Rio Tinto completes Kemano power station work for British Columbia aluminum smelter

Nelson Bennett - Business in Vancouver | December 2, 2022 |

Rio Tinto’s modernised Kitimat smelter. Photo by Rio Tinto Alcan.

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) has commissioned a second tunnel for the Kemano power station that powers its Kitimat aluminum smelter in British Columbia, 27 years after work was halted on the project by the Mike Harcourt NDP government.


The second tunnel was originally part of the Kemano Completion Project, which was intended to add additional generating capacity to the Kemano generating station, 75 kilometres southeast of Kitimat.

That was when the aluminum smelter and Kemano power station were owned by Alcan, which Rio Tinto acquired in 2007.

The Kemano hydro generating station is powered with water drawn from Tahtsa Lake and moved through a 16-kilometre tunnel that slopes down to the power station. Alcan originally planned to expand the Kemano power station with a second tunnel and additional turbines to generate additional power.

Work had already started on the second tunnel’s construction when, in 1995, the Harcourt government halted the project over concerns that drawing additional water from the Nechako River system would negatively affect salmon. At the time, Alcan said it had already spent $500 million on construction of the second tunnel when it was halted.

According to Hatch, the project’s engineering and construction management contractor, the tunnel twinning project involved excavating 7.6 kilometres under a mountain and “refurbishing” another 8.4 kilometres of tunnel that had already been excavated in the 1990s.

Rio Tinto recently marked the official commissioning of the new 16-kilometre tunnel. Unlike the original Kemano Completion Project, the T2 project doesn’t involve any additional turbines or generating capacity.

The second tunnel was created for redundancy, the company said. The original tunnel is nearly 70 years old.

“The second tunnel does improve hydraulic efficiency, but only marginally increases generation capacity,” a spokesperson for Rio Tinto said in an email.

The second tunnel was completed in May, at a cost of C$1 billion, and has had several months of testing and commissioning.

“The completion of a second tunnel to supply water to the Kemano hydropower facility will ensure the long-term, sustainable production of low-carbon aluminium at our smelter in Kitimat,” Andrew Czornohalan, director of energy and watershed partnerships for Rio Tinto BC Works, said in a press release.

“This extraordinary construction feat is the result of the work of generations of workers over three decades. Partnerships with local communities and the Cheslatta Carrier Nation have been instrumental in the project’s success.”

The Kemano power station was built to power the Rio Tinto BC Works aluminum smelter in Kitimat in the 1950s. To provide water for the power station, the Kenney dam was built on the Nechako River.

The creation of the Nechako Reservoir through the Kenney dam has had negative impacts on salmon and sturgeon, First Nations say, because it has lowered water levels in the river system.

The Stellat’en and Saik’uz First Nations in recent years have gone to court to try to get the dam removed and have Nechako River’s water levels restored. Last year, the BC Supreme Court released a decision acknowledging the dam’s negative impacts on the Nechako River and, as a consequence, on the aboriginal rights of the Stellat’en and Saik’uz First Nations.

The court did not make any ruling requiring Rio Tinto to remove the dam or otherwise restore river levels. It did, however, acknowledge that senior governments have an obligation to protect aboriginal fishing rights and take “appropriate steps” to protect the river and its fish.

In an interview last year, Stellat’en Chief Robert Michell told BIV News that, at the very least, First Nations would like to see Rio Tinto reduce the amount of water it uses for generating power in order to maintain higher river levels.

He said the Kemano power station generates more power than is needed for the aluminum smelter in Kitimat. About 20% of the power is sold to BC Hydro. Michell said river levels might be restored somewhat if Rio Tinto reduced power generation by 20%.

(This article first appeared in Business in Vancouver)

Argentina pressing US for exception to tap EV tax bonanza

Bloomberg News | December 2, 2022 |

Salar de Atacama. Stock image.

The world’s fastest-growing lithium producer is lobbying hard to gain access to President Joe Biden’s new electric vehicle tax credits, despite Argentina not meeting the requirement of being a US free-trade partner. So far, it’s being rebuffed.


Designed to end China’s overwhelming dominance of the critical metals sector and passed in August, Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act has been welcomed as a landmark climate law that will boost EV manufacture and uptake in the US. But to qualify for the credits, it requires 80% of the battery metals in each vehicle to be “extracted or processed” in the US or a country with US free-trade agreement by 2027.


