A 27-year-old man was killed last week when he was attacked by a black bear at a remote uranium mining site in northern Saskatchewan, in what officials said was only the fourth fatal black bear attack in the Canadian province\u2019s recorded history.<\/p>\n
Provincial officials said the man, whose name has not been released, was attacked on Friday about 50 miles northeast of Points North Landing, one of the northernmost points for trucking and airfreight services for northern Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.<\/p>\n
The man was working as a contractor for the UraniumX Discovery Corporation<\/a>, an exploration company working in the Athabasca Basin. The area, which straddles the border with Alberta and reaches toward the Northwest Territories, is home to some of the world\u2019s largest known uranium deposits.<\/p>\n Canada is one of the world\u2019s largest producers and exporters of uranium, a naturally occurring radioactive element that is used to fuel commercial nuclear reactors. In northern Saskatchewan, more than 40 percent of mine site workers are local residents, officials said.<\/p>\n \u201cUranium mining is pretty widespread in Saskatchewan, and it has been for a very long time,\u201d said Doug Clark, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan\u2019s School of Environment and Sustainability.<\/p>\n Dr. Clark, a former national park warden who specializes in human-bear conflict, said the fatal attack on Friday was an aberration.<\/p>\n But, he added, the presence of attractants, like food, raises the risk of human-bear interactions and conflicts. \u201cSo, for that reason, industrial camps typically are held to a fairly high standard in terms of food and garbage management and minimization of attractants.\u201d<\/p>\n UraniumX, based in Vancouver, said it was cooperating with the local authorities, wildlife officials and government agencies in their investigation of the attack. It added that it had temporarily suspended all work at its Athabasca Basin property<\/a>, which is about 525 miles northeast of Saskatoon, the largest city in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n