The agreement was signed in Canada on 11 April by Energoatom president Petro Kotin and Cameco president and chief executive officer Tim Gitzel.
agreement will run from 2024, with all deliveries to Ukraine in the form of natural uranium hexafluoride (UF6). Cameco said the contract will contain “a required degree of flexibility”, given present circumstances in Ukraine.
The agreement will see Cameco supply 100% of Energoatom’s UF6 requirements – consisting of uranium and conversion services – for the nine nuclear units at its Rovno (four units), Khmelnitski (two units) and South Ukraine (three units) nuclear power plants for the duration of the contract.
The agreement provides for the entire quantity of uranium mined by Ukraine’s SkhidGZK to be supplied to Canada and for conversion and supply of UF6 for enrichment.
Kotin described the agreement as a landmark event for Ukraine's nuclear industry. “It guarantees its stability and, as a result, a stable supply of electricity to citizens,” he said.
The two companies said in Mach that key commercial terms of the agreement such as pricing mechanism, volume and tenor, had been agreed, but the contract was subject to finalisation.
The contract will also contain an option for Cameco to supply up to 100% of the fuel requirements for the six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently under Russian control, should it return to Energoatom’s operation.
