Latest news with #CNL
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Critics are sounding the alarm on U.S. management of Canada's nuclear labs. Here's why
OTTAWA — As Canada is pledging to move away from the United States in the defence sector, critics are warning the federal government it might want to take a closer look at a Crown corporation's recent decision to award a contract to a U.S.-based joint venture for the management of the country's nuclear laboratories for possibly the next 20 years. On June 12, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) announced that Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. — a partnership with three primary joint venture partners and one key subcontractor — had been selected to manage Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). Those include mainly Chalk River Laboratories, the birthplace of the CANDU reactor. The management contract is valued at $1.2 billion per year on average, for six years, but could be extended up to a total of 20 years based on performance indicators. Even though AECL's bidding process began in 2023 — long before U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to a second term and started threatening Canada's sovereignty — sources familiar with the matter are questioning why AECL chose to work with firms mainly based in the U.S. to manage Canada's sensitive technologies in the nuclear sector. 'Given the current circumstances in Canada-U.S. relations, I think it's troubling that a contract of this magnitude would be awarded to a U.S.-based consortium,' said one of the sources who spoke to the National Post on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. 'Now, Chalk River labs are going to be managed by American firms that are deeply involved in the American military and defence industrial complex on the nuclear side,' they added. Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, who served as assistant deputy minister for Energy Technology and Programs at Natural Resources Canada, was just as surprised to hear about the contract: 'Why on Earth do we not have the skill set to do this in Canada?' 'If this government is really serious about protecting our vulnerabilities and building capacity in Canada and strengthening Canadian companies… why would they farm out the management of our precious technology, especially something as unique as nuclear?' added McCuaig-Johnston, now a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa. Despite its name, Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. is composed mostly of U.S.-based partners. It will be spearheaded by Virginia-based BWXT — an important supplier to the U.S. Defence Department. The other partners are Amentum — also based in Virginia — and Kinectrics Inc. — a company based in Toronto but bought by BWXT earlier this year. Its key subcontractor, Ohio-based Batelle Memorial Institute, is the world's largest research and development organization and manages national laboratories, including for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. American executive Dennis Carr will assume responsibility of CNL as its president and CEO starting in September. Carr, who has more than 40 years of experience in the nuclear sector, was most recently the head of the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site and oversaw its national laboratory before he announced his retirement in June. Earlier this month, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the process to select the new management of Canada's nuclear facilities was done by AECL, independently from the government. He also said the new entity will manage CNL's 4,000 employees — every one of whom is based in Canada, he said — and that 95 per cent of the money involved will be spent in Canada. 'Canada welcomes companies from all jurisdictions to come here and work. This is money that will be spent in Canada, overseeing Canadian jobs at Canadian facilities,' he said. In an email, AECL's director of communications said, as part of its procurement process, the Crown corporation evaluated qualified bidders based on 'their capability, experience and expertise,' as well as their ability to deliver on AECL's priorities, among other things. 'We did not discriminate against companies that are not based in Canada. However, we did look at the management team's ability to deliver on the scope of work, and understanding the Canadian context played a role in that evaluation,' said Jeremy Latta. Latta said while the joint venture partners are indeed U.S.-based, half of their management team will be Canadian. In addition, all members of the executive team, including the incoming CEO, are contractually required to be based in Canada. For the past decade, CNL was managed by Canadian National Energy Alliance, a consortium made of SNC-Lavalin (now AtkinsRéalis), Jacobs Engineering — which has since merged with Amentum — and Fluor Federal Services — an engineering and construction firm based in Texas. The contract is set to expire in September. Sources said AtkinsRéalis was interested in pursuing the management of CNL but ultimately dropped out of the bidding. In the end, Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. was the only bidder left. A source described AECL as not being 'incredibly transparent' with Natural Resources Canada and former minister Jonathan Wilkinson. Wilkinson declined an interview request about AECL's bidding process. A spokesperson for AtkinsRéalis simply said 'a decision was taken at the prequalification stage not to proceed.' Chris Keefer, president of Canadians for Nuclear Energy, said he does not lay blame on Hodgson for this situation, adding 'it's a process that had been locked in for several years.' But he expressed concern that U.S. partners will be overseeing nuclear sites that could be called upon to defend Canada's sovereignty, including in the Arctic. 'We need to open potential seaways as climate change comes in, we need to defend against threats from Russia,' he said. 'It'd be really smart to have nuclear icebreakers.' McCuaig-Johnston said then prime minister Brian Mulroney announced in 1987 that Canada was going to have a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to patrol the Arctic, but that idea was ultimately rejected two years later because the price tag was too high. Now that Canada is looking to ramp up defence spending in a dramatic way to meet NATO targets — set at a summit Wednesday at five per cent of a country's GDP by 2035 — she suggested the federal government will have a big budget to make those kinds of purchases. McCuaig-Johnston said Canada needs to be 'agile to reflect changing circumstances,' and that means taking a hard look at the management of this country's nuclear sites. 'We have a window until September, when they take over, to say we're taking one step back, we're going to look at this again and we're going to assess what our other options might be, given that this particular technology is of particular value to Canada,' she said. One source said they cannot remember a time when there would be this much U.S. involvement in a nuclear facility that has access to Canada's intellectual property, and cited concerns with intellectual property theft and corporate espionage. 'It definitely doesn't scream 'elbows up' to me.' National Post calevesque@ Canada commits to new NATO defence spending target of 5% of GDP After agreeing to 30-day timeline, Mark Carney now says 'nothing's assured' on deal with U.S. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here.
