NexGen Energy (TSX: NXE) is one step closer to obtaining all the permits required for its Rook 1 Uranium Project in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan. The company has now received proposed dates for a Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission hearing for approval of the project.
The proposed dates are currently marked as November 19, 2025, and February 9 to 13, 2026.
The setting of the proposed hearing dates follows the Commission formally accepting NexGen’s final environmental impact statement in late January. The company began the process of completing the regulatory environmental assessment process back in April 2019, and received provincial environmental assessment approval in November 2023.
NexGen is said to be considering the implications of the timing for the project.
Local supporters however are less satisfied with the hearing date timelines, with the Clearwater River Dene Nation, Metis Nation-Saskatchewan and Metis Nation-Saskatchewan Northern Region II formally issuing a complaint about the timeline, stating that the they are “unaccepting” of the delay.
“As voiced regularly and clearly to the CNSC, NexGen has done absolutely everything right and the Project, located on our collective traditional territories is clearly safe to both humans and the environment,” commented the parties in a joint statement.
“For the CNSC now to indicate a delay of the approval until following the second hearing scheduled for February 9 to 13, 2026, is beyond comprehension, inconsistent with previous direction from the CNSC and extremely detrimental to the interests of our communities, the people of Saskatchewan and Canadians across the country.”
The Rook I project, if constructed, is expected to produce 19.8 million pounds of U3O8 annually for an estimated 11.7 years, with the first five years of production calling for annual production of 29.2 million pounds of U3O8. The proposed mine is estimated to have a net present value of $6.32 billion on an after-tax basis, using an 8% discount rate.
NexGen Energy last traded at $9.66 on the TSX.
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