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“It’s a competitive process,” Muldoon said. “Whoever comes up with the best quality work that’s going to maximize local involvement and economic benefits while still delivering an efficient and effective cover over those tailings, that’s the contractor that we will (select).”

A contractor will be chosen in late winter or early spring, and work on the tailings deposits will begin once the weather permits access to the site. It will continue for “up to four field seasons,” Muldoon said. The exact cost and timing of the tailings remediation will depend on the procurement process and factors such as the weather, he added.

Located near Uranium City, about 800 kilometres north of Saskatoon, the Gunnar uranium mine began production in 1955 and was shuttered in 1964. Virtually no cleanup work was done before the site was abandoned.

In 2006, the provincial and federal governments agreed to clean up the deserted mine. The project was originally expected to cost $24.6 million, to be split evenly, and take 17 years. Costs have ballooned significantly since the project was announced.

Cleaning up the Gunnar site is expected to cost $268 million, according to the provincial government.

What isn’t clear is who will foot the bill.

“(T) here has been no resolution on cost sharing.We continue to believe that the federal government has a responsibility to contribute to the cost of the cleanup and look forward to continued discussions with them,” Laurie Pushor, deputy minister Saskatchewan’s Ministry of the Economy, said in an emailed statement.

“The Government of Canada has agreed to provide up to $12.3 million of funding for the project,” Natural Resources Canada spokeswoman Danica Vaillancourt said, also in an emailed statement.

“$1.13 million in funding for Phase 1 of the project was provided in 2007. Funding of up to $11.17 million will be made available after approvals from the (CNSC) and the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment are provided, allowing the project to move into the implementation phase of the remediation,” the statement said.

amacpherson@postmedia.com

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