Kintyre Receives Federal Environmental Approval

All, April 24, 2015

Federal Minister for the Environment, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, today approved Cameco and Mitsubishi Development's Kintyre uranium project in the remote East Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Cameco Australia Managing Director Brian Reilly welcomed Minister Hunt's decision, which follows the approval granted by Western Australia's Environment Minister in March this year.

Minister Hunt's approval includes conditions covering radiation, ground and surface water, terrestrial fauna and mine closure, which are required to be met before mining can commence.

"Cameco welcomes Minister Hunt's approval of Kintyre and will ensure all regulatory conditions are met," said Mr Reilly. "We are confident the project can be safely constructed, operated and decomissioned in a way which maintains the ecological functions and environmental values in the area."

Minister Hunt's decision follows the highest and most thorough level of environmental impact assessment and more than four years of extensive community consultation and rigorous environmental and technical studies.

Cameco is taking prudent steps to prepare its Australian projects for a development decision when market conditions signal new uranium production is required.

"For Kintyre, this means continuing to build strong relationships with stakeholders and identifying additional resources to improve the economics of the project," Mr Reilly said.

Kintyre is 70% owned by Cameco and 30% by Mitsubishi Development (MDP Uranium Pty Ltd).

The project land is located 60km south of Telfer and 260km northeast of Newman, at the western edge of the Great Sandy Desert in the East Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The uranium deposit was acquired by the JV partners in 2008.

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Cameco

Cameco is one of the world's largest uranium producers, with operations in Canada, America, Asia and Australia. The company has been actively exploring for uranium in Australia since 1996 and is involved in a number of projects across the country, including two of Australia's largest undeveloped uranium deposits, Kintyre and Yeelirrie. Cameco's uranium products are used to generate clean electricity in nuclear energy plants around the world. Cameco's shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.

Kintyre environmental approvals – background information

  • Cameco released the Kintyre Environmental Review and Management Program (ERMP) for public review in November 2013.
  • Western Australia's Minister for Environment, the Hon Albert Jacob MLA, granted state environmental approval on 4 March 2015.

Media inquiries:

Amanda Walker
08 9318 6626