A Conceptual Decommissioning Plan for a High Grade Uranium Mine

Abstract

At the completion of the milling operations at Cluff Lake, the tailings management area will contain mill tailings that have typical Ra-226 concentrations of 17 Bq/g and in some areas concentrations as high as 274 Bq/g. A conceptual decommissioning plan has been developed for this area that will maintain radium concentrations in the adjacent lake to levels that are less than the surface water quality objectives set by the provincial government. A computer model based on field observations and laboratory experiments has been used to demonstrate the viability of the plan.