Cameco seeks longer mine licences

[Oscar]

Cameco seeks longer mine licences

[ http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Ca ... story.html ]

By Jeremy Warren and Scott Larson, The Starphoenix October 2, 2013 7:50 AM

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission added a third day to its agenda before it even started public hearings on Cameco's licence renewals applications for three uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan.
The increased interest in the hearings, which started Tuesday night in La Ronge, meant the commission needed an extra day to accommodate the wide range of arguments it will hear about Cameco's mining and milling operations at the Key Lake, McArthur River and Rabbit Lake facilities.

The company's biggest request is for a longer licence period - an increase to 10 years from the current five years - for all three sites. It deserves the increase due to its excellent safety and environmental record, Cameco communications director Gord Struthers said.

"Given the excellent performance of our operations, this is completely appropriate," he said. "(The commission) is on a trend of granting longer licences."

Struthers said the company would not face less regulatory oversight with an 10-year licence period, but he declined to say how the company might benefit from a longer licence period. "We prefer it that way, and that's all I can tell you," he said The commission will hear from individuals and groups arguing for and against Cameco's continued operations, according to submissions made prior to the hearings.

Some are calling for a baseline study of socio-economic and physical health of people in the surrounding northern communities to ensure Cameco's operations are safe, while others will tell the commission the company has created significant employment and education opportunities for northern residents.

The Saskatchewan Environmental Society opposes the 10-year licenses for Rabbit Lake, arguing it could mean less scrutiny if Cameco expands or changes plans before the next renewal hearings.

"The existing ore deposit being mined at Eagle Point (part of Rabbit Lake) is expected to be mined out in four years' time, and plans for developing new ore deposits may be underway at the five-year mark," the society argued in one of its submissions.

Struthers said Cameco has many long-range plans that are subject to frequent studies and could be changed as new situations arise.

"Plans aren't made up in a week and never change," he said, adding that operations are reviewed on an ongoing basis to find improvements.

In another submission, a group of northern residents says it wants to see Cameco's uranium operations shut down.

"We want it completely shut down until health studies are done that prove (it is safe)," said Candyce Paul, an English River First Nation band member and member of the Committee for Future Generations.

"We have done a heck of a lot of research over the last few years and we are finding that the limits that are set, and the guidelines that are set, are way too high."

Paul said recent collaboration agreements that Cameco and Areva have made with the English River and Pinehouse First Nations make it mandatory for them to support existing operations.

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(* * * NOTE * * * SEE THE SAD SAGE OF PINEHOUSE
McNAMARA: "Another Backroom Deal"
[ http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/vie ... php?t=1285 ]
November 29, 2012 - P. McNamara's background on the Pinehouse collaboration agreement )

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