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Critics are sounding the alarm on U.S. management of Canada's nuclear labs. Here's why
Article content OTTAWA — As Canada is pledging to move away from the United States in the defence sector, critics are warning the federal government it might want to take a closer look at a Crown corporation's recent decision to award a contract to a U.S.-based joint venture for the management of the country's nuclear laboratories for possibly the next 20 years. On June 12, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) announced that Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. — a partnership with three primary joint venture partners and one key subcontractor — had been selected to manage Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). Those include mainly Chalk River Laboratories, the birthplace of the CANDU reactor. Article content The management contract is valued at $1.2 billion per year on average, for six years, but could be extended up to a total of 20 years based on performance indicators. Even though AECL's bidding process began in 2023 — long before U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to a second term and started threatening Canada's sovereignty — sources familiar with the matter are questioning why AECL chose to work with firms mainly based in the U.S. to manage Canada's sensitive technologies in the nuclear sector. 'Given the current circumstances in Canada-U.S. relations, I think it's troubling that a contract of this magnitude would be awarded to a U.S.-based consortium,' said one of the sources who spoke to the National Post on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. 'Now, Chalk River labs are going to be managed by American firms that are deeply involved in the American military and defence industrial complex on the nuclear side,' they added. Article content Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, who served as assistant deputy minister for Energy Technology and Programs at Natural Resources Canada, was just as surprised to hear about the contract: 'Why on Earth do we not have the skill set to do this in Canada?' 'If this government is really serious about protecting our vulnerabilities and building capacity in Canada and strengthening Canadian companies… why would they farm out the management of our precious technology, especially something as unique as nuclear?' added McCuaig-Johnston, now a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa. Despite its name, Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. is composed mostly of U.S.-based partners. It will be spearheaded by Virginia-based BWXT — an important supplier to the U.S. Defence Department. The other partners are Amentum — also based in Virginia — and Kinectrics Inc. — a company based in Toronto but bought by BWXT earlier this year. Article content Its key subcontractor, Ohio-based Batelle Memorial Institute, is the world's largest research and development organization and manages national laboratories, including for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. American executive Dennis Carr will assume responsibility of CNL as its president and CEO starting in September. Carr, who has more than 40 years of experience in the nuclear sector, was most recently the head of the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site and oversaw its national laboratory before he announced his retirement in June. Earlier this month, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the process to select the new management of Canada's nuclear facilities was done by AECL, independently from the government. He also said the new entity will manage CNL's 4,000 employees — every one of whom is based in Canada, he said — and that 95 per cent of the money involved will be spent in Canada. Article content 'Canada welcomes companies from all jurisdictions to come here and work. This is money that will be spent in Canada, overseeing Canadian jobs at Canadian facilities,' he said. In an email, AECL's director of communications said, as part of its procurement process, the Crown corporation evaluated qualified bidders based on 'their capability, experience and expertise,' as well as their ability to deliver on AECL's priorities, among other things. 'We did not discriminate against companies that are not based in Canada. However, we did look at the management team's ability to deliver on the scope of work, and understanding the Canadian context played a role in that evaluation,' said Jeremy Latta. Latta said while the joint venture partners are indeed U.S.-based, half of their management team will be Canadian. In addition, all members of the executive team, including the incoming CEO, are contractually required to be based in Canada. Article content For the past decade, CNL was managed by Canadian National Energy Alliance, a consortium made of SNC-Lavalin (now AtkinsRéalis), Jacobs Engineering — which has since merged with Amentum — and Fluor Federal Services — an engineering and construction firm based in Texas. The contract is set to expire in September. Sources said AtkinsRéalis was interested in pursuing the management of CNL but ultimately dropped out of the bidding. In the end, Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. was the only bidder left. A source described AECL as not being 'incredibly transparent' with Natural Resources Canada and former minister Jonathan Wilkinson. Wilkinson declined an interview request about AECL's bidding process. Chris Keefer, president of Canadians for Nuclear Energy, said he does not lay blame on Hodgson for this situation, adding 'it's a process that had been locked in for several years.' But he expressed concern that U.S. partners will be overseeing nuclear sites that could be called upon to defend Canada's sovereignty, including in the Arctic. Article content 'We need to open potential seaways as climate change comes in, we need to defend against threats from Russia,' he said. 