A spokesperson for one of Saskatchewan’s uranium mining companies says there is little danger of a mining accident, similar to the one that occurred in B.C. recently, happening in this province.
On August 4, a tailings dam breach occurred at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia.
However, Cameco spokesperson Gord Struthers says because of how tailings are stored at uranium mining operations at McClean Lake, Key Lake and Rabbit Lake — there is little chance of a similar spill happening here.
“The only water we need to be aware of and manage is the run-off water and snow melt. So there are no large volumes of water that are contained at those facilities, either.”
As a result of the Mount Polley tailings pond spill, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has sent letters to a number of mining companies, including Cameco and Areva in Saskatchewan, asking them to outline what measures they have in place to prevent a similar accident from occurring.