That rules out Argentina, which on paper looks a logical partner in Biden’s push and could help alleviate supply constraints for carmakers including Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. The South American nation has one of the largest known reserves of lithium, the biggest pipeline of new projects, and its relations with the US have improved since Biden took office.

The IRA has created a concern among Argentine officials that they’ve discussed at several levels with US counterparts, according to an Argentine official familiar with the mining secretary’s thinking. Since the law has not yet been implemented, both countries’ embassies and the Argentine foreign ministry are spearheading talks to receive an exception, the official added.

A spokeswoman from the US Commerce Secretary did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

After meeting with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo last month, Argentina’s Production Secretary Jose de Mendiguren said of the US: “We want them to incorporate us into the new law on inflation, so that we’re in the chain of suppliers of lithium products because up until now we’re not there.”

“If we can reach this agreement, we’ll be able to integrate our production with the US’ strategic production,” he added.

US Treasury has said it will provide more clarity around the end of the year. But as it stands the wording of the IRA clearly rules out non-FTA countries from refining the metals to a battery grade level onshore, UBS battery-markets analyst Tim Bush said.

It could also affect Indonesia, as its plan to process the majority of its nickel — another key EV ingredient — onshore and also lacks a free-trade agreement with the US.

“It’s possible they’d say you can extract it in Argentina or Indonesia as long as it’s processed in an FTA country,” Bush said. “But if it’s extracted and processed in Indonesia, I can’t see how they can possibly say that that’s okay.”

Australian-listed producer Allkem Ltd., which has a number of lithium projects in Argentina, is hopeful the company’s output will comply with the IRA as long as it is processed in the US or an FTA country. But the language of the law is unclear, Martin Perez de Solay, the company’s Argentine chief executive officer, said last month.
“Ambiguous” wording

The key to whether producers in Argentina and some other nations will be eligible for the tax credits is in the interpretation of “extracted or processed,” according to Conrad Mulherin, director of energy transition at PwC Australia. The “ambiguous” wording in the law could see countries like Argentina and Indonesia excluded from the tax credits, making achieving Biden’s climate targets “very difficult,” he said.

Still, he said the market outside the US was large — particularly in China — and there would also still be a market for non-IRA compliant battery metals in more expensive US vehicles that are not eligible for tax credits.

But as it stands, the law raises questions over supply deals between US carmakers and Argentine producers. Shortly before the IRA was announced, Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-biggest miner, signed a non-binding agreement with Ford to sell it lithium from its Rincon lithium project in Argentina. Rio Tinto declined to comment on the future of this deal.

South Korean steel giant Posco Holdings Inc. is also building a lithium hydroxide refinery in Argentina.

(By James Fernyhough, Yvonne Yue Li, Patrick Gillespie and Joe Deaux, with assistance from Jonathan Gilbert, Eric Martin and Ana Monteiro)

Brazil to let private sector mine for uranium
Cecilia Jamasmie | December 1, 2022 |

Angra is Brazil’s only nuclear plant. (Image courtesy of International Atomic Energy Agency Brazil | Flickr Commons.)

Brazil’s lower house has approved a constitutional reform that authorizes the private sector to enter the uranium sector, which is currently the exclusive responsibility of state-run Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB).


INB controls all activities related to mining of materials used for generating nuclear power. The country currently has to import most of the uranium used to power Brazil’s only nuclear plant — Angra.

The state-run firm will now be allowed to partner with private companies for uranium exploration and mining. INB would be able to also team up in related activities, such as processing of uranium ores, uranium enrichment and production, as well as the development of nuclear power technologies, the lower house said in a statement.

The proposed amendment must now be approved by the senate by December 9, otherwise it loses validity.

Brazil has the sixth largest uranium reserves in the world, but only a third of the country has been explored for the radioactive material, data from the World Nuclear Association shows.

Latin America’s largest economy reopened in late 2020 its only uranium mine, Caetité, located in the state of Bahia. The operation had been halted since 2014.

Mining from the new open pit, Engenho, is expected to make the country self-sufficient in terms of feeding its nuclear power reactors.

Brazil’s only nuclear plant has two operating reactors, which generate about 3% of the nation’s electricity.

Construction of a third reactor resumed November, after being stalled for over seven years.

