{"id":79145,"date":"2026-08-17T09:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T06:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/news\/nexgen-starts-construction-of-1-6-billion-rook-i-uranium-mine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T09:12:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T06:12:39","slug":"nexgen-starts-construction-of-1-6-billion-rook-i-uranium-mine","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/news\/nexgen-starts-construction-of-1-6-billion-rook-i-uranium-mine\/","title":{"rendered":"NexGen Starts Construction of $1.6 Billion Rook I Uranium Mine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Construction has begun on one of Canada&#8217;s most ambitious uranium projects of the decade. NexGen Energy has started work on the underground Rook I uranium mine in Saskatchewan, which is designed to produce up to 30 million pounds of uranium per year. That would place the project among the world&#8217;s largest uranium supply operations.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The project is estimated to cost C$2.2 billion, equivalent to approximately US$1.6 billion. Construction of the <a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/when-the-earth-collapses-why-the-mining-industry-needs-geomechanics-and-mine-monitoring\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/geomekhanika-monitoring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">underground mine<\/a> and processing plant is expected to take around four years. By comparison, Canada&#8217;s existing flagship operation, Cameco&#8217;s McArthur River\u2013Key Lake, is licensed for annual production of 25 million pounds, while its 2026 production guidance is lower at 14\u201316.5 million pounds.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Construction activity is already well underway. Major earthworks have been completed, a temporary 3,000-foot airstrip has been commissioned, and the worker camp has been expanded and occupied. By the end of the year, NexGen plans to complete a permanent 5,840-foot runway, while sinking of the main mine shaft is scheduled to begin in 2027.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The project&#8217;s key regulatory hurdles have also been cleared. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) approved the environmental assessment in March and issued the construction license, removing the final major administrative obstacle.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2021 feasibility study outlined highly attractive project economics. Rook I was projected to operate for 11 years, producing approximately 233.6 million pounds of uranium over its mine life. The study estimated a net present value of C$3.5 billion at an 8% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 52.4%. The projected payback period was less than one year.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The launch of Rook I comes amid a global revival of interest in nuclear power. Rising electricity demand is prompting governments to reconsider the strategic importance of uranium, while Canada is <a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/new-oil-how-greenland-became-center-of-rare-earth-metals-race\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/redkozemelnye-metally-novaya-neft-i-pri-chem-tut-grenlandiya\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seeking<\/a> to strengthen its position as a reliable supplier of nuclear fuel.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NexGen is entering the global uranium race with a project of international scale. Once roughly four years of construction are complete, the Saskatchewan mine could challenge some of the industry&#8217;s established producers.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Source: MINING.COM<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Image: NexGen Energy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Construction has begun on one of Canada&#8217;s most ambitious uranium projects of the decade. NexGen Energy has started work on the underground Rook I uranium mine in Saskatchewan, which is designed to produce up to 30 million pounds of uranium per year. That would place the project among the world&#8217;s largest uranium supply operations. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":79144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"NexGen Starts Construction of $1.6 Billion Rook I Uranium Mine","_seopress_titles_desc":"NexGen Energy has begun construction of the Rook I uranium mine in Saskatchewan, designed to produce up to 30 million pounds of uranium annually. Learn about the project timeline, regulatory approvals, and comparison with McArthur River-Key Lake.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[549],"tags":[564,610],"class_list":["post-79145","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","category-mining","tag-ores-and-metals","tag-underground-mining"],"acf":[],"pbg_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i.webp",900,500,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i-150x83.webp",150,83,true],"medium":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i-300x167.webp",300,167,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i-768x427.webp",768,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i.webp",900,500,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i.webp",900,500,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i.webp",900,500,false],"bricks_large_16x9":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i.webp",900,500,false],"bricks_large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i.webp",900,500,false],"bricks_large_square":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i.webp",900,500,false],"bricks_medium":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i-600x333.webp",600,333,true],"bricks_medium_square":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stroitelstvo-uranovogo-rudnika-rook-i-600x500.webp",600,500,true]},"pbg_author_info":{"display_name":"Yulia Frolova","author_link":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/author\/giulia-nikolaevna\/","author_img":false},"pbg_comment_info":" No Comments","pbg_excerpt":"Construction has begun on one of Canada&#8217;s most ambitious uranium projects of the decade. NexGen Energy has started work on the underground Rook I uranium mine in Saskatchewan, which is designed to produce up to 30 million pounds of uranium per year. That would place the project among the world&#8217;s largest uranium supply operations. The&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/79145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79145"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/79145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79146,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/79145\/revisions\/79146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}