August 30th, 2011 - Kiggavik Community Liaison Committee Update

author: AREVA

Article Tags: baker lake, community, environmental assessment, general communication

The Kiggavik Project Community Liaison Committee (CLC) held its latest meeting on August 9, 2011 in Baker Lake. The meeting was well attended by community organizations’ representatives. AREVA provided updates on the activities that took place at the Kiggavik exploration camp this summer and also on the Kiggavik environmental assessment. AREVA also provided an overview of the activities organized by its summer student to engage youth, including a youth forum held on August 10, 2011. The CLC was asked what it thought about a dock facility in Baker Lake. The response was that a dock would be OK but dust would have to be controlled. Members of the CLC also raised topics of interest to them including:

the timing of the construction of the road to Kiggavik and the potential dust from road construction and how to manage it,
the need for more information about yellowcake,
the desire to have more homeland visits and tours of the Kiggavik camp, and
the request form the Hunters and Trappers Organization to meet more frequently with AREVA and tour the Kiggavik site.

The next CLC meeting will likely take place in early October and will be announced on this blog.

CLC meetings are open to the public, all are welcome to attend.

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August 4th, 2011 - AREVA Youth Forum on Wednesday, August 10, 2011

author: AREVA

Article Tags: AREVA, baker lake, community, general communication

Are you a youth living in Baker Lake?

AREVA wants to hear from you!

Join young AREVA employees at the Baker Lake community hall next Wednesday to hear them talk about their work, ask questions about their jobs and the Kiggavik Project and express your views.

There will be some refreshments for all and several door prizes.

You will also have the opportunity to be entered to win a trip in a helicopter to go to the Kiggavik Project site.

So join us and bring your friends!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Community Hall

3pm to 5pm and 7pm to 9:30pm

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July 11th, 2011 - Baker Lake Grade 9 Students Visit Kiggavik Camp

author: AREVA

Article Tags: baker lake, camp, general communication

On June 21, 2011 Jasper, Magdelene and Glen, three grade nine students from the mine development course at Jonah Amitnaaq secondary school in Baker Lake visited the Kiggavik Project site. They were hosted by AREVA’s Community Relations Summer Student, Olivia Ullyot. This site visit was in response to a discussion Olivia had with the students back in May.

The student’s visit consisted of a tour of the Kiggavik camp facilities and discussion with some of the technical staff present at site. Kim Sarauer, Environment and Radiation Protection Supervisor and Brittany Thoms, Summer Student, gave a talk on the programs in place to protect workers and the environment from the potential impact of site activities. As part of their presentation Kim and Brittany provided a demonstration of radiation protection equipment and the helicopter tracking software. The students then visited the first aid facilities where Aaron Veldstra, Safety Officer and First Aid Attendant, spoke about the health and safety programs implemented at the camp. Next, Dwayne Kumar, a geologist, discussed the exploration drilling and core assessment program and demonstrated the equipments the geologists use in their work. Finally, the students visited the incinerator and spoke with Wildlife Monitor, Ian Amarook about wildlife protection measures taken at the Kiggavik site. After this comprehensive visit the students enjoyed lunch at site and returned to Baker Lake by helicopter.

On the trip back the students commented on their day at Kiggavik. Jasper said that his favourite part of the trip was the helicopter ride to the site, although he thought that the incinerator was an interesting piece of machinery. Magdelene mentioned that she particularly enjoyed touring the camp and the core shacks. Glen’s favourite aspect of the visit was learning about the instruments to measure radiation. In the end, all three students agreed that Wildlife Monitor was the coolest job at the site.

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June 23rd, 2011 - Kiggavik Project Community Liaison Committee Meeting – Baker Lake – May 27, 2011

author: AREVA

Article Tags: AREVA, baker lake, community, general communication, uranium development

The Kiggavik Project Community Liaison Committee (CLC) held a regular meeting on May 27, 2011 at the AREVA office in Baker Lake. Newly appointed members Joedee Joedee, representing the Hunters and Trappers Organization, and Calvin Noah representing the Youth were welcomed and elections for Chair and Vice Chair were held. Casey Tulurialik, the representative for the District Education Authority, was elected as Chair. Joedee Joedee was elected as the Vice Chair. The committee was provided an update on the advancement of the environmental assessment process for the Kiggavik Project. A guidelines workshop was held by the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) in Baker Lake on March 22 and 24, 2011 and the Final Guidelines for the Kiggavik Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) were issued by NIRB on May 2, 2011. The draft EIS is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011. The following information was also presented during the CLC meeting:

