Notice of Commencement of an Environmental Assessment

Rook I Project

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has received a project description from NexGen Energy Ltd. for the Rook I Project, a proposed new uranium mining and milling operation, located on the Patterson Lake peninsula in the southwestern Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, approximately 155 km north of the town of La Loche, SK.

The proposed project includes underground and surface facilities to support the mining and processing of uranium ore.  The main components include: underground mine development; an on-site mill to process an average of 1,400 tonnes of ore per day; surface facilities to support the short and long term storage of waste rock and ore; an underground tailings management facility; water handling infrastructure and an effluent treatment circuit and additional infrastructure to support mining activities.

The CNSC has determined that the project requires a federal environmental assessment (EA) pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012). An EA under CEAA 2012 is a planning and decision-making tool. Its objectives are to minimize or avoid adverse environmental effects before they occur, incorporate environmental factors into decision making, and identify the elements of a follow-up monitoring program. 

The availability of PFP funding for this project will be announced at a later date.

For further information on this EA, please contact:

Nicole Frigault, Environmental Assessment Specialist

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
P.O. Box 1046 Station B
280 Slater Street
Ottawa ON  K1P 5S9
Telephone: 1-800-668-5284
Fax: 613-995-5086
Email: cnsc.ea-ee.ccsn@canada.ca