Day 2 of the Saskatchewan Mining Association Geoventure Tour had us up in the wee hours of the morning, to go on a tour of Cameco's Rabbit Lake Mine. We had a 2 hour flight via West Wind Aviation, the company that services the mines in Northern Saskatchewan.
Upon arrival at the mine site there was a bus waiting, which shuttled us to our first presentation, where we got our mine orientation and the safety briefing and instructions. We were split into two different groups, with the first group going underground in the Eagle Point Mine and the second ground going on a tour of the mill.
I was part of group 2, so we hopped on a bus that whisked us of to the mill. Upon arrival, we were given a presentation outlining the process of change that occurs, from the raw material, to the refined yellowcake. When the presentation was done, we geared up and headed off on our tour. It was an excellent first hand experience of uranium production. Our facilitators did an awesome job to explain what was going on in the mill. At the conclusion of the mill tour, we hopped on our bus which took us to the mine camp, where we had an excellent lunch.
After lunch it was our turn to go underground. We were bussed to Eagle Point, where we boarded the underground trucks. These underground trucks have cages on the back of them, in which the miners ride to get underground. Our first stop underground, we were able to see a miner drilling blast holes. The extraction method here is a drill and blast method. Holes are drilled, the ore is blasted, and then the ore is transported to the surface where it is then taken to the mill.
At our next stop we were able to see the safety mesh being installed in the underground tunnels. We were given a demonstration on how that was done. We were able to take several pictures while we were down there.
The last stop before we came back up to the surface was the emergency shelter/lunch room. We rinsed off our boots and went inside the shelter. It was explained that, in case of an emergency, the workers underground could seek refuge at this station. There is an air exchange system, along with food and water which will allow for survival, if needed.
The last part of our tour had everyone all together again. We were given a bus tour which highlighted the environmental aspect of the Rabbit Lake Mine. We were shown the tailings pit, the water treatment ponds, and the reclamation work that is being done.
Last but not least we stopped by the exploration center. There we were shown different tools and ore samples. We also were briefed on the different exploration techniques that are currently employed by the exploration teams.
On the return flight, our flight was slightly diverted to the east, were we flew over Southend,
and were able to spot Deep Bay, a huge, deep, round body of water which was created by the impact of a meteor, millions of years ago. Continuing our flight path to Saskatoon, we were also able to see the Seabee Gold Mine from the air.
A little over an hour later, we landed safely back in Saskatoon, exhausted from a long, long day.
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