Officials with Cameco say the process of extracting ore from the Cigar Lake uranium mine has taken a big step forward.
The first phase known as jet boring is now underway at a depth of 480 meters.
It involves using high pressure water to remove the product, which will later be made into slurry and pumped to the surface.
Cameco spokesperson Rob Gereghty says work will continue in 2014 on other phases of extraction:
“(It’s a) significant announcement for the project. We’ve removed ore from the ore body using our jet boring system. We are still testing other equipment in the mine, and we fully expect to be producing ore at Cigar Lake in the first quarter of 2014.”
The ore will then be trucked to AREVA’s McClean Lake mill for processing to uranium concentrate.
The milling of Cigar Lake ore is expected to begin in the second quarter.