Bill Gates-led fund backs Robert Friedland’s pulse technology to reduce carbon emissions at mines
Bloomberg News | November 21, 2022 | 

Gates’ Breakthrough Energy’s efforts include investment vehicles, philanthropic programs, policy advocacy, and other initiatives, such as Catalyst. (Image courtesy of World Economic Forum | Photo by Moritz Hager.)

A climate fund founded by Bill Gates is investing in technology that uses surges of electricity to shatter rocks and mineral ores in a bid to reduce energy usage and carbon emissions at mines.


A European fund tied to Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures invested €12 million ($12.3 million) in the I-ROX pulsed-power venture with Robert Friedland’s I-Pulse Inc.


The technology is based on short, high-intensity bursts of power to streamline crushing and grinding processes that today make up the most energy-intensive and expensive part of mining.

That would help producers of metals like copper and nickel achieve carbon-reduction targets, thereby boosting industry efforts to gain acceptance for expansions to meet growing demand in the transition away from fossil fuels.

(By James Attwood)

US, Philippines to negotiate nuclear power tech-sharing pact

Bloomberg News | November 20, 2022 | 

US Vice-President Kamala Harris. (Image by Gage Skidmore, Flickr.)

The US and the Philippines will open talks on a deal for the Asian nation to build nuclear power plants with American technology, Vice President Kamala Harris announced.


Harris is set to meet Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio in Manila on Monday as part of an Asian trip to deepen security and economic ties. Last week, she unveiled a clean-energy partnership with Thailand that includes a US offer of help with building small nuclear reactors.

Talks on a civil nuclear-energy agreement with the Philippines will aim for deploying advanced reactor technology to help the Philippines meet its power needs. Any deal would provide the legal basis for US exports of nuclear equipment and material, according to a White House fact sheet.

In a bid to boost the supply chain for critical minerals, the US also will support development of a nickel and cobalt processing facility in the Philippines.

The facility will expand the Philippines’ production of refined nickel and cobalt by 20,000 metric tons per year and enhance sustainable development of those critical minerals, the White House said.
Defense pact

The US military currently operates at five sites in the Philippines, with the two countries conducting joint military exercises.

The two countries have identified new locations to expand their defense cooperation pact, but exact locations and their uses will not yet be publicized, a senior administration official told reporters.

Manila is Harris’s second stop on her trip to the region, following her stop in Thailand. She departs Tuesday for Palawan, on the edge of the disputed South China Sea, which is claimed in whole or in part by several countries including China and the Philippines.

(By Jenny Leonard)

Precious metals no longer needed in reactions to produce hydrogen fuel – study

Staff Writer | December 2, 2022 

A reaction cell tests copper-iron plasmonic photocatalysts for hydrogen production from ammonia. (Image by Brandon Martin, courtesy of Rice University).

Researchers at Rice University, Syzygy Plasmonics Inc. and Princeton University have engineered a key light-activated nanomaterial for the hydrogen economy.


In a paper published in the journal Science, the scientists explain that using only inexpensive raw materials they were able to create a scalable catalyst that needs only the power of light to convert ammonia into clean-burning hydrogen fuel.

According to the article, liquid ammonia is easy to transport and packs a lot of energy, with one nitrogen and three hydrogen atoms per molecule. The new catalyst breaks those molecules into hydrogen gas and nitrogen gas. Unlike traditional catalysts, it doesn’t require heat. Instead, it harvests energy from light, either sunlight or LEDs.

The paper also explains that the pace of chemical reactions typically increases with temperature, and chemical producers have capitalized on this for more than a century by applying heat on an industrial scale. However, the burning of fossil fuels to raise the temperature of large reaction vessels by hundreds or thousands of degrees results in an enormous carbon footprint. Chemical producers also spend billions of dollars each year on thermocatalysts—materials that don’t react but further speed reactions under intense heating.

Study co-authors Naomi Halas and Peter Nordlander pointed out that the best thermocatalysts are made from platinum and related precious metals like palladium, rhodium and ruthenium. There’s also the possibility of using light-activated (plasmonic) metal nanoparticles to speed up reactions but the best of these are also typically made with precious metals like silver and gold.

Yet, the new work shows that transition metals like iron can become efficient plasmonic photocatalysts when subjected to LED photon sources.