The Kiggavik camp was ready to open for the 2011 summer field season at the end of May and pre-start-up training sessions in Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), transportation of dangerous goods and safe handling of firearms were conducted in Baker Lake.
Cultural awareness training program was planned for the first week of June 2011.
Negotiations have not yet started on the Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement with the Kivalliq Inuit Association.
IQ validation interviews have been held in six of the Kivalliq communities over the winter. The meeting with Chesterfield Inlet representatives was cancelled due to bad weather and will be rescheduled.

The next CLC meeting will take place at AREVA’s office in Baker Lake either on Wednesday, July 27 or Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7pm. Like every meeting since the creation of the CLC in December 2006, this meeting will be open to the public. The exact date will be announced prior to the meeting.

Background:
The CLC’s mandate is to help ensure that the Baker Lake community’s views and concerns are heard and understood by AREVA, as well as to advise the company on matters related to the Kiggavik Project. Committee members are an important source of information on AREVA’s project and activities for others in Baker Lake.

A number of organizations are represented on the CLC including Baker Lake’s Hamlet Council, Elders Society, Youth Group, District Education Authority, Hunters & Trappers Organization, Health Committee, Justice Committee, business community, and Aberdeen Lake People. CLC members are appointed by their respective organizations and are not necessarily for or against AREVA’s proposed Kiggavik Project. Committee members have an obligation to pass on information and work with AREVA to build and maintain healthy company-community communications. The contributions that committee members make are very important to both the community and to AREVA. The CLC is an essential part of AREVA’s community relations program.

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June 14th, 2011 - AREVA Resources Canada’s Connection to Japan

author: AREVA

Article Tags: AREVA, general communication, Japan nuclear reactors, saskatchewan, TEPCO, Uranium

AREVA Resources Canada, like many other Canadian companies and individuals, has been watching closely the developments at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) nuclear power plants in Japan. Indeed, TEPCO, is not only the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan but also a partner of AREVA Resources Canada in the Cigar Lake Project in Northern Saskatchewan. Like our parent company, we have expressed our total solidarity and support for the Japanese population and our mining joint venture partner TEPCO. We are all hoping for the resolution of the situation as soon as possible with minimal impact to the general population and environment. The AREVA group is doing its part to help remedy the situation at Fukushima as indicated in yesterday’s post and AREVA Resources Canada and its employees also mobilized to help in anyway they could by sending over $8,700 to the Canadian Red Cross to contribute to the Japan and Asia-Pacific relief efforts.

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June 9th, 2011 - Meeting with Chesterfield Inlet Hunters & Trappers Organization – June 3, 2011

author: AREVA

Article Tags: community, environment, environmental assessment, general communication, uranium development

Barry McCallum, AREVA’s Manager of Nunavut Affairs, met with representatives of the Chesterfield Inlet Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) to discuss and validate IQ information obtained by Golder Associates on behalf of AREVA as part of the environmental baseline assessment.
This was the 5th meeting with the Chesterfield HTO since 2008.

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June 9th, 2011 - Presentation to the Kivalliq Wildlife Management Board – Rankin Inlet – June 2, 2011

author: AREVA

Article Tags: community, environment, general communication

On June 2, 2011 Barry McCallum, AREVA’s Manager of Nunavut Affairs, made a presentation to the Kivalliq Wildlife Management Board at their Annual General Meeting in Rankin Inlet. The presentation focused on the wildlife aspects of the Kiggavik Project environmental assessment and AREVA’s wildlife cooperative initiatives. This was the 6th presentation made by AREVA to the Kivalliq Wildlife Management Board since 2007.

This presentation can be viewed in the downloads section of this blog.

