It has become a ‘ghost’ over the years for various reasons all over the world; There are countless towns abandoned by life. Some of these are wars, some unproductive lands, some nuclear crises, some empty places after mining activities.
Uranium City, the town we will visit in this article, is included in the last group. It is a city that turned into a giant mine of a big company, from a ‘tent city’ where the natives lived, miles away from civilization, deteriorated and then quickly destroyed as it was founded. Let’s take a look at the story of the founding and destruction of Uranium City.
Uranium City was originally a quiet and peaceful indigenous inhabited village
On the shore of Lake Athabasca in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, above the dancing northern lights surrounded by lush forests; a place where fish roam in its fertile lakes… This area, which is now known as Uranium City, used to be such a quiet village where the days passed slowly and without fuss.
Natives of this region; It was a group of people who lived in tents, hunted deer and fished, gathered berries from the forests, and could be called a large family. There was no land transportation to the region, so in fact, the people here lived a life completely disconnected from the ‘world’.
In the 1950s, mineral explorations began in the region
While the local residents continued their lives in peace, the Second World War was over; the world was shaken, and the effects of the tension of the post-war period unfortunately hit even these distant lands.
In fact, it has been known since the 1930s that uranium mines exist in the vast territory of the state of Saskatchewan. However, with the start of the Second World War, the Canadian government imposed a special exploration ban for mineral exploration throughout the country. For this reason, no mining work was done in the region for many years.
However, during and after the war, especially after countries such as the USA increased their uranium studies to develop nuclear weapons, while entering the 1950s, Canada decided to reconsider its steps in this regard. After the war, mining bans were lifted, and with the growing interest in uranium ore, an intense search for mines began in the state of Saskatchewan.
During these searches, mineral deposits were discovered in a rich and extensive area around Lake Athabasca. The rapid transformation in the region has also begun. The company named Eldorado Mining & Refining started to carry out all mining works in the region.
Uranium City, built from scratch
After the rich mineral deposits around Athabasca lake, the provincial government decided to mobilize the area to support mining works. The region, which later became the Uranium City, rapidly ‘urbanized’. Of course, when we say urbanization, we should not think of today’s giant cities.
However, the region where a small group of locals lived, suddenly ‘grew up’. With the arrival of the miners; Uranium City has suddenly become the fastest growing place in the state. In a short time, the state exceeded the 5,000 people required to have the title of ‘city’.
In the city, hotels, schools, hospitals, bars that turned into a big gathering area in the center, brand new houses were built. Maybe 3-4 years later, Uranium City had turned into a crowded city with uranium mines at the bottom.
No longer are fathers fishing by the lake and children running around in the forests in these enchanting lands; Workers working in the mine for hours and perhaps unconsciously exposed to high levels of radiation were walking around.
The end of the rapidly rising city came at the same speed
Uranium City, which was established, growing and suddenly ‘developing’ since the beginning of the 50s, The years were at the beginning of a rapid end. Eldorado Mining & Refining has decided to make some ‘cuts’ due to the stagnation in the uranium ‘market’ and Canada’s decision to stop its ‘military use’ uranium sales.
In fact, interest for uranium increased for a while in 1967 – 68, but this increase was not high enough to ‘absorb’ the uranium mined in the region. As such, in 1969, the first cut decisions were announced for the mines around Uranium City.
The mid-1970s marked a new era of mobility; In fact, the company has announced some expansion programs that include mining operations in the northern part of the state. Steps were taken, such as renovating the facilities. But none of these steps prevented the impending end.
When the calendars showed 1982, the company announced that it would abruptly cease all operations in the region, citing ‘increasing costs’, ‘declining ore quality’ and ‘declining uranium market’.
An entire city that was built destroyed with one explanation
Nearly all of Uranium City residents, with the exception of a small number of locals living in the area, came here solely for mining work. had come. The city, which was built from scratch for these people, was almost destroyed with a single statement.
After this news, thousands of workers and their families living in the region were forced to leave the region, while there were others who were left behind. However, the number of these people decreased to 50 over time. Life is getting harder and harder for these few people left behind. Because all the businesses ‘in the city’ were closed one by one; Places such as schools and hospitals also stopped serving. After that, the infrastructures in the whole city became inoperative. So actually, Uranium City was left to die in 1982, after 30 years of life.
Radioactive waste, garbage and traces of a decaying city left behind
We took a look at the 30-year story of Uranium City together. But in fact, the most impressive part of the story is the devastation it caused, more than anything I’ve told so far. Because Uranium City is not only remarkable because of its spooky photos and its ‘ghost town’ title.
The region has now turned into a giant garbage dump. The mine pits around the city were filled with water, these waters overflowed into the lake and soil, and radioactive wastes were released to the whole nature. Numerous talks have been held over the years to clean up the radioactive waste in the region and to ‘eliminate’ millions of tons of rocks. But the resulting huge ‘cleaning budgets’ have caused this secluded, now-defunct city to be almost completely forgotten.
Next to the radioactive waste, every single building in the city is now almost rotten; Remains of abandoned vehicles, buildings and facilities blend into nature like a giant stinking dump in the middle of a forest.
Human stories are at least as serious as pollution
After all these years, a forest fire in the region in 2016 has affected both the world and Canada. He made the name of this region forgotten. The painful scenery revealed by the visits to the region brought with it painful stories.
In the interviews held with the friends and relatives of many people who worked there as miners in the past, the same information was always given; None of the uranium mine workers remained whom they knew. Because many of them died due to the invisible poison they inhaled into their lungs…
In fact, it is known that mining activities damage because uranium is a radioactive element. However, in those years, it is claimed that there was another problem as if this were not enough. According to these claims, false information was causing fatal damage to the miners. The wrong information in question was that aluminum powder was good for silicosis, which damages the lungs. But in fact, aluminum dust can cause death by causing many diseases from cancer to early dementia.
Life was also difficult for the locals
Of course, workers were not the only victims of this devastating transformation in the region. The locals living in the region, who had to get used to a completely different life after their villages were almost invaded, were left where they were with a pile of garbage in their hands when the company left. The region, which was almost destroyed by a mining operation, caused the local people to lose their own texture and natural life.
A local woman, who has been living with her family in a tent near the lake since she was born, tells how they were surprised by the first ‘white person’ who came to the region and how a dream-like life ‘ended’. he was saying…
‘But uranium is used for clean energy’
The number of nuclear power plants is increasing in many parts of the world as an alternative to ‘less pollute’ in energy production. Growing steadily. What makes it stand out is that it is ‘clean energy’. But when we look at the back of the story, we see the huge wound left by the mining activities of the element uranium, which is one of the most important components of nuclear power plants.
Yes, nuclear power can be ‘cleaner’ than most. However, except for cases such as leaks and accidents, I think it would not be wrong to say that even the mining process alone prevents us from calling this energy ‘clean energy’.
Uranium City is not actually ‘special’. Because there are many ‘cities’ all over the world that were built and destroyed just because of mining activities. But Uranium City gives us a better understanding of the gravity of the situation, with the damage it has caused in a short time to local people, workers and nature.
Remnants of Uranium City…
An aerial view of Uranium City…
family in Uranium City a man visiting his house…
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