Rabbit Lake
The Rabbit Lake operation, which opened in 1975, is the longest operating uranium production facility in North America, and the second largest uranium mill in the world.
| Location | Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Ownership | 100% |
| End product | uranium concentrates |
| ISO certification | ISO 14001 certified |
| Mine type | underground |
| Estimated reserves | 24.0 million pounds (proven and probable) average grade U3O8: 0.73% |
| Estimated resources |
4.3 million pounds (indicated) average grade U3O8: 0.53% 10.4 million pounds (inferred) average grade U3O8: 1.42% |
| Mining method | vertical blasthole stoping |
| Licensed capacity | mill: maximum 16.9 million pounds per year; currently 11 million |
| Total production 1975 to 2011 | 186.3 million pounds |
| 2011 production | 3.8 million pounds |
| 2012 forecast production | 3.7 million pounds |
| Estimated decommissioning cost | $105.2 million |
2011 update
Production
Production this year was about 6% higher than our plan and the same as it was in 2010.
Mill upgrades
During our scheduled mill maintenance shutdown in the third quarter, we completed the second phase of upgrades at the acid plant, successfully replacing the acid plant final towers.
We signed an agreement with our joint venture partners which changes the milling arrangements for the ore from Cigar Lake. See Uranium – development project Cigar Lake for more information.
We received regulatory approval to begin exploration-related development and drilling on the Powell Zone, and completed a portion of the development work. We plan to complete the development work in 2012 and carry out drilling to further evaluate this zone.
Planning for the future
Production
We expect to produce 3.7 million pounds in 2012.
Tailings Capacity
We expect to have sufficient tailings capacity to support milling of Eagle Point ore until approximately mid-2016.
We are planning to expand the existing tailings management facility by mid-2016, to increase the tailings capacity so that it can support the extension of Rabbit Lake's mine life and provide additional tailings capacity to process ore from other potential sources. The regulators will need to approve an environmental assessment before we can proceed.
Exploration
We have extended our underground drilling reserve replacement program into 2012. We plan to test and evaluate areas east and northeast of the mine where we have had good results, and to the north and south. This drilling will largely be from surface.
Reclamation
As part of our multi-year site-wide reclamation plan, we expect to spend over $2 million in 2012 to reclaim facilities that are no longer in use.
Managing our risks
We manage the risks listed here.