cameco eyeing usa

-Reuters

U.S. POWER

With 104 reactors, the United States is the largest consumer of uranium in the world and Cameco is the top uranium producer in the country, producing some 2.2 million pounds in 2011 from its mines in Wyoming and Nebraska.

"We're in a good space down in the United States and we think it's an important place for us to be," said Gitzel. "Our estimate for the U.S. is four to six new reactors by 2020."

That has the company eyeing more output in the United States, despite the often "laborious" permitting environment.

Cameco, which is expanding its Smith Ranch-Highland project in Wyoming, hopes to boost U.S. production to 4 million pounds a year. The company also plans to bring the idle Highland mill back online.

That would give Cameco additional processing capacity, and that has the Canadian miner on the lookout for potential takeovers, especially those with late development-stage assets.

"We would be looking in the area to see if there are any projects that are, I would say, near production," said Gitzel. "Projects that could fit in with ours and could bring uranium to our existing facilities in the near term."

Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits