Cameco Posts Loss
Cameco released its second-quarter earnings on July 28, announcing a Q2 net loss of $37 million. The company says the quarter was impacted by the suspension of activity at its Cigar Lake operation and “normal quarterly variations in contract deliveries and our continued execution of our strategy.” Cameco maintains a strong balance sheet, with $1.2 billion in cash and short-term investments and $1.0 billion in long-term debt. The news comes on the heels of Cameco’s recently announced MOU with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas to work on the commercialization and deployment of small modular reactors.
Protein Industries Canada Announces New Pea-Hemp Partnership
Protein Industries Canada (PIC) announced another plant protein partnership on July 27, this time focused on pea and hemp. The partnership includes PIC, NRGene Canada, Farmers Business Network Canada, Inc., Pulse Genetics and Manitoba Harvest, and the work is focused on developing new pea and hemp plant varieties for use as food ingredients such as a pea-hemp flour. The research will work on increasing protein content in peas and hemp, and improving the starch content and texture of the products. The total project investment is $5.1 million, with PIC investing $1.8 million and the project partners contributing $3.3 million. Farmers could see new pea and hemp varieties in the field in 2023.
“We are thrilled to take part in this partnership that will advance the plant-based protein sector—one of the growing sectors impacting global sustainability,” NRGene CEO and co-Founder Dr. Gil Ronen said. “This project is one of a kind, as it ties together companies from different stages of the industry value chain. The fact that we can apply NRGene’s cutting-edge genomics to help our partners naturally develop and grow varieties with characteristics required to the specific end-product—the pea-hemp flour blend—will bring to the market improved product in a significantly shorter time. I believe it will provide great value and global advantage to the Canadian alternative protein industry.”
Saskatoon’s Luxsonic Technologies VR Radiology Approved by Health Canada
Luxsonic has received Health Canada approval for SieVRt, the company’s all-in-one Virtual Reality (VR) radiology suite. The technology has been approved as a Class 2 medical device, and it’s the first time this type of VR software platform “has been approved as a Class 2 Medical Device by a national regulatory agency.”
The SieVRt technology uses VR headsets and advanced medical imaging tools to allow radiologists to work anywhere. The software is currently in trial use at Massachusetts General Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and McMaster University and Luxsonic expects FDA approval in early 2022.
“Radiologists can’t easily work remotely like many people did during COVID-19. They have a very specialized and expensive workflow that requires them to work exclusively in their office,” said Mike Wesolowski, Ph.D., Luxsonic CEO and co-Founder. “Now that Health Canada has approved SieVRt, radiologists will be able to bring their own personalized virtual office with them wherever they go. With SieVRt and a portable VR headset they have all of the tools they need to remotely diagnose patients.”
Deep Earth Energy Sees More Cash
DEEP Earth Energy Production Corp. has announced another influx of investment, this time a $4.5 million private placement offering. This news comes just after the company’s recent investment from Calgary’s PHX Energy Services Corp., announced on July 20. The DEEP geothermal energy project is located in southeast Saskatchewan and is planning for its first 32 megawatt (MW) geothermal energy facility to begin construction in 2022.
Next week: Q2 Earnings Call for The Mosaic Company on August 2.
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Health Care for the Future: Saskatchewan Tech Companies on the Cutting Edge
