Guess what? Our recent investigation shows the uranium to be enriched in the LES/Urenco proposed enrichment facility in Lea County, New Mexico may neither come from uranium properties in New Mexico nor anywhere else in the United States. Just as New Mexico's nuclear/uranium mining renaissance was ready to get underway, there may be a 'failure to launch.' It appears Louisiana Energy Services (LES), through the consortium's general partner Urenco Ltd., could have already cut a deal to enrich uranium mined in a foreign country. Will that country be Canada or Kazakhstan?
According to New Mexico State Senator Carroll H. Leavell, the uranium ore to be enriched at the facility near Eunice, New Mexico facility might be coming from outside the United States. Senator Leavell told StockInterview.com, "The uranium ore will be coming out of Saskatchewan." When we asked if the uranium to be enriched in New Mexico would come from the Athabasca Basin, an area hosting the world's richest grades of uranium and which is also located in northern Saskatchewan, Senator Leavell claimed he wasn't sure where the Athabasca Basin was. But he told StockInterview.com that Urenco Ltd informed him the uranium was coming from the western Canadian province.
We can only speculate the uranium producer might be Cameco (NYSE: CCJ). On July 22, 2002, Cameco signed a Memorandum of Agreement with LES, along with Urenco Ltd, Westinghouse Electric Company, Fluor Daniel and the affiliates of U.S. utilities: Exelon, Duke and Entergy. In an email response to our inquiry, earlier this week, Netherlands-based Urenco Ltd Communications Coordinator April Wildegose-Mistry informed StockInterview.com, "Cameco Corp was part of the original LES project. They pulled out around March 2003 as they needed to focus on other business issues."
We have also asked to interview Urenco's CEO, who may clarify this matter for us. One industry insider told us Cameco stated its continued support for the LES initiative after it withdrew as a partner. However, the recent joint venture company, Enrichment Technology Company, formed by Areva and Urenco may open the possibility the uranium could also come from Areva's uranium interests in Athabasca. AREVA is a Paris-based company offering technological solutions for nuclear power generation, and electricity transmission and distribution.
James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. Visit http://www.stockinterview.com to read more articles by James Finch.
