The big percentage of long term BLR holders would have already known about Cameco embracing this technology of (UBHM), but for most it will come as a surprise.
Mike Haynes & his team are no fools :)
Cameco to use (UBHM) Jet Boring to mine Cigar Lake high grade Uranium
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has granted Cameco a uranium mining licence authorising construction and operation of the company’s big, and ultra high grade, Cigar Lake uranium mining project in northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
The Cigar Lake orebody is being frozen prior to mining to improve ground conditions, prevent water inflow and improve radiation protection. The high grade ore will be removed by a non-entry method jet boring system that will be deployed within access tunnels being developed about 25 m beneath the orebody.
Jet boring involves using water under high pressure to carve out cavities in the orebody and then collecting the resulting ore slurry through pipes.
The Cigar Lake mining process also involves backfilling the cavities in the orebody with concrete once the ore is removed.
The licence will be valid from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2021.
We are pleased with this decision, said Tim Gitzel, Cameco’s President and CEO. This licence will allow Cameco to advance the Cigar Lake project into production and shows Canada’s nuclear regulator has confidence in our team. As planned, we expect to begin jet boring in ore this summer, with the first packaged pounds expected in the fourth quarter of this year.
Cigar Lake is one of the two highest grade known uranium orebodies in the world. The higher grade Phase 1 eastern area contains mine recoverable proven reserves of about 226 million lbs U3O8 at a grade of 20.7% U3O8. The lower grade Phase 2 western area contains recoverable resources estimated to be 118 million lbs U3O8 at a grade of 16.9%. These grades are said by Cameco to be 100 times the average uranium grades found elsewhere in the world.
Cameco is 50% owner and the mine operator. Its share of the deposit’s proven and probable reserves is 108.4 million lb U3O8 at an average grade of 18.3%.
Other shareholders are Areva with 37%, Idemitsu 8% and TEPCO 5%.
Ore collected by the jet boring system will be taken to underground grinding and thickening circuits and then pumped to surface as slurry. At the surface, the ore will be loaded in special containers for truck transport to the mill.
Cigar Lake ore will be processed through a toll milling arrangement at Areva’s McClean Lake operation, located 70 km to the northeast of Cigar Lake.
