Nunatsiavut government mulls uranium moratorium (November 26, 2007)

Just as uranium exploration in Labrador’s Central Mineral Belt is reaching a fever pitch, the Labrador Inuit government is looking to put the scene on ice — or at least cool it down long enough to decide whether to allow uranium mining.

A motion introduced in October by the Nunatsiavut government’s minister of land and resources, William Barbour, proposes a moratorium on uranium mining and milling on Inuit land, and it could be passed by the end of the year.

With the Central Mineral Belt a hot area for uranium exploration, the government — which was established in December 2005 and owns 15,800 sq. km in the northeast of Labrador, along the coast — recognized the need to address the frenzied activity and possible future development.

“The assembly felt it was time to at least have a starting point in terms of a policy,” Barbour explains.

And that starting point is one of caution.

“What we’re hearing as Nunatsiavut assembly members is that we don’t know enough (about uranium),” he says. “We don’t want to go into a development without having the necessary information to make the most informed decision.”

To help the government gather that information, a special committee has been established to hear from uranium experts from industry, non-governmental organizations and government. It will also travel to each Nunatsiavut community to hear local concerns, and then report back to the assembly by Dec. 15, when the fall sitting ends. A decision on uranium development could be made then, or Barbour may request an extension from the assembly to further study the issue.

The discussion is a timely one, as uranium exploration in Labrador has exploded in recent years on the back of soaring uranium oxide prices. Uranium recently fetched US$92 per lb., after seeing a low of under US$7 per lb. in 2000. Estimated spending on uranium exploration is expected to reach more than $52.3 million in Labrador this year, up from $29.6 million in 2006 and only $250,000 in 2004, says a spokesperson for Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources.

Of the 12 active uranium companies with exploration programs in Labrador this year, a moratorium would most affect Aurora Energy Resources (AXU-T, AUEGF-O) — putting a crimp in its development plans for the Michelin uranium project. Already at work on a prefeasibility study for the project, the company is targeting production by 2013.

But Aurora sees the government’s motion as the beginning of a debate about uranium — and not the end of Michelin, says company spokesperson Andrea Marshall.

“We’re pleased that they have initiated a formal process to examine uranium mining,” she says. “They’re going to have a debate. . . but we are comfortable and confident that the outcome of that will be a better framework for us to be able to move forward.”

The Michelin and Jacques Lake deposits, which together host 97 million lbs. uranium oxide, and would see both open-pit and underground development over 10 years, sit on Inuit land, 140 km north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Marshall says Aurora has been invited to give a presentation on the project, and the company plans to highlight the environmental protection measures it would take.

“We want to demonstrate that there are many other examples around the world where similar uranium mining is taking place very safely,” she says.

Indeed, Barbour says the onus is on industry to prove to the Labrador Inuit that uranium can be mined safely, without environmental or health risks.

“It’s not my job to go out there and prove what’s safe and not safe — we are not the proponent.”

Communities have questions about disposal of the radioactive tailings, in particular, he says.

“The single biggest concern we hear is that it’s an environmental issue — that we are dealing with a product that could be there for thousands and thousands of years,” Barbour says.

Living closest to the project, residents of the coastal communities of Postville and Makkovik — 40 km and 80 km northeast of Michelin, respectively — are especially concerned.

A recent survey of Makkovik residents indicated that about 71% were opposed to uranium development, says Terry Rice, the town manager and the chair of the local uranium committee.

“The community has been getting their own information and doing their own research, and based on the information we’re getting from Aurora and the research we’ve been doing, the environmental risks are just too great,” Rice says.

Most residents believe the economic benefits of a mine aren’t enough to outweigh the risks, which include losing land to mining infrastructure.

“The employment benefits are not going to be there forever,” Rice says, “so it’s really not worth the environmental and the health (risks) and the loss of our traditional hunting areas.”

Potential contamination of water is also a concern, Rice adds, as the area where the mine would be located is near major lakes and rivers that feed local water sources.

Rice says that Postville residents are generally more supportive of uranium development. Postville mayor Keith Decker says the town is conducting its own survey to gauge support.

In Aurora’s consultations with local communities, Marshall notes that there are questions about the environment and local involvement in the regulatory process, but also interest in the opportunities that a mine would create.

“There’s a lot of people who are interested in knowing about the project and the timeline and the opportunities that might be there for people in nearby communities, both from an employment and training perspective, as well as from a procurement of services and materials perspective,” Marshall says.

Aurora is planning to start the environmental assessment process before the end of the year, which Marshall says will take at least three years and address concerns — such as the tailings plan — in detail.

But it may have a tough time convincing the Labrador Inuit to abandon their conservative stance regarding uranium.

Rice says a summertime trip to Areva’s (ARVCF-O) McClean Lake and Cluff Lake mines in Saskatchewan, sponsored by the Nunatsiavut government, only made him more wary of Aurora’s plans.

“It just reminded me how much land we will be losing to mining,” Rice says, describing the vast scale of Areva’s open-pit mines and related infrastructure.

He adds: “I find the more information the community gets from Aurora — it’s good, but it doesn’t change our minds about how big this is and how big an impact this will have on the land and the people.”