Licence application milestone for PLS

27 April 2023

Fission Uranium Corp has filed its application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a licence to construct a uranium mine and mill facility at the Patterson Lake South (PLS) high-grade uranium project in Saskatchewan and begun front-end engineering design for the project.

Winter exploration work at PLS (Image: Fission Uranium)

PLS is on the southwest margin of the Athabasca Basin and incorporates the Triple R deposit, which is both high grade and shallow - mineralisation starts just 50 metres below the surface. The deposit has indicated mineral resources of 114.9 million pounds U3O8 (44,196 tU) at an average grade of 1.94% U3O8, inferred resources of 15.4 million pounds at an average grade of 1.10% and probable reserves of 93.7 million pounds at an average 1.41% U3O8, all reported at a cut-off grade of 0.25%.

The company earlier this year filed a NI 43-101 technical report summarising the feasibility study for the project, including a construction timeline of 3 years with an estimated initial capital cost of CAD1.155 billion (USD848 million) for a ten-year life-of-mine with total production of 90.9 million lbs U3O8, and an average unit operating cost of CAD13.02 per pound U3O8.

The company has now said the environmental assessment of the project is continuing on schedule with community engagement, baseline assessment reporting and data compilation.

Fission President and CEO Ross McElroy said: "I am very pleased to confirm that the construction licence application for the PLS project has been submitted. Additionally, we have successfully completed our winter field program, and the Front End Engineering Design work is well under way. Our development path to production is progressing on schedule and, at the same time, the fundamentals for uranium continue to strengthen in line with the global reactor construction boom."

The CNSC is responsible for regulating and licensing all existing and future uranium mining and milling operations in Canada.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News