Nova Scotia revisits uranium moratorium (June 23, 2008)

Nova Scotia’s 26-year-old ban on uranium mining will soon be up for debate, and could be lifted under certain conditions, says the province’s minister of Natural Resources, David Morse.

The resources committee of the Nova Scotia legislature recently set the stage for the province’s uranium discussion. While it reaffirmed its support for the moratorium, it also recommended that the minister of Natural Resources mandate a public process to modify the rules so the ban doesn’t discourage mining and exploration of other minerals.

Morse goes further, saying that the moratorium could be lifted if three criteria are met: science, economy and public consultation.

Firstly, the science must show that uranium mining in the province can be done safely. Morse acknowledges that a 1985 report issued by Justice Robert McCleave following the initial ban, concluded that this is indeed possible.

Secondly, it should be shown that lifting the moratorium would have a positive impact on the province’s economy, which Morse argues it would.

“I think that if you look at our sister provinces, they have considerably more exploration, and exploration, of course, is the catalyst for all the good things that follow, so there is no question that it would be good for the economy.”

One of the problems with the moratorium is its effect on exploration for other minerals. Under the rules of the moratorium, if a company explores for another mineral and accidentally comes across uranium mineralization exceeding 0.01% uranium oxide, it must cease exploring there.

As for the third requirement, public consultation, Morse says the Voluntary Planning process (advising the government on policies affecting the community) must demonstrate that the public is supportive of uranium exploration and mining. Morse acknowledges that Nova Scotia uses electricity produced at the Point Lepreau nuclear plant in New Brunswick, so it would be somewhat contradictory if the province were to maintain a uranium moratorium.

Morse seeks an informed discussion amongst the public. Input from the community will be considered by an impartial panel, which will consult experts and make recommendations to the government. Public consultation will take place this year, and in 2009, the panel will discuss issues raised during the public consultation. Morse says that, so far, views from the public seem widely divergent.

The moratorium was introduced in 1982 by then-minister Ron Barkhouse in view of local opposition to uranium mining. It was followed by an inquiry by Justice Robert Mc- Cleave, who published a report in 1985 that concluded uranium exploration and mining could be carried out safely, and that the main concern was the safe disposal of radioactive tailings.

Despite McCleave’s conclusions, the Nova Scotia government extended the moratorium, initially to 1990, and then to 1995. It formed a committee to deal with the uranium issue, and in 1994, the committee concluded that methods for tailings disposal were safe, recommending thatthe moratorium be lifted. Again, this was not done.

Gordon Dickie, past president of the Mining Association of Nova Scotia, says that the association’s role is to point out that the facts do not support a moratorium on uranium exploration and mining.

“Uranium exploration and mining is both a federally and provincially controlled activity, and is under their environmental assessment processes, which should be used to judge any particular project that is put forward,” he says. “Furthermore, our position is that exploration for uranium is essentially no different than exploring for anything else and that there are no higher risks. Since we know that uranium exploration and mining can take place environmentally acceptably in Canada, there is no reason to have a moratorium on exploration and mining to begin with.”

Dickie says he does not see the need to study the environmental issue again after a clear conclusion on the safety of uranium mining was already reached in McCleave’s report. He adds that the limit of 0.01% uranium oxide mineralization that forces a company to stop exploration for all minerals is unnecessary.

Dickie predicts that the public debate on uranium mining is going to be very different than it was in 1982. Firstly, Canada has been one of the world’s leading producers of the metal for many years. Secondly, there is a record of successful environmental management of uranium mining, for example in the Elliot Lake area in Ontario. Another factor is the successful operation of the Point Lepreau nuclear plant in New Brunswick, which Dickie estimates is saving between 3 and 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year over an equivalent coal-fired plant. Finally, he says that younger generations no longer associate uranium solely with nuclear weapons and with the prospect of nuclear annihilation. For all these reasons, he believes that the public is now more accepting of uranium mining.

Dickie believes that many members of the public are no longer aware of the moratorium, and certainly don’t realize the damage it has caused to the entire exploration and mining industry in Nova Scotia. Therefore, he is hopeful that the moratorium will be lifted following the public consultation process.

Based on his own experience exploring for uranium prior to the moratorium, Dickie says that southwestern Nova Scotia has the potential to host uranium deposits similar to granite-hosted hydrothermal deposits found in the Massif Central mountain range in France, and to the metasedimenthosted deposits found near the city of Prague. The biggest occurrence, found by French company Aquitaine, near Millett Brook, N. S., was granite-hosted, and was similar to deposits in France. Dickie believes that lifting the moratorium could lead to a surge in uranium exploration in the province because of the potential