Crow Butte Map
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Mining at Crow Butte uses an environment-friendly extraction method called in situ recovery (ISR).
Ownership pie chart
2006 Crow Butte Uranium Mine Receives ISO 14001: 2004 Certification
2000 through its wholly owned US subsidiary, Cameco acquired the 10% interest of the operation held by Kepco Resources America, becoming the sole owner
1998 through its wholly owned US subsidiary, Cameco acquired the 58% interest of the operation held by Uranerz USA Inc.
1994 Cameco purchased Geomex Minerals Inc., one of the owners of the Crow Butte operation
1991 operations began
1990 government approved production
1980 Crow Butte uranium deposit discovered
Crow Butte processing plant
Crow Butte employee sets and monitors the flows inside a header house.

The Crow Butte operation uses the in situ recovery (ISR) mining method. ISR mining produces no waste rock or tailings and results in minimal disturbance to the surface and underground areas mined.

Uranium at Crow Butte occurs in sandstone aquifers as coatings on sand grains at up to 300 metres underground. Uranium is removed using a grid of injection and production wells.

The uranium is insoluble in the native groundwater. Small amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide are added to the injection stream to dissolve the uranium. The uranium solution, less than 1/10 of 1% uranium, is then pumped from a production well to a satellite facility where the uranium is transferred to ion exchange resin beads similar to the sand from which it was extracted. The uranium-bearing resin is then pumped to a processing plant where it is removed from the beads, precipitated and dried to become the final product, yellowcake.

This is essentially a closed-loop recirculation system. Water from the production wells is reintroduced in the injection wells. Slightly less water is injected than withdrawn to ensure the fluids are confined to the ore zones intended for extraction. Monitor wells are installed to allow testing of groundwater quality above, below and around the target zones to ensure fluids do not move outside those areas.

closed-loop recirculation system
in situ recovery extractive method
The in situ recovery extractive method accesses the uranium through holes bored by drill rigs that cause minimal environmental disturbance.

The in situ recovery extractive method is environment friendly because:

  • once operations are complete, groundwater is restored to regulatory standards
  • no waste or tailings facility is required
  • surface lands are easily restored to original state

Health, Safety and Environmental Policy

Cameco Production

 
Cameco's
 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended  
 
Share
 Jun 30/08 Jun 30/07 Jun 30/08 Jun 30/07  
   
Uranium production (in thousands lbs U3O8)  
  McArthur River 69.8%     3,240 3,899 6,383  6,591   
  Rabbit Lake 100.0%     1,513 989 1,513  2,118   
  Crow Butte 100.0%     131 192 287  381   
  Smith Ranch Highland 100.0%     289 515 676  1,001   
 
  Total 5,173 5,595 8,859  10,091   
 
   
Fuel services (tU) (ii) 100.0%     1,843 3,954 3,907  9,282   
   
Gold (troy ounces)  
  Kumtor 100.0%     111,000 83,000 186,000  149,000   
  Boroo 100.0%     47,000 70,000 93,000  137,000   
 
  Total 158,000 153,000 279,000  286,000   
 
   
(ii) Includes toll conversion supplied by Springfields Fuels Ltd.  
Uranium Operating Highlights
(100% basis except where noted otherwise)
        McArthur River/Key Lake*          Rabbit Lake
  2007 2006 2005 2007 2006 2005  
Tonnes milled 211,806 219,039 212,285 272,966 313,101 311,908  
Production (million lbs U3O8) 18.7 18.7 18.7 4.0 5.1 6.0  
Cameco's share 13.1 13.1 13.1 4.0 5.1 6.0  
Recovery (%) 98.4 98.8 98.9 96.9 96.6 97.0  
Average mill head grade (% U3O8) 4.07 3.91 4.00 0.69 0.78 0.88  
           Smith Ranch/Highland       Crow Butte  
  2007 2006 2005 2007 2006 2005  
Tonnes milled n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a  
Production (million lbs U3O8) 2.0 2.0 1.3 0.7 0.7 0.8  
Cameco's share 2.0 2.0 1.3 0.7 0.7 0.8  
Recovery (%) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a  
Average mill head grade
(% U3O8)		 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a  

* McArthur River ore is milled at Key Lake. Due to licence conditions, stockpiled low-grade ore at Key Lake is used to dilute the grade of McArthur River ore.
Cameco Web Site

August 29, 2008

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