CANADA’S NEW GOVERNMENT AND PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN LAUNCH FIRST PHASE OF CLEANUP OF LEGACY URANIUM MINES

Canada’s New Government and the Province of Saskatchewan today announced the first phase of the cleanup of Saskatchewan’s abandoned uranium mine sites.  The total cost, which the Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan will share, will be $24.6 million.

“Our new government is proud to provide $12.3 million toward this initiative, which is a real investment in our future,” said MP Tom Lukiwski (Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre), speaking on behalf of the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources Canada.  “Working in partnership with the province, we are delivering on our commitment to a clean environment for Canadians.”

“The door has been opened for us to effectively proceed with the decommissioning and reclamation of the legacy uranium mine and mill sites,” Saskatchewan Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline said.  “This is an excellent demonstration of the mutual concern we have for the protection of the environment and public health and safety, particularly for residents of the North.”

The clean-up project is the result of an agreement between the Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan to address the issue of “Cold War legacy mines,” which were small, short-term mining operations conducted in the 1950s and 1960s primarily in the vicinity of Uranium City in northern Saskatchewan.

Following the completion of their operations, the uranium mines were abandoned at a time when environmental controls for decommissioning and reclaiming such sites were limited or non-existent.  The responsibility for bringing the sites up to today’s standards cannot be placed with the mining companies involved, since they no longer exist.  The management of the project has been contracted to the Saskatchewan Research Council.

To address the long-term management of abandoned and existing uranium mine sites, the Government of Saskatchewan has developed an Institutional Control program, which will ensure long-term care and maintenance is undertaken on all mine sites located on Crown land following reclamation.

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For more information, contact:

Jamie Shanks
Industry and Resources
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1691

Ghyslain Charron
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
Phone: 613-992-4447