Vendors selected for Canadian deep geologic repository

Tuesday, 13 May 2025

The chosen companies - WSP Canada Inc, Peter Kiewit Sons ULC (Kiewit), Hatch Ltd, Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd and Kinectrics Inc - will work with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) on facility infrastructure design and engineering, construction planning, mine design, mine construction, nuclear management advising and nuclear systems and facilities design. NWMO is the project owner.

Last year, the NWMO announced the selection of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the Township of Ignace as the host communities for the proposed deep geological repository, following a consent-based siting process that had begun some 14 years earlier.

Construction of the facility will only begin once the deep geological repository has successfully 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 companies and the NWMO will work as one co-located team, NWMO said, in an approach that "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".

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. It will also be responsible for all aspects of the project related to nuclear facilities and the Used Fuel Packaging Plant.

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.

Kinectrics President and CEO David Harris said the repository - known as the DGR - will ensure the protection of the environment for future generations through the Adaptive Phased Management approach. "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," he said.

"The NWMO is proud to engage with five experienced and respected companies to design and plan Canada’s deep geological repository, and we’re excited to work with them to move toward our goal of containing and isolating Canada’s used nuclear fuel," 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."
 

Article researched and written by WNN's Claire Maden