Cameco Corporation CCJ has temporarily suspended operations at Cigar Lake mine, citing operational issues at Orano’s McClean Lake mill, where Cigar Lake ore is processed. The mill is expected to resume operations in two weeks, and the company does not currently anticipate any impact on its 2026 production guidance for Cigar Lake. However, any prolonged outage at the McClean Lake mill could prompt a reassessment of that outlook.
The disruption stems from problems at the mill's sulfuric acid plant, which was forced to shut down for repairs. Orano is working to restore the acid plant and is also evaluating alternative sources of sulfuric acid while it awaits replacement parts. With limited ore storage capacity at Cigar Lake, mining activities had to be stalled until sufficient acid was available to allow milling to resume at McClean Lake.
Cameco increased its ownership stake in Cigar Lake to 57.418%. Located in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, Cigar Lake is widely recognized for its exceptionally high-grade ore body and long reserve life, making it one of the most valuable uranium mines globally.
In 2025, the mine produced 19.1 million pounds, with Cameco’s attributable share at 10.4 million pounds. For 2026, Cigar Lake is expected to produce between 17.5 million and 18.0 million pounds on a 100% basis. Based on Cameco's previous ownership interest of 54.547%, its attributable production was projected at 9.5-10.0 million pounds. Following the recent increase in ownership, the company is expected to update its attributable production outlook to reflect the same.
This is the second operational disruption Cameco has faced this year. In May, the company temporarily suspended operations at its McArthur River mine and Key Lake mill after severe flooding in northern Saskatchewan caused a partial collapse of the Smoothstone River Bridge, a critical transportation route used to deliver supplies to the sites. Cameco quickly established an alternative logistics route, restoring the flow of essential materials and enabling both operations to return to full production within a short period.
Despite the interruption, Cameco maintained the 2026 guidance for uranium production of 14.0-16.5 million pounds from the McArthur River and Key Lake operations, with its attributable share at 10-11.5 million pounds. The company expects consolidated attributable uranium production of 19.5-21.5 million pounds in 2026.
CCJ’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Cameco shares have gained 30% in a year compared with the industry’s 22.6% growth. Uranium peers Energy Fuels Inc. UUUU and Uranium Energy UEC have gained 120.4% and 57%, respectively.
CCJ stock is trading at a forward price-to-sales multiple of 16.67X compared with the industry’s 5.42X. Energy Fuels is currently trading at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 18.59X and Uranium Energy is trading at a loftier 59.76X.
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cameco’s earnings for fiscal 2026 indicates year-over-year growth of 17.5%. The same for 2027 implies growth of 58.8%.
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While the consensus estimate for 2026 earnings has moved down over the past 60 days, the same for 2027 has remianed unchanged, as shown in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).