Labrador Inuit prepare to debate suspending uranium mining and milling Published: Sunday, April 6, 2008 | 11:41 AM ET Canadian Press: Michael Tutton, THE CANADIAN PRESS HALIFAX - Labrador's Inuit government votes this week on a motion to ban uranium mining for three years, a step that some residents of a remote community near a proposed mine say could cost them their jobs. The 16 members of the Nunatsiavut government begin debate Tuesday on a motion calling for the three-year moratorium, with a vote expected by Wednesday. Uranium mining has become a controversial issue in Labrador's Inuit settlement - a region roughly the size of New Brunswick - since Aurora Energy Resources Inc. (TSX:AXU) indicated it is eager to proceed with a mine in the Michelin and Jacques Lakes areas of the northern coast. The proposal has drawn concern from some Inuit politicians, who argue they must first have their own environmental assessment process in place, and a detailed plan for use of their traditional lands. "Until there is a land use plan, this development, and any other major development, will not happen," William Barbour, Nunatsiavut's minister of land and resources, said in an interview, adding that won't happen until 2011. However, in the small coastal community of Postville, with a population of 250, where Aurora hires workers for its exploration camps, there are residents who oppose the moratorium. Continue Article George Gear, 47, who has a job at Aurora's exploration camp looking after the equipment, said he's worried that a ban would end a rush of junior companies looking for the lucrative metal. Jobs that pay as much as $80,000 annually may disappear, he said. "There could be a lot of jobs cut back, and for a lot of people in our area there's nothing else to sustain us for work here," he said. "Without this job, I'll have to leave the community and go somewhere else to work." Diane Gear, a member of the Nunatsiavut assembly for the area, said the community is split over the issue. "Some say there should be a moratorium, some say it should be longer, some say there shouldn't be any moratorium," she said. Gear said she still doesn't know how she'll vote, even as she prepares to travel to Hopedale to cast her ballot. "It's a lot to take in, and I guess I won't really know until I get to the assembly," she said. "This is different than nickel in Voisey's Bay because it's radioactive material and people in our community are worried. What will happen if there's a spill? Will our land be spoiled?" Barbour also said he remains unconvinced that radioactive waste from mining and milling can be properly stored. "I hear concerns about tailings all the time. What are you going to do with the tailings? I don't know," he said. The proposal would involve the construction of an open pit and underground mine at the two locations. Combined, the two projects would yield about 130 million pounds of uranium. The project is partly driven by high prices for the metal - about $75 per pound on the spot market - as the world nuclear industry revives. Andrea Marshall, a spokeswoman for Aurora, said the moratorium isn't necessary to ensure Inuit concerns are addressed. The company had been planning to apply for a federal-provincial environmental review, a process that would take three years, and would include oversight by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Marshall said her company would have to reassess its plans if a moratorium is passed. "We were planning to register for an environmental review this year, but now with this moratorium potentially coming through, it may not be appropriate," she said. She said the moratorium would likely mean exploration is put on hold, and fewer employees are hired. "We would likely eliminate or scale back any additional exploration work, which would be to look in the other areas in our land claims to see if there's more uranium there," she said. In 2009 and 2010, the company would then scale back work on the proposed deposits in Michelin and Jacques Lake, she added. The company argues that the Nunatsiavut government could create its land use rules and environmental rules at the same time as a federal review is going on into the project. "It's an extensively long and arduous process anyway. It will take at least three years," she said. However, Barbour said if the assembly votes for the moratorium, the Inuit government will still permit mining companies to continue exploration on its land. "The Nunatsiavut government will not operate on somebody else's timeline," he said. "First and foremost, we won't be rushed. We will make our decision on the most recent information available."