In 1934, uranium was discovered in the Uranium City area. From 1952 to 1982, Eldorado Resources, a federal Crown corporation, mined and milled the Beaverlodge site. From 1982 to 1985, the Beaverlodge sites were decommissioned and reclaimed to standards approved by federal and provincial regulators. Beaverlodge was the first Canadian uranium mining operation to be formally decommissioned. As a result of historic operations and the accepted environmental practices of the time, the recovery of the properties has been and continues to be monitored and will be monitored in the future.
Cameco Corporation (Cameco) has been contracted to manage the property on behalf of the owner, Canada Eldor, and carries out monitoring and maintenance of the site. Since 1988, Cameco has carried out routine environmental monitoring, environmental investigations, maintenance work and targeted remediation around the 70 separate decommissioned properties.
In 2009, the Beaverlodge management framework was developed. This framework describes the processes followed by Cameco to ensure the decommissioned properties are performing as expected and additional remedial options implemented, where required, to ensure the long-term stability and safety of the properties. See the management framework for more information. When the conditions on the properties are considered physically and radiologically safe, secure, and stable in the long-term an application can be made to transfer the properties to the Saskatchewan government's Institutional Control Program (IC Program).
Before the decommissioned properties can be accepted into the provincial IC Program, they must be released from the federal Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) licence. Criteria to determine the eligibility for release from CNSC licensing include the overarching performance objectives of safe, secure, and stable/improving.
Since 2009, 43 properties have been released from CNSC licensing. One property has been free-released due to the absence of historic mining/milling activities, while all other properties have been transferred to the IC Program. As decommissioned properties are transferred to the IC Program, funding is provided by Canada Eldor, up front to ensure ongoing monitoring and maintenance is in place. Funds are also provided to respond to any unforeseen event that may occur in the future. This helps to ensure that properties remain physically and radiologically safe, secure, and stable/improving, as well as pose minimal risk to public safety or the environment.
Cameco is contracted to manage the property on behalf of the owner, Canada Eldor, and carries out monitoring and maintenance of the site. The goal is to safeguard the local people and environment around the properties and properly manage them in the long term.
For more information please contact Victor Fern, community liaison for Fond du Lac, Camsell Portage and Uranium City at 306-686-2343 or check out a virtual tour of the properties below: