Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organisation (NWMO) has announced the five companies selected to design and plan Canada’s deep geological repository (DGR) for used nuclear fuel in northwestern Ontario. In 2024, two potential sites were identified for the DGR after 15 years of investigation – one in the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation-Ignace area in northwestern Ontario and the other in the Saugeen Ojibway Nation-South Bruce area in southern Ontario.
The five companies selected to work with NWMO are: WSP Canada; Peter Kiewit Sons ULC; Hatch Ltd, Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada, and Kinectrics. They will work on facility infrastructure design and engineering, construction planning, mine design, mine construction, nuclear management advising and nuclear systems and facilities design.
- WSP will be responsible for all architectural design and engineering for the project, excluding the engineering and design of the mine and waste rock pile, shafts, headframes and hoisting design and the Used Fuel Packaging Plant.
- Kiewit will be responsible for all above-ground construction design required to build the deep geological repository.
- Hatch will be responsible for all aspects of the project related to underground mine and waste rock management, as well as shaft, headframe and hoisting systems related to the design and construction of the deep geological repository.
- Thyssen Mining will be responsible for the underground mine construction design of the service, test and demonstration area, as well as the sinking of three shafts into the repository.
- Kinectrics will be responsible for in-depth nuclear operations management expertise and advice to inform the development and planning of the project, design, oversight and assurance framework and quality assurance programmes.
Construction will only begin once the GBR has completed the federal government’s multi-year regulatory process and the Indigenous-led Regulatory Assessment and Approval Process, a sovereign regulatory process that will be developed and implemented by Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation.
The NWMO is using an Integrated Project Delivery model to design and build DGR. The companies and the NWMO will work as a single team, co-located to move the project forward. NWMO said: “This approach encourages trust and open communication among all parties, putting what is best for the project first by enabling collaboration between the NWMO and the selected companies. All companies involved, including the NWMO, will work hand-in-hand throughout the entirety of the process.”
Kinectrics President & CEO David Harris said: “In our role as the nuclear management advisor for this project, we will leverage our broad experience in nuclear operations, engineering, facility licensing, nuclear materials handling and waste management to collaborate with the project team and successfully deliver this project, continuing to support the nuclear industry’s capacity to provide clean, safe, as well as reliable electricity for Canadians.”
NWMO President and CEO Laurie Swami said: “While this is a unique project in Canada, the core needs are well established, and the companies chosen have deep experience in mining, construction, and the handling of nuclear materials.”
