Eldorado gets approval for $1-billion mine development

A wholly-owned subsidiary of federal Crown corporation Eldorado Nuclear has received environmental approval to go ahead with a 3-pronged mine development plan in northern Saskatchewan. Estimated to cost in the order of $1 billion between 1992 and 2012, the plan gives the company, Eldorado Resources, a secure hold on uranium production well into the next century.

The environmental approval is the last regulatory approval needed for the project. The company will now move to complete financial arrangements.

The project is expected to generate $1.3 billion in royalties for Saskatchewan and about $1 billion in federal taxes, according to Eldorado, the parent company.

The plan involves developing an underground uranium mine at Eagle Point near Collins Bay, Sask., and two small, open pit mines on the Collins Bay A-zone and D-zone.

Eldorado is currently mining the Collins B-zone deposit, where ore is expected to last until the early 1990s. That ore is processed at the Rabbit Lake mill, located about seven miles south of the Collins B mine.

The Eagle Point deposit contains 3.70 million tons of geological ore reserves grading 1.8% U3O8, according to David Fountain, general manager, exploration and development for Eldorado. This is enough ore to last 19 years if it were mined at a rate of 2,000 tons of ore and waste per day.

The other two deposits are much smaller, Fountain says, and could both be mined out in 3-4 years depending on production rates. The A-zone contains an estimated 148,500 tons averaging 5.69% U3O8 and the D-zone has estimated ore reserves of 127,800 tons with an average grade of 2.19% U3O8.

The ore produced from all three of these proposed mines will be of a higher average grade than the current B-zone ore. Only minor modifications will be needed at the Rabbit Lake mill.

What makes the project interesting technically is the fact that both the D and A zones are located under the waters of Collins Bay, a part of Wollaston Lake. To mine the deposits, dikes will be constructed around the deposit and if the enclosed water meets government quality standards, it will be pumped into Collins Bay. Once the water has been removed, mining will begin.

The Eagle Point deposit will be mined in two phases. An access ramp, ventilation raise, lateral development on two levels and one or two demonstration stopes will be driven over a 2-year period. Then detailed design and full production will begin. Mining methods

Vertical blasthole stoping with delayed fill has been selected as the safest and most practicable mining method. Rubber-tired trucks will move ore rapidly from the mine, thus minimizing the radiation exposures of underground miners. Remote-controlled scoops will be used to load trucks at the drawpoints to the stopes.

Mining will retreat from the extremities of the ore zones towards the fresh air supply to ensure that miners will always be working in fresh air. Eldorado calculates the doses of both radon daughters and gamma radiation will be much less than those allowable under the Saskatchewan Mines Regulations.

Mill tailings will be disposed of in the Rabbit Lake open pit mine where there is sufficient capacity for all the tailings produced from all three mines. And water from the mine and mill will be treated before being discharged into the environment.