.jpg) Christopher T. Hanson, chair of the United StatesNuclear Regulatory Commission vists the Cigar Lake uranium mine, 2023 | |
  Cigar Lake mine Location in Saskatchewan | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Athabasca Basin |
| Province | Saskatchewan |
| Country | Canada |
| Coordinates | 58°04′07″N104°32′26″W / 58.06861°N 104.54056°W /58.06861; -104.54056 |
| Production | |
| Products | triuranium octoxide (U 3O 8) |
| Production | 4,600 t (10,100,000 lb)[1] |
| Financial year | 2020 |
| History | |
| Discovered | 1981 |
| Opened | 2014 |
| Owner | |
| Company | |
| Website | Official site |
TheCigar Lake Mine is a large high-grade undergrounduranium mine, located in the uranium-richAthabasca Basin of northernSaskatchewan, Canada, at the south-west corner ofWaterbury Lake.[2] The deposit, discovered in 1981, is second in size of high-grade deposits only to the nearbyMcArthur River mine. Other deposits, such as theOlympic Dam mine in Australia, contain moreuranium but at lower grades.[3]
Full-scale construction began in 2005 with production originally planned for 2007, but the mine experienced a catastrophic water inflow in October 2006, which flooded the mine. A second inflow occurred in 2008 during the first attempt at dewatering the mine after sealing the initial inflow. Remediation efforts continued, and re-entry was successfully accomplished in 2010. Production was delayed several times with the startup dates being announced for 2011,[4] 2013,[5] and 2014.[6]
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On 13 March 2014, ore production began at the mine, with the mining system and underground processing circuits operational anduranium ore transported to theMcClean Lake mill operated byAREVA Resources Canada located 70 km (43 mi) northeast of the minesite.[7]
The deposit is located at depth of 450 m (1,480 ft), surrounded by and isolated within a layer of water-impermeableillite-chlorite clay, within the Athabasca Sandstoneformation. Its age is estimated to be 1.3 billion years.[8] Due to natural containment and lack of any traces of radioactive elements on the surface, the deposit is used as an example of an effective naturaldeep geological repository.[9]
During 2020, production was temporarily suspended over two periods due to the risks posed by theCOVID-19 pandemic: from March until September; and then from 14 December 2020. Production atOrano's McClean Lake uranium mill, which processes the ore from the Cigar Lake mine, was also suspended.[10][11]
TheCanadian Nuclear Safety Commission took regulatory action against ownersCameco in October 2022 due to the volume of waste material placed on waste pile C.[12]
Cigar Lake Airport, which services the mine, is located 1nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) southwest of Waterbury Lake.[13]
As of 31 December 2020, Cigar Lake hadproven and probable reserves of 75,100 t (165.5×10^6 lb) oftriuranium octoxide (U
3O
8) at an average grade of 15.92%, for 75,070 t (170×10^6 lb) ofU
3O
8, and ameasured and indicated resource of 47,500 t (104.7×10^6 lb) ofU
3O
8 at an average grade of 13.88%, for 47,514 tonnes ofU
3O
8.[1]
The mine is owned byCameco Corporation (50.025%),AREVA Resources Canada (37.1%),Idemitsu Canada Resources Ltd. (7.875%), andTokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Resources Inc. (5%). Cameco is the project operator.[1]
On 8 November 2005, in what is the first recordedwolf attack in North America in the 21st century,Kenton Joel Carnegie, a 22-year-old Canadian geological engineering student from Ontario on a work term from theUniversity of Waterloo, was killed by wolves atPoints North Landing, near Cameco'sRabbit Lake mine.[14]
On 29 August 2016, a 26-year-old shift worker walking between buildings at the Cigar Lake mine on his midnight break was attacked and mauled by a lonetimber wolf. A nearby security guard frightened the wolf away, administered first aid, and called for anair ambulance whichmedevaced him 675 km (419 mi) to a hospital inSaskatoon where he recovered. After the attack, authorities ordered that area wolves be shot, that food disposal systems and fencing be inspected, and that staff be educated.[15][16][17]
| Climate data for Cigar Lake Climate ID: 4061570; coordinates58°05′N104°29′W / 58.083°N 104.483°W /58.083; -104.483 (Cigar Lake); elevation: 467.0 m (1,532.2 ft); 1981–2010 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) | 8.5 (47.3) | 14.0 (57.2) | 22.5 (72.5) | 31.0 (87.8) | 36.0 (96.8) | 34.0 (93.2) | 37.0 (98.6) | 29.0 (84.2) | 22.0 (71.6) | 7.0 (44.6) | 4.5 (40.1) | 37.0 (98.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −18.6 (−1.5) | −14.3 (6.3) | −6.3 (20.7) | 3.6 (38.5) | 11.5 (52.7) | 19.1 (66.4) | 22.2 (72.0) | 19.6 (67.3) | 11.9 (53.4) | 2.4 (36.3) | −8.3 (17.1) | −15.3 (4.5) | 2.3 (36.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −23.6 (−10.5) | −20.4 (−4.7) | −13.9 (7.0) | −3.6 (25.5) | 4.9 (40.8) | 12.5 (54.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 13.7 (56.7) | 7.1 (44.8) | −1.3 (29.7) | −12.3 (9.9) | −20.1 (−4.2) | −3.4 (25.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −28.6 (−19.5) | −26.4 (−15.5) | −21.4 (−6.5) | −10.8 (12.6) | −1.7 (28.9) | 5.8 (42.4) | 9.5 (49.1) | 7.8 (46.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | −4.9 (23.2) | −16.2 (2.8) | −24.8 (−12.6) | −9.1 (15.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −50.5 (−58.9) | −43.0 (−45.4) | −44.0 (−47.2) | −33.0 (−27.4) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −5.0 (23.0) | −1.0 (30.2) | −2.0 (28.4) | −8.0 (17.6) | −24.5 (−12.1) | −40.0 (−40.0) | −47.0 (−52.6) | −50.5 (−58.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 24.2 (0.95) | 21.3 (0.84) | 19.1 (0.75) | 15.4 (0.61) | 33.1 (1.30) | 59.5 (2.34) | 87.1 (3.43) | 77.4 (3.05) | 63.8 (2.51) | 36.6 (1.44) | 37.7 (1.48) | 22.5 (0.89) | 497.5 (19.59) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.1 (0.00) | 4.7 (0.19) | 26.6 (1.05) | 59.5 (2.34) | 87.1 (3.43) | 77.4 (3.05) | 61.5 (2.42) | 10.4 (0.41) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.0 (0.0) | 327.3 (12.89) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 24.2 (9.5) | 21.2 (8.3) | 19.0 (7.5) | 10.7 (4.2) | 6.5 (2.6) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 2.3 (0.9) | 26.1 (10.3) | 37.6 (14.8) | 22.5 (8.9) | 170.1 (67.0) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 8.0 | 7.7 | 7.1 | 4.7 | 8.2 | 12.0 | 16.1 | 17.1 | 15.4 | 11.8 | 12.6 | 8.3 | 128.8 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.0 | 0.05 | 0.11 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 12.0 | 16.1 | 17.1 | 14.9 | 4.5 | 0.1 | 0.05 | 72.9 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 8.0 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 7.5 | 12.6 | 8.2 | 56.9 |
| Source:Environment and Climate Change Canada[18] | |||||||||||||
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