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AREVA > Home > News
Releases >September
24, 2002
NEWS RELEASE
McCLEAN LAKE OPERATING LICENCE
QUASHED
| Operator: |
COGEMA Resources Inc. |
| Ownership: |
COGEMA Resources Inc. (70%), Denison Energy Inc. (22.5%) and OURD (Canada) Co. Ltd. (7.5%) Development: Discovered in 1979; EIS submitted in 1991;
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| Development: |
Government approval to proceed received in 1993. Environmental
assessments and reviews continued for the Cigar Lake and Midwest
projects until their approvals in 1998. McClean Lake's final
operating license was issued in June 1999. |
| Operation: |
Mining of the JEB open pit began in October 1995; milling
began in June 1999. |
| Mill Capacity: |
8 million pounds U3O8 annually. |
- The JEB ore body has been mined out and the ore
stockpiled. The JEB pit was developed as a Tailings Management Facility.
Designed with advanced features not found anywhere else in the world,
the JEB Tailings Management Facility (TMF) was developed to take
tailings from the McClean, Cigar Lake and Midwest Projects. During
decommissioning, the TMF will be completely back filled with waste
rock, capped with till material and re-vegetated. Following decommissioning,
monitoring will continue to confirm satisfactory performance for
long term isolation and containment of the tailings.
- In 2001 the McClean Lake Operation received the ISO 14001environmental
management certification. The certification means that McClean
Lake's mine, mill and support services facility have achieved
an international set of standards for maintaining an effective
environmental management system. McClean is the first uranium
mine in Canada and the first mine in Saskatchewan to attain this
voluntary standard.
- In the future, the mill will be expanded to handle ore from
the Cigar Lake and Midwest deposits. The expected life of the
combined McClean Lake and Cigar Lake project is about 40 years.
- Workers are flown in from their home communities. COGEMA Resources
staff are on a 7 day in - 7 day out schedule. McClean's workforce
(about half northerners) comprises about 175 COGEMA Resources
employees and 35 long-term contractors.
- The McClean site is located about 700 km north of Saskatoon.
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