Uranium in Canada And Saskatchewan
Up until 2009,Canadawas the largest producer ofuraniumwith approximately 31.2 million pounds (700 truckloads) per year produced and shipped all over the world. With the average price of a pound of uranium being $47 that is $1.46 billion per year. The knownuranium reserves in Canadaas of 2009 were 1.5 billion pounds or 33,000 trucks loads, and produced 15% of Canada's electricity in a non-carbon-emitting way. Canada's uranium is exclusively for the generation of electricity in nuclear power plants. The end use is strictly enforced by international agreements and Canadian export regulations.
Saskatchewan is a world leader in the production of uranium, which provides many jobs and promotes investment and economic development in the province. This is done in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, and the companies are held accountable for their performance. Thousands of air, water, and vegetation samples are taken annually which demonstrate the nuclear industry's concern for environmental protection. The four major mines and uranium mills in Saskatchewan are all ISO:14001 Environmental Certification, which is a voluntary international set of standards recognized in more than 90 countries for maintaining a commitment to environmental performance, pollution prevention, and continual improvement.
Right nowSaskatchewanproduces all ofCanada's uraniumwith 633.5 million pounds of known reserves (15,000 truckloads). That is 20-30 years' worth of known deposits with new deposits being discovered every year through exploration. Since 1980 the mining sector has spent over $5 billion on projects in Saskatchewan. The potential energy of Saskatchewan uranium reserves is equal to 4.5 billion tons of coal or 17.5 billion barrels of oil.
The two biggest players in theuranium industryinSaskatchewanareCamecoandAreva. Cameco runs 2 of the world's largest uranium mines, the first being MacArthur River which has 335 million pounds of U3O8 in known deposits, which is the highest grade uranium ore in the world at an average of 19.5%, and MacArthur River produces 15% of the world's U3O8. The mine is licensed to produce about 19 million pounds per year. The second mine is Cigar Lake which has 209 million pounds of high grade uranium ore and will produce, once fully operational, 18 million pounds per year. The mine was flooded in 2006 and again in 2008, but is projected to be operational by 2013 with full production by 2018. Cameco also has a few smaller mines and two uranium mills. The first mill is at the Key Lake mine site, which was mined out in 1997, but does all the milling for MacArthur River. Cameco is planning a major renewal of the mill to meet the growing production of MacArthur River and the new Millennium Project. The second mill is located at Rabbit Lake, which is also a mine and has 21.3 million pounds of U3O8. Rabbit Lake will also mill the Ore from Cigar Lake once it is operational. Areva has a smaller stake in most of the mines in Saskatchewan as well as in Cameco, so Areva built the McLean Lake Mill, which is the most technologically-advanced mill in the world. In July of 2010 it was put into care and maintenance mode until Cigar Lake opens. A large portion of that ore will be milled at McLean Lake.
In addition to the mining operations planned for the near future, more than 40 companies continue to explore many parts of Canada, focusing primarily on Northern Saskatchewan, but also extending into Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Nunavut, and Ontario's Elliot Lake areas.
