McClean Lake

Site Guide
McClean Lake
Operation
Cover Photo: T
hese mine carts were used for Midwest
underground test mining in 1988.
Overview
Welcome to McClean Lake
Located over 700 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon,
McClean Lake has the newest, most technologically
advanced uranium mill in the world, in addition to
many open pit mines on site.
Saskatchewan
Uranium Operations
1
Mining and milling at
McClean Lake continue
around the clock
Mining & Milling at McClean Lake
Open pit mining of the JEB orebody began in 1995. Once
the ore was removed and stockpiled, the JEB pit was
developed as a Tailings Management Facility (TMF).
The mill has processed ore from the JEB and Sue C, A, E,
and B open pit mines. Mining is planned for the Caribou open
pit, McClean underground, and the nearby Midwest project.
Once the JEB mill expansions and upgrades are complete,
Cigar Lake and Midwest ore will potentially be processed here.
These sources could provide a continuous supply of ore for many
years to come.
Ownership
AREVA 70%
DENISON
MINES Inc. 22.5%
OURD
Canada Co. Ltd.
7.5%
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Environmental protection is a
priority for all activities, from
exploring to decommissioning
Environment, Health & Safety
Protecting our workers, the environment, and our
communities is a fundamental principle guiding AREVA
Resources’ activities. Our safety culture is demonstrated
through dedicated employees who provide the best
assurance of world-class practices, which safeguard our
people and our surroundings.
A few of our initiatives:
•McClean Lake operation meets ISO 14001 standards
for environmental management.
•McClean Lake operation meets OHSAS 18001
standards, the foremost internationally-recognized
standard for occupational health and safety
management.
•Extensive monitoring programs include regular
sampling of air, water, land, plants, and animals.
• We are committed to providing a healthy and safe
work environment for all workers.
• We continually monitor workers’ radiation doses, which are well below the regulatory limit.
• Uranium mining in Saskatchewan has much
lower rates of lost time accidents than many
occupations - even lower than working in an office.
5
The McClean Lake operation
provides a positive workplace for
many employees and contractors
Working at McClean Lake
On a week-in-week-out schedule, workers keep the mine
site and mill operating 365 days a year. Living up north
turns out to be pretty comfortable at our facilities. The living
quarters are equipped with games rooms, a fitness center,
a racquetball/squash court, musical instruments, a library, a
computer lab, and fantastic food! With pick up points in
several communities and cities, it is convenient for employees
to hop on board our chartered planes to get to and from work.
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AREVA Resources helps
make Saskatchewan the
biggest uranium producer
in the world
McClean Lake Timeline
1979
McClean orebody discovered.
1982
JEB orebody discovered.
Sue A, B & C orebodies discovered.
Environmental Assessment begins under joint
federal-provincial process.
Mining of JEB pit begins.
1995
1995 – 1998
JEB mill construction.
1999
Operating licence issued for mill & Tailings Management Facility (6 million lbs/yr). Yellowcake production begins.
Mining
1985 – 1990
1991
2000 McClean Lake becomes the first uranium operation in
North America to achieve ISO 14001 certification for its
environmental management system. The certification has
been maintained through regular independent auditing.
2001
McClean Lake licence renewed and amended for
higher production (8 million lbs/yr).
2005
McClean Lake licence renewed and amended to expand
JEB mill. Sue A & Sue E open pit mining begins.
2006
Open pit mining completed at Sue A.
2007
2008
McClean Lake produces its 40 millionth pound of yellowcake.
Mining of Sue E completed. Mining of Sue B begins.
Auditors recommend McClean Lake for OHSAS 18001
certification for its occupational health and safety management.
2009 Environmental assessment being conducted on the Caribou
and McClean underground uranium deposits.
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Ownership
AREVA 69.16%
DENISON
MINES Inc.
25.17%
OURD
5.67%
Canada Co. Ltd.
Midwest
The Midwest project, located about 17 kilometres west of
the McClean Lake mill, has an orebody containing about
37 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 2.6%.
Exploration could lead to new discoveries around the
periphery of the deposit.
It is anticipated that the Midwest open pit will encompass
an area of approximately 45 hectares, or about 37 CFL
football fields. A utility and transportation corridor will be
used to transport the ore to the McClean Lake mill for
processing.
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Sink/Vulture
Treated Effluent
Management System
Security
Gate
Proposed
McClean
Undergound Site
e
Su
B-
JE
ul
Ha
d
Sue A
Overburden
Stockpile
Sue
C
Clean
Waste
Rock
Sue B Stockpile
Proposed
Caribou Pit
and Stockpile
a
Ro
Sue
Site
Clean
Waste
Rock
Stockpile
Sue
E
N
Mill
Clean
Waste
Rock
Stockpile
Site Map
JEB
TMF
Camp
JEB Site
13
Mill Layout
10
12
5
11
8
7
6
4
9
2
1
3
Circuits
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Ore Receiving & Grinding
Leaching
Counter-Current Decantation
Clarification
Solvent Extraction
Yellowcake Precipitation
Drying/Calcining
8. Yellowcake Packaging
9. Tailings Preparation
10. Water Treatment Plant
11. Acid Plant
12. Ammonium Sulphate
Crystallization Plant
13. Mill Dry/Warehouse/Office
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Mill
Schematic
Mill
Guide
Tailings
Preparation
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1. Ore Receiving &
Grinding
The ore from the mine is mixed
with water and ground into small
particles. The slurry is discharged
to air agitated storage tanks called
pachucas.
