VZCZCXRO4856
RR RUEHGA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHHA #0036/01 1491159
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281159Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL HALIFAX
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1283
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0529
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHHA/AMCONSUL HALIFAX 1371

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HALIFAX 000036 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAN AND EB/ESC/IEC 
USDOE FOR IA (DEUTSCH) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EMIN ENRG ETRD PGOV PHUM CA
SUBJECT: URANIUM MINING IN ATLANTIC CANADA: PROTESTS VERSUS PROFIT 
 
REF: A. 07 OTTAWA 001201; B. HALIFAX 0013 
 
HALIFAX 00000036  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  Considering there is a vociferous and devoted anti-uranium 
lobby in Canada's Atlantic Provinces, it appears unlikely that 
the region will be joining the world uranium club any time soon. 
 There are identified commercial quantities of uranium in three 
of the four provinces that could be developed to meet growing 
global demand for fuel for nuclear power plants.  However, 
mining companies have run up against government bans and hostile 
citizen groups which could keep the uranium in the ground. 
Although this is not the stated policy of any of the governments 
involved, politicians are faced with weighing the cost of either 
saying no to the anti-uranium forces or to the companies that 
want to invest millions in their jurisdictions.  END SUMMARY 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
OVERVIEW: URANIUM MINING (OR THE LACK OF) IN ATLANTIC CANADA 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶2.  Skyrocketing prices and increasing global demand for clean 
energy sources have sparked much interest in Atlantic Canada's 
uranium deposits.  Except for Prince Edward Island which has 
only trace amounts of uranium, there are known commercial 
quantities in the other Atlantic Provinces: 
Newfoundland-Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  The full 
size of these deposits is still being determined, but several 
companies are keen to start planning for development.  At 
present there is no mining underway in the region. If the 
anti-uranium forces get their way, there never will be. 
 
¶3.  Environmentalists, conservationists and a slew of community 
and farming groups in each of the provinces have mounted vocal 
protest campaigns against mining companies and business leaders 
who want to realize the economic potential from the resource. 
Coming down in the middle in the debate are the respective 
provincial governments and one newly-established aboriginal 
government.  So far the politicians have walked a fine line 
between the two sides:  acknowledging the concerns of the 
anti-mining forces, while at the same time endorsing the 
industry's assertions that modern technology has lessened the 
potential environmental and health impacts of uranium mining. 
While the debate shares these commonalities across the region, 
the situation in each province is unique and has forced each 
government to come up with its own strategy for dealing with the 
issues. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
NEWFOUNDLAND-LABRADOR - STYMIED BY A NEW REGIONAL GOVERNMENT 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶4.  The Labrador region of the province holds the most promise 
of any potential uranium development in Atlantic Canada.  Since 
2005 Aurora, a private company owned by Vancouver and St. John's 
interests, has been exploring in what is known as the Central 
Mineral Belt of Labrador, part of the newly designated Inuit 
territory of Nunatsiavut.  (Detailed information about the 
location and Aurora's activities is available on the company's 
web site www.aurora-energy.ca).  In 2006 the company identified 
a substantial amount of uranium at two locations on the Belt, 
Michelin and Jacques Lake.  The company followed up those 
discoveries with another drilling program in 2007 which saw four 
additional satellite deposits identified.  Aurora estimates that 
the combined deposits contain 133 million pounds of uranium, 
making the area one of the largest deposits outside 
Saskatchewan, the province where all of Canada's active uranium 
mines are currently located (Ref A). 
 
¶5.  Aurora's original development plan called for the company to 
begin the regulatory process by the end of 2007 with an expected 
start-up date in 2014.  However, after a spirited backlash from 
the Inuit community, the company postponed filing its plan in 
order to provide residents more information on how it would deal 
with the problem of drilling waste.  But before they could 
provide the information, the issue ended up with the Members of 
the Territorial Assembly, who were forced to act to stop a 
growing rift between those wanting a ban on uranium activities 
and those wanting to see the multi-million dollar economic 
benefits accrue to the region from mining the ore. The Assembly 
failed to resolve the issue.  On April 8 the members voted eight 
to seven in favor of implementing a three-year moratorium on 
uranium mining in the territory, but in consideration of the 
exploration activities already underway, the moratorium only 
targets development, not exploration. 
 
