Guide to Uranium Mining in Canada | Commodities
Uranium mining in Canada accounts for 13 p.c of international output, making the Great White North the second largest producer of uranium in the world, behind solely Kazakhstan.Canada hosts 9 p.c of the world’s uranium sources and is home to the most important deposits of high-grade uranium. Their grades of up to 20 p.c uranium are 100 occasions higher than the worldwide average.
Canadian uranium deposits are discovered primarily in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Québec, in addition to the territory of Nunavut. Of these, Saskatchewan leads the nation in each uranium exploration and manufacturing.
In this text
Top Canadian uranium mines
Canada is home to three producing uranium mines, Cigar Lake, McArthur River and McClean Lake, all of that are situated in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.Saskatchewan is a premier uranium mining jurisdiction as home to the Athabasca Basin, a mining-friendly area in the north of the province that is famend for its high-quality uranium deposits. The space’s long uranium-mining historical past has made Canada an worldwide chief in the uranium sector.Canada’s main uranium mining firms are Cameco (TSX:CCO,NYSE:CCJ) and Orano Canada, a subsidiary of the multinational company Orano Group. Cameco is almost all proprietor and operator of Cigar Lake and McArthur River. Orano holds a important stake in each mines, and can be the bulk proprietor and operator of the just lately restarted McClean Lake operation.Data and knowledge on the Canadian uranium mines and superior initiatives mentioned under is taken from mining database MDO. The database solely consists of initiatives which have no less than partial possession by public firms.
1. Cigar Lake mine
Ownership:
54.547% — Cameco
40.453% — Orano Canada
5% — TEPCO Resources
Province: Saskatchewan
Mine kind: Underground
Deposit kind: Unconformity-relatedCigar Lake, which entered business manufacturing in 2015, is one of Canada’s largest uranium mines and the world’s highest grade uranium mine. The underground mining operation includes the use of progressive mining strategies akin to jet boring, which was purposely designed by Cameco to deal with the distinctive challenges of the Cigar Lake deposit.For 2024, manufacturing on the Cigar Lake mine was reported at 16.9 million kilos U3O8, up 2 million kilos from the earlier yr. Guidance for 2025 stands at roughly 18 million kilos.Cigar Lake’s confirmed and possible reserves stand at 551,400 metric tons of ore grading 15.87 p.c U3O8 for 192.9 million kilos of contained U3O8. Its mine life is anticipated to run till 2036.
2. McArthur River-Key Lake mine
Ownership:
McArthur River mine
69.805% — Cameco
30.195% — Orano Canada
Key Lake mill
83.3% — Cameco
16.7% — Orano Canada
Province: Saskatchewan
Mine kind: Underground
Deposit kind: Unconformity-related
The McArthur River-Key Lake operation is home to the McArthur River mine and Key Lake mill, respectively the biggest high-grade uranium mine and largest uranium mill in the world, in accordance to MDO.McArthur River was first introduced into manufacturing in 2000 utilizing raiseboring and blast gap stoping mining strategies, however was put on care and upkeep briefly in early 2018 due to low uranium costs. Cameco introduced the mine and mill back into manufacturing in late 2022, progressively ramping up output over the following few years.Production in 2024 got here in at 20.3 million kilos U3O8, up almost 43 p.c from the earlier yr’s output, and manufacturing steerage for 2025 has been set at 18 million kilos. McArthur River’s confirmed and possible reserves complete 2.49 million metric tons grading 6.55 p.c U3O8 for 359.6 million kilos of contained steel. Its mine life extends out to 2044.
3. McClean Lake mine and mill
Ownership:
77.5% — Orano Canada
22.5% — Denison Mines (TSX:DML)
Province: Saskatchewan
Mine kind: Surface mine
Deposit kind: Unconformity-related
The McClean Lake mine re-entered manufacturing in July 2025, 17 years after it was shuttered in 2008 due to low uranium costs made the operations uneconomic.After research demonstrated that the three way partnership companions’ patented floor entry borehole useful resource extraction (SABRE) mining methodology might carry McClean back to life economically, the choice was made in January 2024 to carry the asset back into manufacturing. The website hosts a number of deposits, together with the now-producing McClean North deposit. It additionally boasts the one mill in the world designed to course of high-grade uranium ore with out dilution, in accordance to MDO. The mill has the capability to produce 24 million kilos of uranium focus, or yellowcake, yearly. Currently, the mill is processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine below a toll mining settlement.Proven reserves at McClean Lake are in the shape of ore stockpiles, and complete 90,000 metric tons at a grade of 0.37 p.c for U3O8 for 700,000 kilos of contained steel. The website additionally hosts important indicated and inferred sources of 25.4 million kilos throughout the McLean North, Sue D and Sue F deposits.The companions anticipate to produce roughly 800,000 kilos of U3O8 from McClean North in the primary yr of operations. In addition, mining on the McClean North and Sue F deposits has the potential to produce about 3 million kilos from 2026 to 2030.
