Cameco uranium agreement a highlight of Canada-India deals

The governments of Canada and India agreed to multiple long-term deals this month, extending a partnership that will impact sectors including energy and critical minerals, technology and AI, talent and culture, and defense.

One of the more significant deals is a long-term agreement that would supply nearly 22 million pounds of Canadian uranium concentrate (U₃O₈) to India's burgeoning nuclear reactor fleet over the next decade.

Beginning in 2027, Saskatchewan-based Cameco will supply India's Department of Atomic Energy with uranium through 2035 on market-related price terms, with a total contract value estimated at approximately C$2.6 billion (roughly $1.9 billion).

Comparing and contrasting: This nuclear energy deal is larger and lengthier than the agreement the parties previously reached a decade ago. In 2015, Cameco signed its first deal with India to provide just over 7 million pounds of uranium over a five-year term.

According to Saskatchewan officials, this new agreement is nearly 10 times the value of the 2015 agreement.

Cameco said at the time of the 2015 agreement that India's nuclear capacity was expected to reach 45,000 MWe by 2032. As of this year, India has 25 operating reactors with a combined capacity of 8,145 MWe, with another 18 reactors and a combined capacity of 12,328 MWe forthcoming. According to Cameco, India has "ambitious plans to deploy dozens more to reach 100 GW by 2047."

Officials react: Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe met in India on March 2 for the announcement of the partnership and deals. It was the first bilateral visit to India by a Canadian prime minister since 2018.

"Cameco is proud to be a strategic partner with India to help meet its civil nuclear fuel needs and support its trade relationship with Canada," Gitzel said. "India is embarking on an ambitious nuclear expansion to power its development plans and meet the future energy security needs of its people. That isn't possible without a stable supply of uranium fuel."

Canadian officials said their standing as an "energy and agricultural superpower" and roles in areas like minerals, AI, and advanced manufacturing are precisely what India needs as the energy demands of its 1.4 billion people grow.

"India is the fastest-growing major economy and a powerhouse of global commerce and technology. In a rapidly changing world, Canada and India are transforming their economies to be more diversified, more independent, and more resilient," said Carney. "Our strategic partnership, and the speed at which we are working to unleash its potential in energy, talent, and AI, is the result of two confident, ambitious nations who want to build the future, together."

Moe, meanwhile, welcomed Cameco reaching this long-term deal, as the uranium mining sector employs more than 2,300 in the province and contributes more than C$2.5 billion to the provincial GDP. The government of Saskatchewan has shown great interest in boosting nuclear energy, such as recently announcing plans to formally evaluate the deployment of large nuclear technologies alongside electric utility SaskPower.

"We understand Saskatchewan's potential to supply the world with the fuel it needs to power the economies of tomorrow and it's great to see India value the energy security we can provide," Moe said.