McClean Lake gets green light from AECB

Following months of deferment, Canada’s Atomic Energy Control Board has approved an operating licence that permits the McClean Lake uranium project in northern Saskatchewan to begin producing yellowcake.

Last December, two months after issuing a cease-work order at the McClean Lake tailings facility, the AECB postponed approval of the project, citing a “major deficiency” in the construction material used for a filter drain in the mined-out JEB pit, which is to serve as a containment pit for tailings from the McClean Lake mill.

The project still requires the Saskatchewan government’s final approval, which the partners expect to receive shortly. Already, the McClean processing facilities have been commissioned, and stockpiled uranium ore from the JEB pit will provide the feed during the first several months of operation. The facility is expected to begin production in October or November and operate at the annual 6-million-lb U3O8 design capacity for the following 12 months.

Ownership of the McClean Lake project is divided among French-owned operator Cogema Resources, with 70%, Denison Mines (DEN-T), with 22.5%, and OURD Canada, with 7.5%.