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This week, Saskatchewan is celebrating breaking ground on the Wheeler River mine — the country’s first new large-scale uranium mine approved for construction in more than two decades.
Denison Mines is beginning construction on the new mine in the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan, which is also the first in the country to use in-situ recovery as its mining technique.
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In-situ mines use fluid to recover minerals from the ground without digging and moving tonnes of earth, which is expected to leave a smaller environmental footprint.
Multiple First Nations leaders from communities involved in the approval and mine-development process spoke at Thursday evening’s event, sharing their appreciation for the work Denison has put into relationships with those communities.
Robert Watts, an emeritus fellow at Queen’s University and a member of the Six Nations Reserve in southern Ontario, applauded the Indigenous relations that have taken place in the course of bringing the mine project to its current point.
“One of the sayings that I use quite a lot is that projects move at the speed of trust, and trust is earned over 100 cups of tea,” he explained.
“I’m not much of a tea drinker, so that probably takes me a long, long time to get there.”
He said that commitment is indicative of the importance of relationship building and “taking the time to sit with communities, to sit with leadership, to sit with citizens and talk about what’s possible and what the future might look like.”
Watts said through the consensus training on this project, he saw an agreement made as a promise.
“I think that’s been achieved and when I look around this room and think about the number of communities, First Nation communities, Metis communities, other northern communities that are going to benefit from this mine, I think about the youth and the training programs and that idea of shared prosperity, which was the title of the agreement between Denison and English River,” Watts said.
The promise, Watts shared, makes him excited. He said it’s something Canada is currently starved for.
“It’s some really good news, in terms of how Indigenous people and corporations and governments can all work together in a really positive way and a manner that benefits everybody,” he said.
Stakeholders celebrate the start of construction on the Wheeler River Phoenix Project, Canada’s first in-situ recovery mine. From left to right: Johanna Koch, operations director; Mary Denechezhe, board chair of Ya’thi Néné Lands and Resources; Jennifer Traub, board chair for Denison Mines; David Cates, president and CEO for Denison Mines; Cheyanna Hunt, director of lands and resources with English River First Nation; Mike Natamogan, president of Kineepik Métis Local #9; and Laura Burnouf, NR1 regional representative, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan. (Denison Mines/Submitted)
Councillor Jenny Wolverine for English River First Nation characterized the agreement as a “marriage” between First Nations communities like her own and Denison Mines.
“This partnership is developed on the foundation of trust, honesty, definitely humor, understanding and compromise,” Wolverine stated, mentioning that Denison Mines president, David Cates, has made himself available through his personal cell phone to the communities and leaders involved in this project to reach him at any time, for any reason.
“Because of the support from Denison, we are in a strong position to do great things for our people by our people,” Wolverine said.
“We have the tools to build a stronger nation, a stronger people, a stronger workforce, and build capacity within our community.”
Speaking with the media, Cates said he agreed with the marriage analogy, calling the commitment around this new mine “long-lasting.
“When one gets married, they intend to be together forever,” Cates said. “Positive marriages work out that way. Our hope is that we can do the same, and we do intend to be in this for a very long time.”
Acknowledging that communication is a significant part of a strong marriage, Cates said “nurturing, continuous communication and active engagement” will be required going forward to stay close with their partners on this project.
“We know that our journey with the Indigenous nations and the northern communities is just starting, and I think that’s also a good parallel to marriage,” Cates said. “We have all of that in our mind right now, already.”
When asked about a relationship that isn’t as positive with Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) regarding the First Nation’s legal action taken over lack of engagement on this project, Cates said Denison Mines has “tried very hard and overall have done an excellent job on Indigenous engagement, but we also know that we’re not perfect.
“We’ve had an open mind to working with PBCN to make sure that we understand their concerns and that we work towards resolving the judicial review,” he said.
Cates said while in-situ recovery has been commonly used globally, this will be the first Canadian mine to deploy the technique with a high-grade deposit.
“We will not generate conventional tailings because we’re not excavating the rock, we’re dissolving the uranium in ground at depth, and we’re processing a solution that has dissolved uranium in it on (the) surface that helps us with our economics,” Cates explained.
He said the project has lower capital and operating costs, an essential part of how the project has been able to advance before the increase to the price of uranium.
“We had a profitable project when other mines were shut that allowed us to invest in the project over those years, so that we could be here today,” Cates said.
The Wheeler River Project is expected to create more than 300 jobs during its two years of construction and about 150 jobs during operation.
Speaking at Thursday’s event in lieu of Minister of Energy and Resources Chris Beaudry, Minister Ken Cheveldayoff of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety brought greetings on behalf of Saskatchewan’s premier.
“Your collaboration with Indigenous and northern communities is essential to responsible resource development in our province,” Chevekdayoff said, speaking to Denison Mines.
“What we are celebrating today reflects years of planning, innovation, and commitment. This project will have a significant positive impact on our province during both construction and operations. It will create good jobs and economic opportunities that will benefit Saskatchewan citizens for years and years to come.”
The mine is expected to have a lifetime of about 10 years. It’s expected completion date is in 2028.
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