治理方面表現出色，因此享有盛譽。

We believe our vision of Energizing a Clean-Air World will allow future generations to thrive and to enjoy this beautiful planet. 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. Thanks, everybody. Enjoy the summer. Stay safe and healthy.

我們相信，“為清潔空氣世界注入活力”的願景將使子孫後代能夠蓬勃發展並享受這個美麗的星球。我們將繼續言出必行，執行我們的戰略。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。謝謝大家。享受夏天。保持安全和健康。

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。您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與，祝您度過愉快的一天。