Areva sees u-turn in Nunavut

As the Inuit in northern Labrador apply the brakes to uranium development, the tide is turning towards development in Nunavut.

Reversing a previous ban on uranium mining, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the body that manages Inuit-owned lands in Nunavut, approved a policy in September that allows for uranium development under certain conditions, making Areva’s (ARVCF-O) Kiggavik project, near Baker Lake, more likely to see advancement.

Conditions to the NTI uranium policy include: the Inuit seeing the benefits of development; Inuit participation; safe operations with minimal impact to the environment; and that the mined uranium be used only for peaceful, environmentally responsible purposes.

“It’s a policy that will guide us, (on) how we’re going to tackle the uranium issue in the Nunavut area,” James Eetoolook, NTI first vice-president told the CBC at the time.

The territorial government is on the same page, with Nunavut’s economic development and transportation minister releasing a statement in June that recognized the potential economic benefits of uranium mining, but outlined similar conditions for development.

Whether the community of Baker Lake, 80 km east of Kiggavik, will get behind the project, remains to be seen.

The community previously rallied against development of the project when it was in the hands of Urangesellshaft, a German company that wanted to build a mine there. Residents rejected the proposal in a 1990 plebescite with 90% voting against it.

Now being advanced by Areva, Kiggavik — which lies largely on Inuit land — could see production as soon as 2014 with an estimated 20-year mine life.

The company is expected to decide whether or not to proceed with the environmental assessment phase as early as this month. Kiggavik holds a historic resource of 131 million lbs. U3O8.

Not everyone in the community is onside, but the NTI policy has marked a major shift.

“Support is now fairly good and growing,” says Barry McCallum, manager of Nunavut affairs for Areva.

The company has been working hard to educate locals about uranium mining, address local concerns, and build support. It opened up a community information office in Baker Lake in 2006, sponsors local events, and McCallum says, has become “part of the community.”

As part of its information and outreach campaign, Areva recently flew 80 Nunavut residents down its operations in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca basin to demonstrate that uranium can be mined safely — which it says it has been doing in Saskatchewan for 30 years.

Opposition to uranium mining may not be as pronounced as it was 17 years ago, but there are still some caveats to development.

“We’re hearing that people want the work, but they’re not prepared to compromise health and safety of workers or the environment to get it,” McCallum says.