Canada is the world's second-largest producer of uranium, behind Kazakhstan. [1] In 2009, 20% of the world's primary uranium production came from mines in Canada. [2] 14.5% of the world production came from one mine, McArthur River. [3] Currently, the only producing area in Canada is northern Saskatchewan, although other areas have had active mines in the past. [4]
Canada's first recorded discovery of uranium was likely in 1847, when pitchblende, a major uranium-bearing mineral, was found at Theano Point, Lake Superior by B. A. Stanard, and described by geologist J. L. LeConte in the American Journal of Science. [5] [6] In 1948, the location was re-discovered by Bob Campbell, and developed in 1949 by Camray Mines Ltd. A 45 metre shaft was sunk and 150 metres of drifting was done. The mine was not profitable and was abandoned before going into full production. [7] [8]
Canada's first commercially important uranium discovery was in 1930, when prospector Gilbert LaBine discovered pitchblende on the shores of the Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories. [9] [10] This discovery led Labine's company, Eldorado Gold Mines Limited, to develop the Eldorado Mine at Port Radium, Northwest Territories, in 1932 and a refinery to extract radium from the ore in Port Hope, Ontario, the following year. [4] [11] The refinery was run by Marcel Leon Pochon, an ex-student of Pierre Curie, who had travelled to Port Hope after having spent the last 20 years at South Terras Mine in Cornwall, United Kingdom. [12]
During World War II, the demand for uranium exploded as the United States and its allies, Britain and Canada, began the Manhattan Project to produce the first atomic weapons. As a result, in 1943, the Government of Canada expropriated the assets of Eldorado and formed a federal crown corporation, Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited, to oversee Canadian uranium assets. Exploration for uranium was restricted to Eldorado and the Geological Survey of Canada. [4] [10] [11]
The ban on private prospecting was lifted in 1947. [11] [13] This led to an exploration boom that quickly resulted in the discovery of mines in the Northwest Territories (Rayrock), Ontario (Bancroft and Elliot Lake), and Saskatchewan (Uranium City). By 1956, thousands of radioactive occurrences had been noted, and by 1959, 23 mines were in operation in five districts. [4] [10] [11] In 1959, Canadian uranium exports were valued at $330 million, more than for any other mineral exported from Canada that year. [11] [13] In the early 1960s, military demand for uranium declined, and in 1965, Canada imposed a policy of only selling uranium for peaceful purposes. [4] This period marked the end of the first uranium boom and saw the number of operating mines drop to four. To assist the domestic uranium industry, the federal government initiated a stockpiling program to purchase uranium. This program ended in 1974, when demand for uranium for power generation was sufficient to support the industry. [4] [11]
Poor working conditions in Elliot Lake mines led to the 1974 Elliot Lake miners strike, [14] which prompted the government to initiate the Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of Workers in Mines. [15] Recommendations from the Royal Commission influenced occupational safety legislation for mines and other industries to this day. [14]
A moratorium on uranium exploration was declared in the province of Nova Scotia in 1984. This moratorium expired on January 1, 1995. [10] However, Nova Scotia has since enacted legislation making uranium exploration and mining illegal.
On March 28, 2013, Quebec became the third province in Canada to impose a moratorium on uranium development. This ban appears to be temporary. [16] [17]
Uranium was first discovered in the area of Cardiff, Ontario, in 1922 by W. M. Richardson [18] at a location first called "the Richardson deposit" and later known as "the Fission property". [19] Between 1929 and 1931, [19] attempts were made to extract radon from the uranium ore. [20]
In 1943, [19] in the aftermath of World War II, as global interest in mining uranium escalated, [20] the government sent geologists, who concluded at the time that they were not viable due to accessibility, size and uranium concentration. [19]
1948 saw an increase in private staking for uranium in Ontario, but due to the difficulties in extracting uranium from lower grade ore, none developed into mines. In 1953 "intelligence prospecting and excellent preliminary explorations" by G. W. Burns and R. J. Steele discovered the Central Lake deposits (which later were developed into Bicroft Mine) and Arthur Shore (whose prospect became the Faraday Mine) led the way successful prospecting. [19]
Messrs. Burns, Steele and Shore were three of one hundred area prospects were established in the Bancroft area between 1953 and 1956. [18] At the same time, another ten mines were started in the Elliot Lake area. [21]
Active mine
Deposit/possible future minesite
Closed mines/plants
City/town Active mine
Deposit/possible future minesite
Closed mines/plants
City/townIn 1980 the province of British Columbia introduced a seven-year ban on uranium mining and exploration, which was not renewed. [10] In 2008, the government established a "no registration reserve" under the Mineral Tenure Act for uranium and thorium. This excludes uranium and thorium from any mineral licences in the province. The government has also stated that they will "ensure that all uranium deposits will remain undeveloped". [22]
In 2016, there were 217,817,839 tonnes of uranium tailings in Canada. About 201 million tonnes were located at decommissioned uranium mining sites and about 17 million tonnes were located at active sites. The inventory or uranium tailings were held as follows:
Eldorado Resources was a Canadian mining company active between 1926 and 1988. The company was originally established by brothers Charles and Gilbert LaBine as a gold mining enterprise in 1926, but transitioned to focus on radium in the 1930s and uranium beginning in the 1940s. The company was nationalized into a Crown corporation in 1943 when the Canadian federal government purchased share control. Eldorado Resources was merged with the Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation in 1988 and the resulting entity was privatized as Cameco Corporation. The remediation of some mining sites and low-level nuclear waste continue to be overseen by the Government of Canada through Canada Eldor Inc., a subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation.