'It'd be really smart to have nuclear icebreakers.' McCuaig-Johnston said then prime minister Brian Mulroney announced in 1987 that Canada was going to have a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to patrol the Arctic, but that idea was ultimately rejected two years later because the price tag was too high. Now that Canada is looking to ramp up defence spending in a dramatic way to meet NATO targets — set at a summit Wednesday at five per cent of a country's GDP by 2035 — she suggested the federal government will have a big budget to make those kinds of purchases. McCuaig-Johnston said Canada needs to be 'agile to reflect changing circumstances,' and that means taking a hard look at the management of this country's nuclear sites. Latest National Stories
National Post
2 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Critics are sounding the alarm on U.S. management of Canada's nuclear labs. Here's why
OTTAWA — As Canada is pledging to move away from the United States in the defence sector, critics are warning the federal government it might want to take a closer look at a Crown corporation's recent decision to award a contract to a U.S.-based joint venture for the management of the country's nuclear laboratories for possibly the next 20 years. Article content On June 12, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) announced that Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. — a partnership with three primary joint venture partners and one key subcontractor — had been selected to manage Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). Those include mainly Chalk River Laboratories, the birthplace of the CANDU reactor. Article content Article content The management contract is valued at $1.2 billion per year on average, for six years, but could be extended up to a total of 20 years based on performance indicators. Article content Article content Even though AECL's bidding process began in 2023 — long before U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to a second term and started threatening Canada's sovereignty — sources familiar with the matter are questioning why AECL chose to work with firms mainly based in the U.S. to manage Canada's sensitive technologies in the nuclear sector. Article content 'Given the current circumstances in Canada-U.S. relations, I think it's troubling that a contract of this magnitude would be awarded to a U.S.-based consortium,' said one of the sources who spoke to the National Post on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Article content 'Now, Chalk River labs are going to be managed by American firms that are deeply involved in the American military and defence industrial complex on the nuclear side,' they added. Article content Article content Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, who served as assistant deputy minister for Energy Technology and Programs at Natural Resources Canada, was just as surprised to hear about the contract: 'Why on Earth do we not have the skill set to do this in Canada?' Article content Article content 'If this government is really serious about protecting our vulnerabilities and building capacity in Canada and strengthening Canadian companies… why would they farm out the management of our precious technology, especially something as unique as nuclear?' added McCuaig-Johnston, now a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa. Article content Despite its name, Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada Inc. is composed mostly of U.S.-based partners. It will be spearheaded by Virginia-based BWXT — an important supplier to the U.S. Defence Department. The other partners are Amentum — also based in Virginia — and Kinectrics Inc. — a company based in Toronto but bought by BWXT earlier this year. Article content Its key subcontractor, Ohio-based Batelle Memorial Institute, is the world's largest research and development organization and manages national laboratories, including for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Collective Mining Earns 100% in the Guayabales Mining License by Accelerating the Terms of the Agreement
TORONTO , June 23, 2025 /CNW/ - Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSE: CNL) (TSX: CNL) ("Collective" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has accelerated its agreement with the vendor of the Guayabales mining license and as a result will affect the transfer of 100% of the mining license into its name. The Guayabales license, which host the Company's flagship Apollo system, is one of three major contiguous licenses that make up the Company's Guayabales Project, located in Caldas, Colombia. The original agreement for the Guayabales mining license was signed between the Company and the vendor in June 2020 and entitled the Company to earn a 100% ownership in the exploitation phase mining license in 2032 by making a series of scheduled payments and committing to certain exploration expenditures. Under the amendment, the total financial consideration owed to the vendor remains the same as the original agreement, however, the payment schedule has been accelerated as follows: $2 million payable immediately. An additional $2 million is payable within one month provided the title transfer request to the Colombian National Mining Agency ("ANM") has been filed. An