In the researchers’ view, this discovery paves the way for sustainable, low-cost hydrogen that could be produced locally rather than in massive centralized plants.
Antenna-reactors

Following their 2011 discovery of plasmonic particles that give off short-lived, high-energy electrons called “hot carriers,” Halas and Nordlander discovered in 2016 that hot-carrier generators could be married with catalytic particles to produce hybrid “antenna-reactors,” where one part harvested energy from light and the other part used the energy to drive chemical reactions with surgical precision.

The researchers, their students and collaborators have worked for years to find non-precious metal alternatives for both the energy-harvesting and reaction-speeding halves of antenna reactors. The new study is a culmination of that work. In it, Halas, Nordlander, Rice alumnus Hossein Robatjazi, Princeton engineer Emily Carter, and others show that antenna-reactor particles made of copper and iron are highly efficient at converting ammonia. The copper, energy-harvesting piece of the particles captures energy from visible light.

“In the absence of light, the copper-iron catalyst exhibited about 300 times lower reactivity than copper-ruthenium catalysts, which is not surprising given that ruthenium is a better thermocatalyst for this reaction,” said Robatjazi, now chief scientist at Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics. “Under illumination, the copper-iron showed efficiencies and reactivities that were similar to and comparable with those of copper-ruthenium.”

Syzygy has licensed Rice’s antenna-reactor technology, and the study included scaled-up tests of the catalyst in the company’s commercially available, LED-powered reactors. In laboratory tests at Rice, the copper-iron catalysts had been illuminated with lasers. The Syzygy tests showed the catalysts retained their efficiency under LED illumination and at a scale 500 times larger than in the lab setup.

“This is the first report in the scientific literature to show that photocatalysis with LEDs can produce gram-scale quantities of hydrogen gas from ammonia,” Halas said. “This opens the door to entirely replace precious metals in plasmonic photocatalysis.”

The authors believe that given their potential for significantly reducing chemical sector carbon emissions, plasmonic antenna-reactor photocatalysts are worthy of further study.

“These results are a great motivator. They suggest it is likely that other combinations of abundant metals could be used as cost-effective catalysts for a wide range of chemical reactions,” Carter said.

Researchers Aim To Understand A Power Grid Phenomenon

By Brian Westenhaus - Nov 24, 2022, 11:30 AM CST

For the first time, an international team, including researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), researched how and why new transmission lines can also lead to grids becoming more unstable rather than more stable, as would be expected.

A sustainable energy supply requires the expansion of power grids. However, new transmission lines can also lead to grids becoming more unstable rather than more stable, as would be expected. This phenomenon is referred to as the Braess paradox. Researchers have now simulated this phenomenon in detail for power grids, demonstrated it on a larger scale, and developed a prediction tool, which is to support grid operators in decision-making.

The researchers' report has been published in the journal Nature Communications.  At the posting date, the report is not behind a paywall and for those more than casually interested quite useful. There are graphics and a more descriptive look at the Braess paradox.

The sustainable transformation of the energy system requires an expansion of the grids to integrate renewable sources and transport electricity over long distances. Such an expansion calls for large investments and aims to make the grids more stable. However, by upgrading existing lines or adding new ones, the grid may become more unstable rather than stable, resulting in power outages.

Dr. Benjamin Schäfer, head of the Data-driven Analysis of Complex Systems (DRACOS) research group at the KIT Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics, said, “We then speak of the Braess paradox. This phenomenon states that an additional option leads to a worsening of the overall situation instead of to an improvement.”

Related: Officials Issue Warning To Texas Oil Country As “Freak Storm” Approaches

The phenomenon is named after the German mathematician Dietrich Braess, who first discussed it for road networks: Under certain conditions, the construction of a new road can increase the travel time for all road users. This effect has been observed in traffic systems and has been discussed in biological systems. For power grids, it has so far only been predicted theoretically and illustrated on a very small scale.

Researchers Simulate German Power Grid Including Planned Expansions

Researchers led by Dr. Schäfer now have simulated the phenomenon in detail for power grids for the first time and demonstrated it on a larger scale. They simulated the German power grid, including planned reinforcements and expansions.

In an experimental setup in the laboratory showing the Braess paradox in an AC grid, the researchers observed the phenomenon in simulation and in experiments, placing special emphasis on circular flows. The latter is crucial to understanding the Braess paradox: A power line is improved, for example, by reducing its resistance and can then carry more current.

