Cameco Corporation is the worlds largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 2009, it was the worlds second largest uranium producer, accounting for 16% of world production.
Cameco - Canadian Mining and Energy Corporation"" was formed in 1988 by the merger and privatization of two crown corporations: the federally owned Eldorado Nuclear Limited (known previously as Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited) and Saskatchewan-based Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation (SMDC). The name was later shortened to "Cameco Corporation".
The new company was initially owned 62% by the provincial government and 38% by the federal government. The initial public offering (IPO) for 20% of the company was conducted in July, 1991. Government ownership of the company decreased over the next eleven years, with full privatization occurring in February, 2002.
In 1996, Cameco acquired Power Resources Inc., the largest uranium producer in the United States. This was followed in 1998 by the acquisition of Canadian-based Uranerz Exploration and Mining Limited and Uranerz U.S.A., Inc.
Cameco operates several uranium mines in North America and Kazakhstan, including McArthur River, the world's largest high grade uranium deposit and mine, and Cigar Lake, the world's largest undeveloped high-grade uranium deposit, both in Saskatchewan. Other operations in Saskatchewan include a mine and mill at Rabbit Lake and a mill at Key Lake.