The first uranium ore produced at the Cigar Lake mine, operated by Cameco in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, departed last Thursday for Areva’s McClean Lake mill located 70 km away. All of the ore is expected to be processed at the McClean Lake mill, operated by Areva, beginning by the end of the second quarter of 2014. With a production capacity of 10,900 t/y of uranium, the McClean Lake mill is expected to produce 770 to 1,100 t of uranium concentrate from Cigar Lake ore in 2014. Its annual production rate will ramp up to 8,100 t as early as 2018.

Cigar Lake is 50%-owned by Cameco, which is the operator, and Areva holds 37%. It is the world’s second largest high-grade uranium deposit (Cameco’s McArthur Lake being the largest), boasting U3O8 grades 100 times the global average.

“Cigar Lake is among the most technically challenging mining projects in the world,” said Tim Gitzel, President and CEO of Cameco, adding the gigantic project will “fuel clean electricity production around the world for many years, while providing quality employment and business opportunities for a generation of Saskatchewan people.”

The Cigar Lake project represents a $2.6 billion investment and will employ more than 600 highly skilled workers, the majority of which are northern Saskatchewan residents. As many as 1,000 people worked on the construction of the mine which relies on a high-pressure water jet boring mining system for production.

“Thanks to Cameco’s technology for the Cigar Lake mine and Areva’s for processing this uranium ore, we are proud that production from this unique deposit has begun. Our industrial partners and Saskatchewan’s economy will benefit from this project for many years to come,” said Olivier Wantz, Senior Executive Vice-President of AREVA’s mining business group.