¶6.  The Nunatsiavut government officials plan to use the 
 
HALIFAX 00000036  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
moratorium to develop expertise on how to evaluate the impact of 
such a large scale project.  According to our local contacts, 
however, the Assembly could revisit the issue before the end of 
the moratorium, especially given the narrow margin of the vote. 
Aurora is pledging to work collaboratively with government and 
community leaders on assessing the impact of a development 
program, which could go a long way in addressing the concerns of 
the anti-mining side.  For its part, the Newfoundland-Labrador 
provincial government is not getting involved in the issue other 
than to endorse the Nunatsiavut assembly's right to enact the 
ban under the terms of its establishment in 2005.  They also 
stress that the current federal and provincial regulatory 
regimes (which would still apply to any development plan) are 
stringent enough to ensure that any drilling project will get a 
full environmental assessment. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
NOVA SCOTIA - UNDER PRESSURE TO SCRAP A 25-YEAR BAN 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7.  The province of Nova Scotia has had a moratorium on uranium 
exploration and mining since 1982, when a small but influential 
protest group convinced the government of the day to stop a 
company from mining in a location in central Nova Scotia. 
Subsequently, world uranium prices slumped and the issue 
remained dormant until 2005 when a new local company called 
Tripple Uranium Resources (www.capellaresources.com) started 
prospecting on acreage near the abandoned site.  Despite having 
the word "Uranium" in its name, the company (a subsidiary of 
Vancouver-based Capella Resources) asserts that it is not 
looking for uranium at all, but iron ore, copper and gold.  In 
fact, the company readily acknowledges that under the terms of 
the 1982 ban, it will have to stop its exploration work if it 
encounters any mineral deposits exceeding 100 parts per million 
of uranium. 
 
¶8.  Coincident with the resurrected interest in uranium was the 
revival of the anti-uranium protestors who are now asking the 
question of what will happen to the ban if Tripple hits a large 
amount of uranium.  The protestors allege that Tripple is 
already pressuring the provincial government to lift the ban in 
anticipation of finding commercial quantities of uranium.  The 
government has made no secret that senior officials have met 
with Tripple representatives, but as one of our senior 
government contacts told us officials are always willing to meet 
with any company interested in developing the province's mineral 
resources.  For now the government's policy is an expressed 
desire that both sides engage in an informed debate on the 
issue; however, an all-party committee of the provincial 
legislature recommended that the government maintain the ban. 
The committee recommendation reinforces the lobbyists' position 
that the government should enshrine the ban in legislation. 
Currently it is contained in a cabinet decision which mining 
opponents assert could be easily be rescinded. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
New Brunswick - Demands for a Ban in a Nuke-Friendly Province 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
¶9.  Tripple Uranium is also one of the companies involved in 
uranium exploration in New Brunswick, along with CVRD-Inco.  The 
two companies are in competing prospecting activities in 
southern New Brunswick.  Both are keeping the results of their 
respective exploration programs secret for proprietary reasons, 
but the anti-uranium forces in that province have already 
started pushing the provincial government for a ban on further 
exploration and future development.  That appears unlikely given 
the province already has signed exploration agreements with the 
companies involved.  Furthermore, New Brunswick has the region's 
only nuclear power station and is actively considering building 
another one (Ref B).  Nonetheless, the government is attempting 
to respond to the opposition forces by holding public 
information sessions beginning in June. That announcement on May 
8 did little to placate the lobbyists who have already condemned 
the province for deciding to hold the sessions after various 
exploration programs are already underway. 
 
----------------------------------- 
COMMENT - OH THE POLITICS OF IT ALL 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  In the end it will no doubt be politics, not exploration 
results, which will determine the speed of development of the 
region's uranium resources.  As our senior Nova Scotia 
government contact commented, there is a certain political 
timidness in governments even talking about these issues, and 
for good reason.  Any government leader who comes down on the 
wrong side of the issue could expect to pay a heavy political 
 
HALIFAX 00000036  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
price at the ballot box.  On the other side, companies have 
already invested millions of dollars in exploration work so far 
and will want to do more than just look at prospecting results. 
Also, the governments are cognizant of how barriers to uranium 
development might be perceived in the mining industry as a 
whole, given that there is growing demand for the region's other 
minerals. 
 
¶11.  For the immediate future, areas to watch will be:  how 
Aurora fares in its consultative work with the Nunatsiavut 
Assembly in Newfoundland-Labrador and if that will result in 
another vote on a ban; whether there are any moves to make Nova 
Scotia's ban permanent; and in New Brunswick, how the government 
fares in its upcoming information sessions.  As these events 
unfold, they should shed some light on when Atlantic Canada 
might be joining the world uranium club, if at all.  END COMMENT 
FOSTER