In order to turn the ore that comes out of the ground at a uranium mine into medical isotopes, it goes through a number of processes including mining, milling, conversion, enrichment, and fuel production before a nuclear reactor can generate isotopes.

Canada is the leading producer of medical isotopes; in fact, the National Research Universal Reactor (NRU) in Chalk River, Ontario, provides more than half of the world’s medical isotopes.

At this point, we don’t know how much of the uranium used to produce isotopes in the future would come from Kiggavik.

During the operational phase of the mine, there will be an emergency response assistance plan (ERAP) registered with Transport Canada in place with qualified people ready to respond to accidents.  Training of local people along the shipping route will be provided and equipment necessary to contain spills will be made available.  The operational phase of the mine is still at least 7 years away so the details of ERAP are not yet finalized.  A transportation risk study is in progress and the Environmental Impact Statement scheduled to be released in 2011 will contain details of spill response and prevention during the operational phase.

During the exploration phase in progress now, much less material is being transported than will occur during the operation.  There is a Spill Contingency Plan in place and an ERAP registered with Transport Canada.

AREVA has had ERAP programs in place for its Saskatchewan Operations for over 15 years.  In over 30 years of trucking of products from the uranium mines in Saskatchewan there has never been an accident resulting in a spill of uranium concentrate. In the instance where there has been a spill at the Saskatchewan mine sites clean-up measures where implemented immediately and there were no residual environmental effects.  AREVA’s emergency response team is available 24 hours/7days per week.

By subcommittee, we assume you mean the Kiggavik Community Liaison Committee or CLC.  The CLC was established in 2006 as a way to have ongoing contact with various groups in Baker Lake as the project progresses.  The concept of the CLC was supported by the Hamlet Council.  Members of the CLC are appointed by the organizations they represent.  The organizations with members on the CLC are the Hamlet Council, Hunters and Trappers Organization, the District Education Authority, the Aberdeen Lake People, the business community, the Youth Group, the Elders Society, the Health Committee and the Justice Committee.  Meetings are held 8 to 10 times a year, are open to the public and the times are announced on the radio.  The Chair is elected from the group.  Meetings are held with translation and minutes are kept in the Baker Lake office for people to see.  The CLC has been a very important way for AREVA to get community feedback on topics, like local employment, traditional knowledge, road options and environmental baseline studies.

As for resumes, these are kept on file, but receipt of resumes is normally not acknowledged.  Normally 30 to 35 people from Baker Lake work at the Kiggavik site or in Baker Lake during the summer.  Presently, 25 local people are employed.

Our current estimates indicate that there are approximately 44,000 tonnes of uranium ore reserves at Kiggavik. We foresee that mining activities would start 2 to 3 years prior to milling. Based on anticipated production rates of 2,000 to 4,000 tonnes of uranium concentrate, also known as “yellowcake,” mining would last 13 to 25 years, while milling would last 11 to 22 years.

Radiation from uranium mining is in three types – alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays.  Alpha particles only travel a few centimeters in air and do not penetrate skin.  The risk from alpha radiation is inhalation so workers are protected from inhaling alpha radiation.  Beta particles can travel a few metres in air and can penetrate a few millimeters of skin.  The risk to workers from beta radiation is from ingestion and possible damage to eyes.  Workers wear eye protection and are protected from ingestion.  Gamma rays are very penetrating and can often travel through humans.  Workers are protected from gamma radiation by shielding made of metal, concrete or water, by spending little time in the presence of gamma radiation and by keeping distance from gamma radiation.  Through careful planning  and design and through thorough monitoring, workers at modern uranium mines receive only about 5% of the radiation dose limit and receive little more then what is received from natural background radiation.  More information about types of radiation can be found at www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/readingroom/radiation/types_sources_of_radiation.cfm

Modern uranium mines are designed, constructed and operated with radiation and environmental protection in mind.  Some of the measures in place include ventilation systems that quickly reduce radon concentrations in air, ore containment systems to prevent radon emissions in air, continuous monitoring systems that warn of changing concentrations of radon in air, and concrete shielding to reduce radiation readings in parts of the mill.  The result is modern uranium mine site workers receive on average only about 5% of the regulated dose limit and up to 1000 times less radiation than uranium mine workers received 60 years ago.  More information can be found in the handout produced by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission at www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/updates/uranium_mining.cfm

Although we are still in the early stages of the Environmental Assessment review process and all plans have not been finalized yet, AREVA proposes to transport the uranium concentrate also known as “yellowcake” out the Kiggavik mine site to existing southern transportation networks by airplane using the airstrip that will be constructed at the site.  As part of the Environmental Assessment, we are evaluating the potential effects in the unlikely event of a transportation accident. Please note that in the original Project Proposal we also considered transporting yellowcake from Kiggavik by truck and barge, however after further investigation, this is not our preferred method of transportation. We hope this answers your question but don’t hesitate to contact us again if you would like further explanations.

Approximately 85% of uranium produced in Canada is exported to countries around the world for use in nuclear reactors. The remainder is used for electricity generation in Canada and in medical isotope production. Although Nunavut does not have any nuclear reactors to use the uranium, the area will benefit from jobs, training, and business opportunities to name a few.

When mining and milling activities are complete, we would decommission the site and return the land to a stable, self-sustaining condition for traditional use. Cluff Lake, one of our closed uranium mining operations in Saskatchewan, has undergone this decommissioning process. We will post an article this week on the decommissioning process and include photos of how our Cluff operation evolved.

The Kiggavik Project Proposal, which you can download here (http://www.kiggavik.ca/download/Kiggavik-ProjectProposal.pdf), outlines our preliminary decommissioning and reclamation plan in section 2.10. A detailed plan will be included in the environmental impact statement.