Agreement opens doors for northern company

Thanks to a recent agreement with Cameco Corporation, Athabasca Basin Development Limited Partnership (ABDLP) is once again poised for expansion.

The agreement is between Cameco and Points Athabasca Contracting Ltd. (PACL), one of the ABDLP's holdings, and sets the groundwork for development of a new manufacturing facility in Points North, located about 800 kilometeres north of Saskatoon. Once up and running, the plant will manufacture high-strength concrete tunnel liners for the Cigar Lake uranium mine project. The liners are used to reinforce underground tunnels as a safety measure.

Under the agreement, announced on March 31, Cameco has committed to purchase tunnel liners from PACL for up to 15 years, which will mean about $40 million worth of work for the company.

PACL is a joint venture industrial construction company owned 25 per cent by Graham Group Ltd. and 75 per cent by seven northern communities-Hatchet Lake First Nation, Black Lake First Nation, Fond du Lac First Nation, the northern settlement of Wollaston Lake, the northern hamlet of Stony Rapids, the northern settlement of Uranium City and the northern settlement of Camsell Portage.

With its target of purchasing at least 75 per cent of the contracted services at its northern mine sites from northern Saskatchewan businesses, Cameco was pleased to transfer the concrete contract. But the concrete segments which are used to reinforce tunnels underground must meet high standards. The potential of lives at risk, high industry standards and shareholders keeping an eye on the bottom line all added up to stringent scrutiny of PACL's tender.

Negotiations began more than three years ago when PACL manager Brad Darbyshire first spotted the precast segments at Cigar Lake. Investing more than $200,000 to study various aggregates and mixed designs, the company conducted a feasibility study as to location, and launched into negotiations with Cameco. The first tender failed because the price was not competitive.

Back at the drawing board, the company reworked the design, increased their knowledge of the industry, and drew heavily on the expertise of partner Graham Construction.

"Graham does concrete of all kinds," said Darbyshire. "They don't run precast plants but they do precast structures. So I looked to them to provide some assistance and some knowledge to see whether this would be something we could do or not. The general consensus is, 'it's just concrete'-but this is four times stronger than typical concrete. We sampled 12 different aggregate locations in the Athabasca region," he said.

Ultimately, the work paid off-producing samples that met or exceeded Cameco's requirements. PACL plans to begin production in August.

"This will be the first significant manufacturing operation developed in northern Saskatchewan to serve the uranium mining industry," said Jerry Grandey, Cameco's president and CEO. "It will supply critical components for the Cigar Lake project and will create capacity for PACL to develop other regional business opportunities."

The company has already begun making plans for the future, looking at opportunities to manufacture other concrete products like precast culverts and bridge decks. The plant will open up new avenues for the company which, up until now, has focused on building and road construction and maintenance, with a focus on work in the mining industry.

"This manufacturing agreement helps in meeting the enormous challenges northern First Nations governments face in achieving meaningful participation in the resource sector. Cameco and its co-venturers are important partners in helping us meet those challenges, and this agreement is an indication of their commitment," said Guy Lonechild, Vice-chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations

In addition to PACL, the ABDLP also operates Athabasca Basin Security and Janitorial Service, which provides security and janitorial services on a term basis. The division currently holds a contract with the McLean Lake uranium mine and the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan's Patience Lake mine. It is also involved in the Mudjatik Thyssen Joint Venture, in partnership with Thyssen Mining and other northern partners such as English River First Nation's Tron Power and the Buffalo River Dene Nation. Through the joint venture, ABDLP holds interest in both the Cigar Lake mining project and the Eagle Point project.

The ABDLP also has a contract with Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation to provide annual maintenance of seasonal roads in the north.

More information about the ABDLP can be found online at www.athabascabasin.ca.