GE-HITACHI, CAMECO JOIN FORCES ON ENRICHMENT

摘要

Canadian uranium giant Cameco is making its way into the United States uranium enrichment market, last week purchasing nearly a one-quarter interest in GE-Hitachi's new enrichment business, Global Laser Enrichment, the companies announced June 20. General Electric will continue to be the majority owner of the enrichment venture with 51 percent ownership, while Hitachi will own 25 percent and Cameco 24 percent, according to a statement issued after the deal was finalized. Together, the three companies will pursue the laser-based uranium enrichment plant GE-Hitachi has proposed for a site in Wilmington, N.C., which utilizes the Australian SILEX (Separation of Isotopes with Laser Excitation) technology purchased by GE in 2006. GLE's plant is one of four domestic enrichment plants either under construction or proposed in the United States.