Underground near Cigar Lake in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, lies the worlds 2nd richest deposit of Uranium. It is the worlds largest deposit of undeveloped Uranium. The mine is being developed by a jointventure majority owned by Cameco Corporation, headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Cameco Corporation is the world’s largest uranium producer, currently producing uranium from the worlds richest deposit in nearby McArthur River. The company’s uranium products are used to generate electricity in nuclear energy plants around the world, providing one of the cleanest sources of energy available today.

The Cigar Lake ore body is located approximately 430 meters below surface and is approximately 2150 meters long with a width that ranges from 20 meters to 100 meters. Its height ranges from about 6 meters to 15 meters. Recovery of the ore presents significant technical challenges, not the least of which is its location underground in poor quality rock near a substantial body of water and its high radioactivity. Extensive testing for over a decade was required to select and validate “jet boring” as the ore recovery method. Jet boring at Cigar Lake requires several major efforts: Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) development below the ore body to provide access, installation of “freeze holes” through the ore body and surrounding rock, development of a freeze plant to produce the brine needed to artificially freeze the ore body and surrounding rock, installation of cased pilot holes upwards through the ore and finally, ore extraction using a rotating high pressure water jet inserted in the pilot holes. The ore will be ground with water to form slurry and then pumped to the surface. It will then be placed in specially designed containers to be transported by truck to the processing mill. After ore extraction the ore cavities will be backfilled with concrete. A schematic depiction of the sequence required for the jet boring extraction method to be used at Cigar Lake is shown at right.