Key Lake Extension Project
The Minister of the Environment has designated this project and the environmental assessment will continue under the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has received a project description from Cameco Corporation (Cameco) to extend the lifespan of the Key Lake milling operation in northern Saskatchewan by undertaking a variety of extension activities all within the area of the surface lease.
Cameco is proposing the following extension activities:
- an increase to the approved storage capacity of the existing Deilmann Tailings Management Facility (DTMF);
- an increase in the average annual production capacity of the Key Lake mill from 7.2 million kilograms of uranium (18.7 million pounds U3O8) up to an average annual production capacity of 9.6 million kilograms (25 million pounds U3O8) including any physical changes required to allow uranium processing and waste-handling and treatment systems at this higher production rate;
- installation/modification of infrastructure and mill process equipment to permit receipt and treatment of a wider range of ore and waste rock types from other deposits; and
- modification and conversion of the mill processes to use a strong acid strip solvent extraction, and to use hydrogen peroxide for uranium precipitation.
All activities would occur within the existing boundaries of the Key Lake Operation surface lease.
CNSC authorization is required for Cameco to carry out the proposed extension project. This requires an amendment to Cameco's Uranium Mill Operating Licence, pursuant to subsection 24(2) of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA).
Before the CNSC can consider any licensing actions under the NSCA regarding Cameco's proposal, a screening level environmental assessment (EA) must be completed in compliance with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The purpose of an EA is to identify the possible environmental effects of a proposed project, and determine whether these effects can be mitigated before the project is allowed to proceed.
Disclaimer
This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.
Latest update
Participate
Contacts
Canadian Nuclear Safety CommissionNicole Frigault, Environmental Review Specialist
280 Slater Street
P.O. Box 1046, Station B
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5S9
Telephone: 343-542-7657 or 1-800-668-5284
Email: er-ee@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
-
Location
- Key Lake (Saskatchewan)
-
Nature of Activity
- Mines and Minerals
-
Assessment Status
Completed -
Start Date
2010-05-14 -
Proponent
Cameco Corporation -
Authorities
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
-
Assessment Type
Screening-type assessment under CEAA 1992 -
Reference Number
55518
Nearby assessments
...within 200 kilometres-
Millennium Mine Project
Moon Lake -
Wheeler River Project
Russell Lake -
Highway 914 - All Weather Roadway - McArthur River Mine Site to Cigar Lake Mine Site
Waterbury Lake -
Highway 914 - All Weather Roadway - McArthur River Mine Site to Cigar Lake Mine Site
-
Mining and Milling the Midwest Project
McClean Lake Operation -
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Southend Solid Waste Transfer Station
SE 1/4 36-10-84 W2M -
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Southend Lot Drainage and Improvement
Southend -
Solid Waste Transfer Station - Grandmother's Bay
Grandmother's Bay IR 219 -
Wharf Reconstruction - Missinipe, SK - Winter 2021-22
Missinipe -
Wapachewunak Water Treatment Plant Optimization
Wapachewunak IR 192D -
New (Multiple) Tower Construction, Upgrade (Multiple) Tower
WAPACHEWUNAK I.R. 192D (Tower 2) -
New (Multiple) Tower Construction, Upgrade (Multiple) Tower
WAPACHEWUNAK I.R. 192D (Tower 1)