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Construction has officially started on a new uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan.
NexGen Energy Ltd. is building an underground uranium mine in the southern Athabasca Basin about 130 kilometres north of La Loche. The company expects to spend $2.2 billion over the four-year construction phase of one of the world’s largest new sources of uranium.
On Thursday, the company held a groundbreaking ceremony at the mine site. Premier Scott Moe and former prime minister Stephen Harper spoke at the event, as did local leaders from Metis Nation–Saskatchewn and Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River MP Buckley Belanger.
Construction has started on surface infrastructure and shaft development is expected to start in 2027. The current 914-metre airstrip is being expanded to 1,780 metres.
NexGen CEO Leigh Curyer said the mine will help meet the growing demand for electricity.
“The world is changing. Artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, electrification, and energy security are driving unprecedented demand for electricity,” Curyer said in a statement.
“Nuclear energy has become key to meeting that demand — and with it, uranium has become one of the world’s most strategic resources.”
The company estimates the mine could produce up to 30 million pounds (over 13,000 tonnes) of uranium annually, or around 20 per cent of the current global supply.
In March, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission granted NexGen a licence to construct the mine and mill. The company will have to apply to the commission for a licence to operate it.
When fully operational, NexGen says the mine will create 459 full-time jobs and will have a life span of 24 years. Exploration in the area is ongoing, and promising uranium deposits nearby could be developed in the future.
The company secured endorsements from Indigenous communities that are close to or have traditional territory affected by the project. NexGen signed benefit agreements with Clearwater River Dene Nation, Birch Narrows Dene Nation, Buffalo River Dene Nation and Métis Nation—Saskatchewan.
Details of the agreements are confidential but typically include employment and training guarantees, contracts for locally-owned businesses and financial benefits.
Uranium mining employs more than 2,300 people in the province, and 49 per cent of people working in northern uranium mines are residents of the north, according to the Saskatchewan Mining Association.
NexGen also partnered with Clearwater River Dene Nation and Métis Nation—Saskatchewan Local 39 to build a 59-bed hotel in La Loche. Clearwater River, the home of CRDN, is about a 10-minute drive north of La Loche, which itself is 596 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.
Construction is underway on another new uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan. Denison Mines Corp. is building the Phoenix uranium mine and mill site in the eastern part of the Athabasca Basin.
Initial capital costs are estimated at $600 million and production could start in 2028.
The Denison mine could be the first uranium mine to use an in-situ recovery method, which pumps an acidic solution into the ore body to dissolve the uranium so it can be pumped back to the surface.
Denison plans to operate the mine for 10 years. The company estimates it has 56.7 million pounds of proven and probable uranium reserves, according to the Phoenix project website.
