Uranium mining in Canada

[4] Canada's first recorded discovery of uranium was likely in 1847, when pitchblende, a major uranium-bearing mineral, was found at Theano Point, Lake Superior by B.

[7][8] Canada's first commercially important uranium discovery was in 1930, when prospector Gilbert LaBine discovered pitchblende on the shores of the Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories.

[9][10] This discovery led Labine's company, Eldorado Gold Mines Limited, to develop the Eldorado Mine at Port Radium, Northwest Territories, in 1932 and a refinery to extract radium from the ore in Port Hope, Ontario, the following year.

[4][11] The refinery was run by Marcel Leon Pochon, an ex-student of Pierre Curie, who had travelled to Port Hope after having spent the last 20 years at South Terras Mine in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

[12] During World War II, the demand for uranium exploded as the United States and its allies, Britain and Canada, began the Manhattan Project to produce the first atomic weapons.

[11][13] This led to an exploration boom that quickly resulted in the discovery of mines in the Northwest Territories (Rayrock), Ontario (Bancroft and Elliot Lake), and Saskatchewan (Uranium City).

This program ended in 1974, when demand for uranium for power generation was sufficient to support the industry.

[15] Recommendations from the Royal Commission influenced occupational safety legislation for mines and other industries to this day.