Local company sees potential for nuclear energy at home
Tron Construction and Mining Ltd., a Saslatchewan-based company, sees good support for the future of nuclear power generation in the form of small modular reactors.
One Saskatchewan-based company is poised to lead the way should nuclear energy make its way to the forefront.
ron Construction and Mining Limited Partnership is a First Nations-owned general contractor that originated in uranium mining and has expanded its expertise in this specific field across the country.
Nuclear energy is among the sectors Tron specializes in, with experience working in hot zones and sites regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Tron was purchased by English River First Nation and for approximately the first 20 years of business focused on supporting Cameco at the uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan in a variety of disciplines.
Fast-forward to more current times, there was an awareness that Tron needed to diversify and that it couldn’t rely on one client and one commodity. As a business, it asked how it could transfer the skills it learned operating in the uranium industry and apply them to other projects in the province.
Tron’s diversification also expanded from a geographical perspective.
Ontario’s market was appealing and partnered well with Tron’s expertise.
“It was very clear for us to know that when we went out there we weren’t going out there to merely compete against every other construction business that was already established,” Anthony Clark, president and CEO of Tron, said from the company’s head office in Saskatoon.
“It was more to understand that we have an actual skillset based on the nuclear mining industry that we’ve grown up in.”
In January 2019, Makwa Development Corp., and Tron signed a supplier agreement with Bruce Power, as part of the electricity company’s ongoing investment program.
This new joint venture is 100-per-cent First Nation-owned and is situated on the Nawash First Nation – bringing together a First Nation whose traditional land is the source of raw ore for nuclear fuel with another where materials are processed to produce clean energy.
Nuclear energy is the second largest contributor of non-emitting electricity in Canada. Nuclear energy provided approximately 16 per cent of Canada’s total electricity needs (close to 60 per cent in Ontario).
In 2018, Canada produced 6,996 tonnes of uranium – valued at approximately $800 million – all from mines in northern Saskatchewan. Most of Canada’s reserves are located in the Athabasca Basin, which hosts the world’s largest high-grade deposits, with grades that are 10 to 100 times greater than the average grade of deposits mined elsewhere in the world.
”It’s a technology that is still being trialed and tested and is early in the evolution of that. With partnerships with Cameco and Bruce Power and strong support from local governments, I think we could certainly see some of those SMRs constructed in the western region.”
Clearly, there’s a business opportunity in Saskatchewan. Tron is ready to pounce if and when that happens.
“We’ve definitely seen there’s good support for the future of nuclear power generation in the form of SMRs (small modular reactors),” said Clark.
Which plays into Tron’s wheelhouse.
“That’s where we position ourselves very strongly to participate in that activity,” Clark said. “Northern Saskatchewan still holds the highest-grade uranium reserves in the world. So, as those technologies come online, there’s definitely a strong resurgence for uranium in the market. It’s a good source of clean energy.”
There is a lot of nuclear activity taking place in Ontario. But it’s not from the mining perspective. It’s more from the power generation and conversion perspective.
Tron played a significant role in Cameco’s McArthur River/Key Lake mine. Once home to the world’s largest high-grade uranium, this mill’s main focus was on processing ore from McArthur River Mine, which Tron provided construction services on a number of projects at the mill to that effect.
Saskatchewan is an interesting location in terms of being a hub for technology and innovation.
“It’s an extremely innovative province when you talk about the makeup of the people who live here,” Clark said. “We almost don’t give ourselves enough credit in that sense in terms of innovation and business solutions that have formed here and can be taken to a national level.