THE RAWLINS DAILY TIMES
Page 15
Wednesday, January 15, 1997
Uranium purchase bodes well for industry
CASPER, Wyo. (AP)A Canadian company has completed its purchase of Power Resources Inc., Wyoming's largest producer of uranium.
Cameco Corp. announced Monday it has finished the $106.5 million purchase and said it will put millions of dollars into uranium production in Wyoming.
The purchase points to an upswing in Wyoming's uranium industry, said Bernard Michel, Cameco's president and chief executive officer.
"(It) means we are committed to the uranium business and nuclear technology for the long term," he said.
Power Resources produced 1.2 million pounds of yellowcake uranium last year and Michel said his company wants to see production doubled.
The company also plans to spend tens of millions of dollars developing a uranium field and production facility in the Gas Hills, he said.
Power Resources hopes to boost its production to 1.5 million pounds next year, said Crew Schmitt, the company's new president.
The increase in production will mean an increase in the number of people employed in Casper and Converse County, which now totals about 60, Schmitt said.
Negotiations for the purchase began last fall. Cameco officials said they were attracted to Power Resources because the company uses an in situ method to produce uranium.