additional $2.3 million is payable within two months following the submission of the title transfer request. The remaining $3.5 million will be payable in six equal installments over the following three years from the date of the execution of the amendment to the agreement. The title transfer approval is expected within 60 days following the request being made to the ANM. Ari Sussman , Chairman of the Board commented: "Accelerating the agreement and earning 100% of the mining title today made a lot of sense for the Company given our strong treasury of approximately $78 million at the end of Q1, 2025, and our confidence that Apollo will evolve into a future mine. Given the fact that this mining license is in its exploitation phase, the Company intends to leverage the license to its advantage in its future permitting efforts. We would like to thank the vendor for their support in this matter, and we look forward to our continued collaboration as we advance the project." About Collective Mining Ltd. To see our latest corporate presentation and related information, please visit Founded by the team that developed and sold Continental Gold Inc. to Zijin Mining for approximately $2 billion in enterprise value, Collective is a gold, silver, copper and tungsten exploration company with projects in Caldas, Colombia . The Company has options to acquire 100% interests in two projects located directly within an established mining camp with ten fully permitted and operating mines. The Company's flagship project, Guayabales, is anchored by the Apollo system, which hosts the large-scale, bulk-tonnage and high-grade gold-silver-copper-tungsten Apollo system. The Company's objectives are to improve the overall grade of the Apollo system by systematically drill testing newly modeled potentially high-grade sub-zones, expand the Apollo system by stepping out along strike to the north and expanding the newly discovered high-grade Ramp Zone along strike and to depth and drill a series of less advanced or newly generated targets including Trap, the Knife and X. Management, insiders, a strategic investor and close family and friends own 44.5% of the outstanding shares of the Company and as a result, are fully aligned with shareholders. The Company is listed on both the NYSE American and TSX under the trading symbol "CNL". Information Contact: Follow Collective Mining (@CollectiveMini1) on X, (Collective Mining) on LinkedIn, and (@collectivemining) on Instagram This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussion with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often, but not always using phrases such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs; future operations; future recovery metal recovery rates; future growth potential of Collective; and future development plans. These forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding future events including the direction of our business. Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: risks related to the speculative nature of the Company's business; the Company's formative stage of development; the Company's financial position; possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, precious and base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets; change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formation pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the annual information form of the Company dated March 24, 2025 . Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BWX Technologies (BWXT) Hits an All-Time High on Canadian Nuclear Deal
BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) is among the Best Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now. BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) closed at its all-time high this week after it was announced that a joint venture led by the company has secured a high-value contract to manage Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. Valued at an average of C$1.2 billion annually, the contract is for six years, with possible extensions reaching up to 20 years. An aerial view of a nuclear plant, its domes casting a unique shadow. Moreover, BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) continues to expand its footprint and completed the acquisition of Kinectrics last month. The strategic move is aimed at expanding the company's capabilities, including lifecycle management, specialized plant services, and engineering, along with nearly doubling its workforce. John MacQuarrie, President of Commercial Operations of BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT), stated: 'Since we announced our intention to acquire Kinectrics in January, we have been looking forward to this day, when the complementary nature of our organizations begins to take shape. From the commercial nuclear power market to medical isotopes, we are enhancing our capabilities across the board, supporting a growing nuclear new build and life extension industry in Canada and strengthening BWXT's position in the global nuclear market.' The share price of BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) has surged by over 23% since the beginning of 2025. BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) is a leading supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the US government, including the manufacturing of nuclear reactor components for US Navy submarines and aircraft carriers, and other nuclear and non-nuclear R&D and component production. While we acknowledge the potential of BWXT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Cheap Energy Stocks to Buy Now and Disclosure: None. Sign in to access your portfolio
