Shares of Cameco Corporation (CCJ), a leading producer of uranium fuel, experienced a significant decline of 5.27% during intraday trading on Monday. This plunge comes amid growing concerns over the company's operations at the Inkai uranium mine in Kazakhstan.
According to the latest news reports, production at the Inkai joint venture was temporarily halted on January 1 due to delays in submitting regulatory documents to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy. While operations resumed on January 23, Cameco has acknowledged that production plans for 2025 and subsequent years remain uncertain.
Furthermore, the Kazakh government's decision to increase the Mineral Extraction Tax (MET) for uranium from 6% to 9% in 2025, and then base it on production and spot prices from 2026 onward, has added to the concerns surrounding Cameco's profitability outlook.