Rabbit Lake is the second largest

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 ...

milling facility in the western world, and is the longest operating uranium production facility in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, 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 t ...

. The facility is located approximately 800 km north of

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 ...

, on the northeast edge of the uranium rich

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 closest community is

Wollaston Lake Wollaston Lake is a lake in north-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is northeast of Prince Albert. With a surface area of (excluding islands; if islands are included), it is the largest bifurcation lake in the world – that is, a lake tha ...

, about 40 kilometers by lake or air. Rabbit Lake was the first Canadian mine to offer a seven-days-in/seven-days-out commuter system of staffing. Access is provided by Highway 905. Production at Rabbit Lake was suspended in April 2016.

Operations

The Rabbit Lake deposit was discovered in 1968 and production started in 1975 using

open-pit mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...

methods. The Rabbit Lake pit was mined out in 1984. Exploration resulted in the discovery of additional deposits in the area. The Eagle Point deposit is being mined using underground mining methods. Between 1975 and 2011, Rabbit Lake has produced 186.3 million pounds U₃O₈. Recent exploration drilling has extended mine life to 2017. When the current refurbishments are complete, Rabbit Lake Mill will be positioned to undertake toll milling for future uranium mines in the area. Since an agreement was signed between AREVA and Cameco in late 2011, Rabbit Lake is no longer planned to process

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 hi ...

ore when it begins production in 2013, the McClean Lake mill will process all of the

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...

from that mine.

Reserves

As of December 31, 2013, proven and probable reserves are 1,642,100 tonnes at 0.56% U₃O₈. (20.3 Million pounds U₃O₈)

Awards

The Rabbit Lake mine has been awarded the

Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is a not-for-profit technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries. CIM's members are convened from industry, academia and go ...

's John T. Ryan Trophy for the best safety record for metal mines several times. This award is given to the metal mine with the best safety record for the previous year. National Trophy *1989 *2001 Regional Trophy - Prairies and Northwest Territories *2003

Ownership

100% owned and operated by

Cameco Corporation Cameco Corporation (formerly Canadian Mining and Energy Corporation) is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2015, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 18 ...

References

External links