Paper
Uranium Production, Exploration and Mine Development in Canada
Published Jan 1, 2006 · R. Vance
0
Citations
0
Influential Citations
Abstract
Canada has been the world leader in uranium production since the early 1990s. In 2005, production amounted to 11 629 tU (tonnes of uranium metal). The Elliot Lake region of Ontario was once the center of production, but after the last of these facilities closed in 1996 all production now originates from the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan (Figure 1). The Athabasca Basin hosts the world's premier, low-cost uranium deposits. Average grades of the world's two largest high-grade deposits, McArthur River and Cigar Lake, are 10 to 100 times the grade of deposits mined elsewhere. McArthur River has been in production since late 1999 and Cigar Lake is in final stages of construction with first production expected late in 2007. Remote, hightech mining and processing methods are used to extract uranium from these deposits. Canadian uranium producers are not only world leaders in production, but are also leaders in the development of environmentally responsible mining practices. All production facilities are strictly regulated by federal and provincial agencies. All effluents are treated prior to off-site release, and all tailings are managed and disposed of in mined-out open pits that have been engineered to serve as tailings management facilities.
Canada is the world leader in uranium production, with production now originating from the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, and is committed to environmentally responsible mining practices.
Full text analysis coming soon...