Schäfer explained, “Due to conservation laws, this gives rise to a new circular flow, and more current then flows in some lines and less in others. This becomes a problem when the most loaded line has to carry even more current, becomes overloaded, and eventually has to be shut down. This makes the grid more unstable and, in the worst case, it collapses.”

Intuitive Understanding Enables Fast Decisions

Most power grids have sufficient spare capacity to withstand the Braess paradox. When building new lines and during operation, grid operators examine all possible scenarios.

However, when decisions have to be made at short notice, for example to shut down lines or shift power plant output, there is only sometimes enough time to run through all scenarios. “Then you need an intuitive understanding of circular flows to assess when the Braess paradox occurs and thus make the right decisions quickly,” explained Schäfer.

With an international and interdisciplinary team, the scientist has therefore developed a prediction tool to help grid operators take the Braess paradox into account in their decisions. “The results of the research have enabled a theoretical understanding of the Braess paradox and provided practical guidelines for planning grid expansions sensibly and supporting grid stability,” Schäfer said.

***

At the time of writing, the grid situation is almost dire. In Europe, the crisis level is more pronounced than in the U.S. The war forced on Ukraine has impacted the entire world’s energy situation and no reports show any benefits. The rush to renewables in Europe has shown clearly that the demand levels and renewable production are very far apart and unlikely to close in the foreseeable future.

In the U.S. where the rush to renewables is less pronounced, the grid is still holding up. But the harshest part of winter weather is yet to come.

The war Russia has forced on the world has had two major impacts. The natural gas supply to Europe has stalled with heating issues starting and are sure to increase in severity. In the U.S., the current administration’s idyllic dream state about oil, gas and renewables hasn’t hit us quite yet. The pre-crisis clues are there, middle distillates such as diesel and home fuel oil are in very short supply, and the trend is headed for shortages. The fuel oil issue will impact the power grid, and the diesel shortage will affect everyone. There won’t be shortages of goods first, things will simply be undeliverable due to no truck fuel. The heavier crude oils needed to refine lots of diesel come from places like Russia.

The lesson is simple. The growth of new energy and fuel supplies is going to take Lots Of Decades, and no mandate from politicians or enthusiasm from special interest lobbyists is going to do anything but make things more expensive and worse.

Far better if you and I choose for ourselves. This winter, the lesson might sink in. Wishing you Good Luck and Wise Choices!

By Brian Westenhaus via New Energy and Fuel 

Biden Administration Proposes New Rules To Curb Gas Flaring

By Charles Kennedy - Nov 29, 2022, 

The Biden administration has proposed a set of new rules aimed at curbing gas flaring on public lands, with the Bureau of Land Management saying these measures would result in $39.8 million in additional royalties for the United States.

Per the proposal, every company applying for an oil and gas drilling permit must submit with it a plan for the minimization of gas flaring. If the BLM deems the plan adequate, it will grant the permit. If not, it can withhold approval.

“The Biden-Harris administration has taken unprecedented action to tackle methane emissions and support a clean energy economy – this proposed rule will bring our regulations in line with technological advances that industry has made in the decades since the BLM’s rules were first put in place, while providing a fair return to taxpayers,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

The BLM noted in its news release that flaring, which causes high methane emissions, has been on the increase over the past few decades, with the period between 2010 and 2020 seeing flaring at levels of an average of 44.2 billion cu ft annually—an amount sufficient to ensure the gas needs of 675,000 homes, according to the BLM .

“The issue is not as cut and dried as this regulation would make it seem as there are many reasons to vent and flare gas, such as safety concerns and connectivity issues,” an official from the Independent Petroleum Association of America told Reuters.

“Of course, it will always be in the best interest of a producer to capture and sell a commodity on the marketplace when at all possible.”

Indeed, the BLM also pointed out in its news release that the rule would benefit oil and gas drillers by effectively increasing their associated gas output as less of it gets flared and wasted.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

Korea develops underwater cutting training simulator

10 November 2022

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) has developed a virtual remote dismantling system for use in teaching the use of lasers and plasma to cut underwater reactor vessel internals (RVIs) during the decommissioning of nuclear power plants.

The training simulator for dismantling nuclear reactors (Image: KKIM)

KIMM said the simulator enables operators to simulate underwater laser and plasma cutting and to operate equipment in a condition similar to the actual dismantling environment by "virtualising the remote nuclear dismantling system".