The Eldorado Mine is a defunct mine located in Port Radium, Northwest Territories, Canada. The site, which covers 12 hectares, is located next to Echo Bay in the shore of Great Bear Lake.
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account for 68% of world production. Other countries producing more than 1,000 tons per year included Namibia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan, the United States, and China. Nearly all of the world's mined uranium is used to power nuclear power plants. Historically uranium was also used in applications such as uranium glass or ferrouranium but those applications have declined due to the radioactivity of uranium and are nowadays mostly supplied with a plentiful cheap supply of depleted uranium which is also used in uranium ammunition. In addition to being cheaper, depleted uranium is also less radioactive due to a lower content of short-lived 234
U and 235
U than natural uranium.
Uranium mining in the United States produced 173,875 pounds (78.9 tonnes) of U3O8 in 2019, 88% lower than the 2018 production of 1,447,945 pounds (656.8 tonnes) of U3O8 and the lowest US annual production since 1948. The 2019 production represents 0.3% of the anticipated uranium fuel requirements of the US's nuclear power reactors for the year.
Madawaska Mine (previously known as Faraday Mine) is a decommissioned underground uranium mine in Faraday, near the town of Bancroft, Ontario, which produced 9 million pounds (4,082 tonnes) of U3O8 concentrate, at an average ore grade of 0.1074%, during its two periods of production.
Faraday is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Hastings County adjacent to the town of Bancroft.
The Buckles Mine is an historical uranium mine located approximately 4.5 km southeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated. Environmental monitoring is ongoing as part of the monitoring for the nearby Nordic Mine.
The Can-Met Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 12.5 km northeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned by Denison Mines Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services.
The Lacnor Mine, is an abandoned uranium mine in the Elliot Lake area of Ontario, owned by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services.
Consolidated Denison Mine, or the Denison Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 12.5 km north of Elliot Lake, Ontario. The site is bordered north by Quirke Mine and New Quirke Mine; on the east by Panel Mine and Can-Met Mine; and south by Spanish American Mine and Stanrock Mine.
Radioactive ores were first extracted in South Australia at Radium Hill in 1906 and Mount Painter in 1911. 2,000 tons of ore were treated to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced for use in ceramic glazes.
Eldorado is a former mining community turned ghost town located on Beaverlodge Lake in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Its original name was Beaverlodge. Eldorado and nearby Uranium City are along Saskatchewan Highway 962, an isolated stretch of highway.
The world's largest producer of uranium is Kazakhstan, which in 2019 produced 43% of the world's mining output. Canada was the next largest producer with a 13% share, followed by Australia with 12%. Uranium has been mined in every continent except Antarctica.
The Agnew Lake Mine was a uranium mine located in the township of Hyman approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Agnew Lake, Ontario and 75 kilometres (47 mi) east of Elliot Lake, Ontario.
Bicroft Mine is a decommissioned underground uranium mine, located in Cardiff, near Bancroft, Ontario, Canada.
Dyno Mine is a decommissioned underground uranium mine located at Cardiff, near Farrel Lake, approximately 30km southwest of Bancroft, Ontario. It operated from 1958 to 1960.
Uranium mining around Bancroft, Ontario, was conducted at four sites, beginning in the early 1950s and concluding by 1982. Bancroft was one of two major uranium-producing areas in Ontario, and one of seven in Canada, all located along the edge of the Canadian Shield. In the context of mining, the "Bancroft area" includes Haliburton, Hastings, and Renfrew counties, and all areas between Minden and Lake Clear. Activity in the mid-1950s was described by engineer A. S. Bayne in a 1977 report as the "greatest uranium prospecting rush in the world".
Arthur Herbert Shore was a mineral prospector and the first person set up a uranium mine in Faraday Township, Ontario. He co-founded and managed the Reeves feldspar Mine and founded the Faraday Uranium Mine. His uranium prospecting, according to Bayne in 1977, led to the "greatest uranium prospecting rush in the world."
Uranium mining in the Elliot Lake area represents one of two major uranium-producing areas in Ontario, and one of seven in Canada.
Quirke Lake is body of water located in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Quirke Lake basin, a geological basin the northern part of the Huronian Supergroup. The lake is proximate to five decommissioned uranium mines.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Power plants |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reactor types |
| ||||
| Research locations | |||||
| Fuel cycle locations | |||||
| Organizations | |||||
| Public discourse | |||||
