Orano Canada (formerly AREVA Resources Canada Inc.) is a

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

, milling, and exploration company headquartered in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan, Canada Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. Orano is a subsidiary of the Orano Group, an international nuclear energy company headquartered in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

with 16,000 employees worldwide.

History

Orano and its predecessor companies have been active in Canada since 1964, primarily operating within northern Saskatchewan's

Athabasca Basin The Athabasca Basin is a region in the Canadian Shield of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. It is best known as the world's leading source of high-grade uranium and currently supplies about 20% of the world's uranium. The basin i ...

. The company's first major activities began with the exploration and development of the Cluff Lake project. The first Cluff Lake uranium orebody was discovered in 1969 and by 1980, operations began at the newly built mine and mill. The mine was shut down in 2002 and has since been decommissioned. In 1993, Orano acquired majority interest and operational control of the McClean Lake and Midwest projects in the eastern Athabasca Basin. By 1995, Orano began mining at the McClean Lake site while also starting construction on its uranium processing mill. By 1999, uranium concentrate (yellowcake) production began at the newly finished mill. From 2010 to 2014, the McClean Lake mill was placed under care and maintenance and by 2012, upgrade and expansion construction work began at the mill. In October, 2014, the McClean Lake mill restarted with the processing of all ore from the newly opened Cigar Lake mine.

Operations

* McClean Lake mine *

Cluff Lake mine Cluff Lake mine is decommissioned former uranium mine located in northern Saskatchewan, located 30 km east of the provincial border with Alberta and approximately 75 kilometres south of Lake Athabasca. The mine and mill were owned and operated by ...

Cigar Lake Mine The Cigar Lake Mine is a large high-grade underground uranium mine, located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, Canada, at the south-west corner of Waterbury Lake. The deposit, discovered in 1981, is second in size of ...

* McArthur River mine and Key Lake mill.

References

External links

* {{Nuclear power in Canada Areva Uranium mining companies of Canada Companies based in Saskatoon Mineral exploration

History

Operations

See also

References

External links