The research team built a database containing the results of underwater laser and plasma cutting experiments and numerical analysis of molten pool behaviour on the basis of the equipment and materials that simulate underwater cutting environment by modeling the RVIs of unit 1 of the Kori nuclear power plant. The 576 MWe pressurised water reactor was permanently shut down in June 2017, becoming the first South Korean reactor to enter decommissioning.

In addition, the KIMM team developed a remote cutting simulation algorithm for an underwater robot, and virtualised radiological elements based on dynamics analysis. The researchers also created a physical environment to perform actual underwater cutting with the development of optimal dismantling process scenario in light of the cutting image of RVIs and radioactivity.

KIMM noted the existing simulator produced in South Korea simulated underwater cutting during nuclear power plant dismantling based on the design of the plant being decommissioned, so it was of limited use in the implementation of physical phenomenon in the event of actual cutting.

The simulator developed by KIMM displays the underwater cutting robot and the cut-out image that occur during the underwater laser and plasma cutting. It is a simulator that implements a physical phenomenon in practice considering the virtualisation of radiological elements and that enables the remote dismantling training of operators.

"Busan Centre in KIMM expects to contribute to establishing the facilities of simulation training for nuclear decommissioning, as the centre is located near the Kori nuclear power plant, so the nuclear decommissioning research institute and our centre can cooperate more effectively," said Jeong Suh, principal researcher at KIMM's Busan Machinery Research Centre. "We will lay the groundwork for the development of the world's best remote dismantling system."

KIMM, founded in 1976, is a non-profit government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science & ICT.

In September 2017, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute announced it had signed contracts with several domestic companies to develop technologies for decommissioning Kori 1. These included Kepco Plant Service & Engineering and Doosan, among others, to develop technologies for dismantling facilities and equipment.

In May 2021, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power applied to the Nuclear Safety & Security Commission for approval to dismantle Kori 1.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

First production from restarted Canadian operations

10 November 2022

The first uranium ore from the McArthur River mine has now been milled and packaged at the Key Lake mill, marking the achievement of initial production as the facilities transition back into normal operations.

Ore is trucked from McArthur River (above) to Key Lake for processing (Image: Cameco)

Persistent weakness in the global uranium market prompted the decision to suspend the two Saskatchewan operations in January 2018 as part of majority owner Cameco's supply discipline. In February this year, following a "notable" market improvement and an increase in long-term contracting activity, Cameco announced plans to restart both operations.

"McArthur River and Key Lake are among the best and most prolific uranium assets on the planet, and after building homes for these pounds in our long-term contract portfolio, we are delighted to have them back in production," Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel said. "Market conditions have continued to strengthen since we announced their planned restart, with growing geopolitical uncertainty adding to energy security concerns worldwide, and the ongoing global emphasis on decarbonisation and electrification only gaining momentum."

Critical automation upgrades, maintenance readiness checks, and restaffing, recruitment and training for key positions at both facilities have been undertaken. Some 730 employees and long-term contractors are now working at the mine and mill and further hiring is expected.

Final commissioning activities will continue to ensure target production rates can be met and normal operating conditions are being achieved, Cameco said, but added that the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply chain challenges have the potential to impact the availability of materials, reagents and labour. This could not only impact 2022 production, but could also introduce additional risk in 2023.

McArthur River commenced production in 1999. High-grade ore 600 metres underground is mined using methods including remote control raise boring. The ore is then trucked 80 km south to be milled at Key Lake, itself the site of a former uranium mine.

The restarted operations are expected to produce up to 2 million pounds U3O8 (769 tU) this year. Production of 15 million pounds U3O8 (100% basis) per year is planned from 2024 - 40% below annual licensed capacity.

The return to production is expected to lead to a "significant" improvement in Cameco's future financial performance, the company said: it will allow it to meet more of its sales commitments from lower cost "produced pounds" and it will no longer need to expense care and maintenance costs. However, until a "reasonable production rate" is achieved, the company expects to incur "between $15 million and $17 million per month" in "operational readiness costs", which will be expensed directly to cost of sales.

Cameco is the majority owner and operator of McArthur River (69.8%) and the Key Lake mill (Cameco 83%), with Orano Canada owning 30.2% of McArthur River and 16.7% of Key Lake.

Cameco's Tim Gitzel was a guest on the latest World Nuclear News podcast. You can listen to it below:

 

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Researched and written by World Nuclear News