How Saskatchewan remade uranium mining

Despite global economic uncertainty, resource-rich Saskatchewan should offer significant salary gains for its workers in 2012, seeing an average 3.9% increase in wages. The Conference Board of Canada's compensation outlook was released on Tuesday. Saskatchewan is the world's largest exporter of potash and uranium. It also has a significant oil and gas sector. Saskatchewan leads all provinces in wage increases, followed by Alberta at 3.6 per cent.

Boss Power (CVE:BPU), which successfully settled a lawsuit on Thursday with the Province of British Columbia, is now looking at ways to spend […]

Two days after the BC government compensated Boss Mining $30 million for expropriating its mining claims near Kelowna as part of a province-wide uranium mining ban in 2008, another company is pursuing a cash settlement. BIV reports that International Montoro Resources (CVE:IMT) is proceeding with its claim against the BC government for expropriating its Cup Lake-Donen uranium deposit in April 2008. The company is seeking $2 million for its properties after sinking $2 million into the ground says BIV.

Boss Power Corp. has agreed to surrender to the Province of British Columbia all claims to its uranium exploration and mining rights at the Blizzard Uranium Deposit in the Kamloops-Kelowna region. The legal agreement supports the Province's goal of ensuring mining exploration is safe, sustainable and economically benefits British Columbians. In 2008, the Province announced that it would not support uranium exploration and development, and prohibited related permits being issued to any company in 2009. At that time, Boss Power Corp. held a pre-existing claim to uranium deposits in that area.

Rio Tinto (LON:RIO ) is expanding its presence in Canada with an all-cash offer to acquire Hathor Exploration (TSE:HAT), which owns the Roughrider uranium deposit in Saskatchewan. The global mining giant announced today a $4.15 per share, all-cash bid for Hathor valued at $578 million. The bid is 11% higher than Cameco's $3.75 per share hostile bid for Hathor announced last month. It is the first bid for a Canadian company that Rio has made since acquiring Alcan in 2007. "The superior Rio Tinto offer provided fair value to Hathor shareholders over Cameco's current hostile, unsolicited takeover over," said Hathor chief executive officer Dr. Michael H. Gunning.

Republican senators and members of congress introduced a bill to counter an effort by the Department of the Interior to remove mining rights from a region in northern Arizona, which borders Grand Canyon National Park. U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and U.S. Congressmen Trent Franks (AZ-02), Rob Bishop (UT-01), Jeff Flake (AZ-06), Paul Gosar (AZ-01), David Schweikert (AZ-05) and Ben Quayle (AZ-03) unveiled the Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act on Wednesday.

Australia on Monday gave environmental approval for BHP Billiton to expand its Olympic Dam mine but set more than 100 environmental conditions on the uranium, copper and gold project. The $30 billion expansion of the existing Olympic Dam underground operation will create an adjacent open pit mine that would be the worlds biggest. An idea of the olympian effort required to construct the mine and the size of the undertaking is clear from the fact that trucks will haul overburden 24/7 for five to six years just to reach the ore body. The combined operations would mine 72 Mt ore per year and would produce 750,000 tonnes refined copper, 19,000 tonnes uranium oxide, 800,000 gold ounces and 2.9 Moz of silver per year.

Cameco (TSX:CCO) (NYSE:CCJ) announced today that the Canadian Competition Bureau has issued a "no action letter" in connection with Cameco's offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hathor Exploration Limited for cash consideration of $3.75 per share. The issuance of the no action letter, which provides that the Commissioner of the Competition Bureau does not intend to challenge the proposed acquisition, satisfies one of the conditions of the offer.

Cameco (TSX:CCO) (NYSE:CCJ) announced today it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its joint venture partners to mill all Cigar Lake ore at the McClean Lake mill. The new milling arrangement is expected to result in a significant reduction in the operating cost of the Cigar Lake project, which is 50% owned and operated by Cameco. The other Cigar Lake joint venture partners are AREVA Resources Canada Inc. (37%), Idemitsu Resources Canada Inc. (8%) and Tepco Resources Inc (5%).