Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO,NYSE:CCJ) announced that it’s signed an agreement to provide the Department of Atomic Energy of India with 7.1 million pounds of uranium concentrate through to 2020.

The company has never signed a contract with India, and the move paves the way for a reconciliation between Canada and India after Canada banned uranium and nuclear hardware exports to India in the 1970s.

As quoted in the press release:

The contract is Cameco Inc.’s first with India which is the world’s second fastest growing market for nuclear fuel. India operates 21 nuclear reactors providing 6,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity meeting about 3% of the country’s electricity needs. Another six reactors totalling 4,300 megawatts are under construction and scheduled to come online by 2017. By 2032, India expects to have 45,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity.
Export of Canadian uranium to India for the generation of electricity is authorized by the Canada-India Nuclear Co-operation Agreement which came into force in September 2013.

Tim Gitzel, president and CEO of Cameco, commented:

This contract opens the door to a dynamic and expanding uranium market. Much of the long-term growth we see coming in our industry will happen in India and this emerging market is key to our strategy.
We thank Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall whose strong support laid the groundwork for this agreement. We expect it will lead to growing trade in nuclear products and services between our nations for the generation of clean nuclear electricity.

Click here to read the full Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO,NYSE:CCJ) press release.
Click here to read more about the deal’s implications.