Upcoming Canadian uranium mines
There are a handful of contenders for Canada’s subsequent uranium mine: Patterson Lake South, Rook 1 and Wheeler River. None are in the construction stage but, however most predict to come online in the following few years. Learn concerning the superior uranium initiatives under.
1. Patterson Lake South
Ownership: Paladin Energy (TSX:PDN,ASX:PDN)
Province: Saskatchewan
Mine kind: Underground
Deposit kind: Basement hosted vein-type or fracture-filledCurrently in the allowing part, the Patterson Lake South (PLS) project hosts the big, high-grade and near-surface Triple R deposit, which has the potential to produce each uranium and gold. The project has a possible mineral reserve estimate of 93.7 million kilos of contained uranium from 3 million metric tons grading 1.41 p.c U3O8. The 2023 feasibility examine for PLS highlights average manufacturing of roughly 9 million kilos U3O8 per yr over a 10 yr mine life.Paladin added the PLS uranium project to its portfolio in December 2024 by way of its acquisition of Fission Uranium. The company is continuous to develop the PLS’s useful resource potential exterior of the Triple R deposit, with a important deal with the project’s Saloon East zone. Advancing by means of the environmental allowing course of stays ongoing.
2. Rook 1
Ownership: NexGen Energy (TSX:NXE)
Province: Saskatchewan
Mine kind: Underground
Deposit kind: Basement-hosted, vein-typeNexGen Energy’s Rook 1 project, home to the Arrow deposit, is in the allowing stage with a feasibility examine accomplished in February 2021. Arrow hosts possible mineral reserves of 239.6 million kilos of U3O8 from 4.57 million metric tons of ore at a grade of 2.37 p.c, in addition to a measured and indicated useful resource of 256.7 million kilos from 3.75 million metric tons at 3.1 p.c. Over its 11.7 yr mine life, Rook 1 is anticipated to produce an average of 19.8 million kilos of U3O8 per yr, together with over 25 million kilos during the primary 5 years.Provincial environmental evaluation approval was granted in November 2023, and the federal environmental affect assertion was accepted as closing in January 2025. In March 2025, the company shared that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has proposed listening to dates for the Rook I project on November 19, 2025, and February 9 to 13, 2026. NexGen states that a full project execution staff is on the prepared and the location is totally ready for construction actions to start following closing federal approval.
3. Wheeler River
Ownership:
95% — Denison Mines
5% — Uranium Energy (TSX:UEC,NYSEAMERICAN:UEC)
Province: Saskatchewan
Mine kind:
Phoenix — In-situ restoration
Gryphon — Underground
Deposit kind: Unconformity-relatedThe Wheeler River uranium project, billed as the biggest undeveloped uranium project in the jap area of the Athabasca Basin, is home to the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon deposits. Each deposit is taken into account a standalone asset, and the Phoenix deposit is the more superior of the 2.A feasibility examine for the Phoenix deposit as an in-situ restoration operation was accomplished in mid-2023. In February 2025, Denison reported that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is set to conduct hearings for the project’s environmental evaluation and license to put together and assemble a uranium mine and mill on October 8 and December 8 to 12, 2025. If granted approval, Denison is ready to begin construction in early 2026, adopted by first manufacturing by the primary half of 2028.As for the Gryphon deposit, an replace to the pre-feasibility examine for a standard underground mining operation was accomplished in 2023. Denison carried out a subject program in the primary quarter of 2025 as half of its efforts to help a feasibility examine.
Canadian uranium exploration firms
Canada can be home to a slew of uranium exploration and development firms targeted on discovering uranium in Saskatchewan, Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador.
For more insight on the uranium firms working in the Athabasca Basin mentioned in this text, try our breakdown of the 15 uranium firms exploring the basin.
This is an up to date model of an article first printed by the Investing News Network in 2017.
Don’t overlook to comply with us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, maintain no direct investment curiosity in any company talked about in this text.Editorial Disclosure: Baselode Energy, Purepoint Uranium, North Shore Uranium and SkyHarbour Resources are purchasers of the Investing News Network. This article just isn’t paid-for content material.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the writer and don’t essentially mirror these of Nasdaq, Inc.
Stay up to date with the latest news in the commodities markets! Our web site is your go-to source for cutting-edge commodity news, market trends, insights, and updates on key sources. We present every day updates to guarantee you have got entry to the freshest data on commodity actions, industry efficiency, provide and demand shifts, and main market bulletins.
Explore how these trends are shaping the longer term of international commodities! Visit us commonly for essentially the most partaking and informative content material by clicking right here. Our fastidiously curated articles will keep you knowledgeable on market shifts, investment methods, commodity evaluation, and pivotal moments in the world of sources.
