By Nuclear Regulatory Commission from US - Uranium, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78145632
FORT MCMURRAY — One of Canada’s largest new mining projects is taking shape not far from Fort McMurray, on Treaty 8 territory in northern Saskatchewan and along a regional corridor with longstanding connections to northeastern Alberta.
Construction is underway on NexGen Energy’s $2.2-billion Rook I uranium mine and mill in the southwestern Athabasca Basin.
The project is about 155 kilometres north of La Loche and roughly 170 kilometres from Fort McMurray as the crow flies. It sits about 40 kilometres east of the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary.
La Loche and Fort McMurray have long been connected economically, with Saskatchewan and Alberta previously working toward an all-weather road between the communities. The unfinished route has also provided a seasonal connection between northwestern Saskatchewan and the Fort McMurray region.
Rook I itself is accessible year-round from La Loche. Highway 955 runs north from the community, with an all-season access road connecting the highway to the project site.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says the project is situated on Treaty 8 territory, the Homeland of the Métis and within the territories of the Denesųłiné, Cree and Métis.
NexGen has signed benefit agreements with Clearwater River Dene Nation, Birch Narrows Dene Nation, Buffalo River Dene Nation and Métis Nation-Saskatchewan. The company says the agreements include employment, training and economic opportunities associated with the project.
Construction officially began in August and is expected to take about four years.
NexGen says the project could support about 1,400 jobs annually, directly or indirectly, during its development.
About 300 people were already working at the site when the company marked the official start of construction last month. More than 575,000 tonnes of aggregate had also been crushed and stockpiled by a business partnered with Clearwater River Dene Nation, supporting up to 50 local jobs.
Major earthworks and surface infrastructure are underway, while expanded accommodations have been completed and occupied. An initial 914-metre airstrip has been commissioned, with the full 1,780-metre airstrip expected to be completed by December. Shaft development is planned for 2027.
Once operating, the scale of the mine would be significant even by the standards of Saskatchewan’s uranium industry.
The CNSC says Rook I would have a projected production capacity of up to 11.5 million kilograms, or 11,500 tonnes, of uranium annually.
The project’s mill is designed to produce up to 30 million pounds of uranium concentrate, or U3O8, each year. The two figures describe the project’s production in different units, with the uranium concentrate containing about 11,500 tonnes of uranium.
For comparison, all Canadian uranium mines produced about 14,300 tonnes of uranium in 2024, meaning Rook I’s projected capacity alone is equivalent to roughly 80 per cent of Canada’s entire 2024 production. (Natural Resources Canada)
Canada is already the world’s second-largest uranium producer, accounting for about 24 per cent of global production in 2024. All of the country’s current mine production comes from Saskatchewan, and about 90 per cent was exported that year.
NexGen says Rook I’s planned production would represent more than 20 per cent of the current global uranium fuel supply.
The project is centred on NexGen’s high-grade Arrow deposit, discovered in 2014.
NexGen founder and CEO Leigh Curyer said at the August groundbreaking the project had reached the point of moving from planning to construction.
“Today, we transition from demonstrating what this project will be to delivering it — for the benefit of local communities, Saskatchewan, Canada and the world,” Curyer said.
Curyer said growing electricity demand is increasing the importance of nuclear power and uranium.
“The world is changing,” he said. “Artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, electrification and energy security are driving unprecedented demand for electricity.”
Rook I received its federal site preparation and construction licence from the CNSC in March. That licence does not authorize uranium production, and NexGen would have to return to the commission for approval before the mine can begin operating.
The company is targeting commercial production around 2030.
With files from John Cairns, Harvard Media
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