Panel Report

The two major shareholders in the Cigar Lake Joint Venture, Cameco Corporation and Cogema Resources Inc., have been actively involved in the uranium mining industry in Saskatchewan for many years.

Cogema Resources Inc., formerly Cogema Canada Ltd. and Amok Ltd., has been mining uranium in Saskatchewan at its Cluff Lake site since the early 1980s. Currently, Cogema owns and operates the Cluff Lake mine and mill complex. It is also the operator and part owner (70 per cent) of the McClean Lake mine and mill complex, now under construction. In addition, Cogema owns a 16-per-cent interest in the McArthur River Project, and has a 36-per-cent interest in the Cigar Lake Project which is the subject of this report. Cogema also manages uranium production facilities in Wyoming and Texas. Its activities include the decommissioning and reclamation of two open pit mines and mills in Wyoming. The company is involved in exploration activities for uranium in Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, and for gold in Nevada. It is considered a dominant player in the world uranium market.

Cameco Corporation was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation and Eldorado Nuclear Limited, a federal Crown corporation. The initial shareholders were the governments of Saskatchewan (61.5 per cent) and Canada (38.5 per cent); however, over 90 per cent of Cameco shares now are privately owned. Currently, Cameco has a partnership interest in four operating or approved uranium mines, at Key Lake (66.67 per cent), Rabbit Lake (66.67 per cent), and McArthur River (55.844 per cent) in Saskatchewan, and at Crow Butte (32.309 per cent) in Nebraska. Although Cameco owns only 48.75 per cent of the proposed Cigar Lake Project, it retains a majority of the voting shares (50.75 per cent). It also has an interest in two gold mines, one at Contact Lake, Saskatchewan (66.67 per cent), and the other at Kumtor in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan (33.33 per cent). [Cameco Corporation, Annual Report, 1995 , pp. 18-19.] In Ontario, Cameco owns and operates uranium refining and conversion facilities at Blind River and Port Hope.

The Cigar Lake test mine has been well managed since its inception. The proposed mine operators have a good record with respect to worker safety and efficient development with minimal environmental damage. The CLMC was also one of the first mines to establish an Advisory Committee, originally with membership from Wollaston Lake, Black Lake, Stony Rapids and Fond du Lac. [Cigar Lake Mining Corporation, Project Proposal , September, 1991, p. 13.]