3. Counter-Current
Decantation (CCD)
To separate the uranium
solution from waste solids,
the leach discharge slurry
is washed with a very low
uranium grade liquid and
put through a series of
thickeners. The waste solids,
containing a very small
amount of soluble uranium,
are sent to the tailings
preparation circuit.
2. Leaching
Uranium and other metals
are extracted from the ore
by dissolution using chemicals.
Hydrogen peroxide oxidizes
the uranium mineralization
into a soluble form. The
sulphuric acid dissolves the
oxidized uranium into
the aqueous phase.
4. Clarification
The uranium bearing flow
from CCD is processed
through a clarifier and
sand filters to reduce the
concentration of suspended
solids in the solution.
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5. Solvent Extraction (SX)
An organic solution extracts the
uranium and an ammonium sulphate
solution then strips the uranium from
the organic solution. This creates
a purified and more concentrated
uranium solution.
7. Drying/Calcining
Most of the remaining
moisture is removed by a
dryer/calciner that is heated
to 800ºC. This product
contains approximately 85%
uranium, and less than 0.5%
moisture.
6. Yellowcake
Precipitation
Uranium is brought back out
of the solution with ammonia.
The ammonium diuranate
product is thickened to 30%
solids, and centrifuged to
approximately 60% solids.
This form of uranium
concentrate is yellow, and
gives it the term “yellowcake.”
8. Yellowcake Packaging
Now, the yellowcake gets packaged
into steel drums, which are filled,
sealed, washed, and weighed.
Each drum weighs about 1000
pounds or about 450 kilograms.
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9. Tailings
Preparation
Barium chloride, lime
and ferric sulphate are
used to help precipitate
arsenic and radium, and
neutralize acidic waste
and prepare tailings for
disposal in the JEB TMF.
11. Acid Plant
Sulphuric acid is produced by
burning sulphur in the presence
of dried ambient air to produce
sulphur dioxide that is converted
to sulphur trioxide and dissolved
in water to produce sulphuric
acid. Waste heat is recovered
and used throughout the milling
process.
10. Water Treatment
Dissolved metals and
suspended solids are
removed from contaminated
water feeds. The treated
water is discharged to the
Sink/Vulture Treated Effluent
Management System.
12. Ammonium Sulphate
Crystallization Plant
Ammonia is removed from
the water from the SX circuit,
so that the treated waste from
the SX circuit can be processed
in the water treatment plant.
The ammonium sulphate crystals
obtained in the crystallization plant
are sold to fertilizer companies.
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Inside the Tailings Barge
AREVA designed this state
of the art facility with safe
decommissioning in mind
JEB Tailings Management Facility (TMF)
Tailings are waste products resulting from milling uranium ore.
This waste is made up of leach residue solids, waste solutions,
and chemical precipitates.
The JEB TMF serves as the repository for all resulting tailings.
This facility allows proper waste management that minimizes
potential adverse environmental impacts.
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Enrichment
Fuel
fabrication
Reactors
Renewable
energies
Chemistry
Recycling
Mining
MOX fuel
fabrication
Used fuel treatment
Services
Distribution
Transmission
The Nuclear Cycle
Mining and Milling: Uranium is mined and milled to create
yellowcake, which is packaged in drums and shipped for further
processing.
Refining & Conversion: Yellowcake is purified and changed into
a new powder form called uranium trioxide. This is then converted into
either uranium hexafluoride for export to other countries for enrichment,
or uranium dioxide, which is the fuel used in Canadian-designed CANDU
reactors.
Other Sources of
Electric Power
Enrichment: Most nuclear reactors require enriched uranium fuel, which
is created by separating U-235 isotopes from U-238 isotopes to increase
the concentration of U-235 from about 0.7 percent to between three and
five percent. The enriched uranium is then ready for fuel fabrication.
Fuel Fabrication: The enriched and natural uranium dioxide powder
is pressed into small pellets that are inserted into zirconium alloy steel
tubes to form fuel rods. The fuel rods are arranged in bundles, called fuel
assemblies, which are designed to be inserted into a nuclear reactor.
Nuclear
Cycle
Nuclear Reactor: The U-235 isotopes inside the fuel bundles are
activated to begin a process called fission. The heat produced by the
fission reaction creates a steam that drives a turbine to run a large electric
generator.
Used Fuel Treatment: After four or five years of use in a nuclear
power plant, the fuel becomes less efficient. Used fuel can be recycled
because it usually still contains 96% of its uranium.
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With manufacturing facilities in 43 countries and a sales network in more than
100, AREVA offers customers reliable technological solutions for CO2-free power
generation and electricity transmission and distribution. We are the world leader in
nuclear power and the only company to cover all industrial activities in this field.
Our 65,000 employees are committed to continuous improvement on a daily
basis, making sustainable development the focal point of the group’s industrial
strategy.
AREVA’s businesses help meet the 21st century’s greatest challenges: making
energy available to all, protecting the planet, and acting responsibly towards
future generations.
www.areva.com
AREVA Resources Canada Inc.
P.O. Box 9204
817 - 45th Street West
Saskatoon, SK S7K 3X5
Tel: (306) 343-4500
Fax: (306) 653-3883
Toll free in Saskatchewan: 1-866-99AREVA
www.arevaresources.ca

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