What’s old is new again.
After being quiet for 18 years, the McLean Lake uranium mine is back in production. The mine, operated by Orano in partnership with Denison, was mothballed in 2007 after successfully operating for eight years, tapping reserves in a string of open pits.
But now, after the COPS Climate Change conference won international agreement for a major expansion in amount of electricity generated through nuclear plants, the marketplace changed dramatically.
With uranium in demand globally to fuel a growing fleet of nuclear power plants coupled with identification of new reserves in the area and innovative technology to efficiently extract ore using a precise water—boring technique, McLean Lake mine is back in operation.
The company’s mill had always remained in action to process uranium drawn from Cigar Lake mine after the adjacent mine was closed.
McLean is one of a string of existing or new mines looking to enter production in the near to mid-term as Saskatchewan’s status of a major global player in uranium production enters a new and more dominant phase in the next few years.