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May 24th, 2011 - Environmental Assessment Process Update

author: AREVA

Article Tags: baker lake, environmental assessment, Environmental Impact Satement, general communication, Government of Nunavut, regulatory, Uranium, uranium development

Here is a quick update on the status of the Kiggavik Environmental Assessment Process:

November 15, 2010 – Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) released the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) guidelines. The deadline for comments was January 25, 2011. 17 comments were submitted.
February 9, 2011 – NIRB released revised draft EIS guidelines. The deadline for comments was March 2, 2011. 13 comments were submitted.
March 22-24, 2011 – NIRB held a guidelines workshop in Baker Lake, NU. A number of federal and territorial governments departments participated along with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) and the Kivalliq Inuit Association. Non-governmental organization that participated in the workshop included the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, Makita and the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee.
May 3, 2011 – NIRB issued the final EIS guidelines to AREVA for preparation of the document for submission.

The next steps of the environmental assessment process will include the following:

AREVA will submit a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to NIRB, likely before the end of 2011.
NIRB, federal and territorial regulators, non-governmental organizations and the public will review the DEIS before the final EIS is prepared and submitted by AREVA.
Following another review there will be a final hearing and a recommendation by NIRB to the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

We will continue to provide updates throughout this process.

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May 19th, 2011 - AREVA is mobilized for Japan

author: AREVA

Article Tags: AREVA, Fukushima, general communication, Japan nuclear reactors, questions, radiation, TEPCO

There has been a lot of ink on the nuclear situation in Japan and we have been pretty quiet on this issue on this blog. It is now time to provide an update on what AREVA has been doing to help its colleagues, partners and the general population in Japan following the deadly earthquake and ensuing tsunami of March 11, 2011.

At the time of the earthquake and Tsunami, AREVA had about 100 employees in Japan, including 18 from France, Germany and the United States. Within hours of the events, AREVA was able to account for all its employees and offer to relocate them to the Kyushu region in south Japan if they wished.

Within days of the Japan earthquake and tsunami and accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant AREVA responded by:

Donating 1 Million Euros (about 1.4 Million Dollars CAD) to the Japanese Red Cross, which has 86 medical teams and nearly 600 workers in the area;
Chartering a plane to deliver 3,000 activated charcoal protective masks, 11,000 Hazmat suits, 200 self-contained breathing, 40,000 gloves, 6,870 blankets, 972,000 FFP2 protective masks, medicinal products, more than 100,000 bottles of mineral water, 100 metric tons of boric acid and a neutron absorber made available by Electricite de France, as well as radioactivity detection equipment provided by Canberra an AREVA subsidiary specializing in the manufacture of nuclear detection and measurement equipment; and
Dispatching more than 15 AREVA experts from France, German and the United States to Japan. These experts are specialized in radiation protection, management of spent fuels, decontamination of radioactive effluents, management of used storage pools, management of contaminated sites and in boiling water reactors.

Throughout the month of April, AREVA’s 15 experts on the ground in Japan and our Reactors and Services teams in France, Germany and the USA have been working with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant) to find adequate solutions for the issues that arose at Fukushima as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. AREVA proposed a solution to treat most of the contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant and TEPCO accepted. AREVA’s proposed method is based on a “co-precipitation concept” developed by AREVA and used in the Marcoule and La Hague facilities in France. The process uses special chemical reagents to separate and recover the radioactive elements. AREVA will then draw on its expertise and solutions for treating and managing these elements. Read more on this water decontamination process here. AREVA is also offering its spent fuel management expertise to TEPCO.

AREVA’s experts continue to be available to TEPCO, the Japanese Safety Authority (NISA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help monitor and remedy the situation at Fukushima.

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March 15th, 2011 - NIRB Open House – Tuesday, March 22, 2011 in Baker Lake

author: AREVA

Article Tags: baker lake, community, environmental assessment, general communication, open houses, questions, regulatory, Uranium

Prior to commencing the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Guidelines development workshop for the Kiggavik Project proposal, in Baker Lake, NU, an open house will be held on Tuesday, March 22. This open house will allow parties with jurisdictional authority over aspects of the Kiggavik Project to explain the role of their organization in the NIRB’s review of the Kiggavik project proposal. Parties are asked to deliver a short presentation to the public on behalf of their respective organization or group, and the Proponent for the Kiggavik Project – AREVA Resources Canada Inc. – is invited to provide an overview of its project proposal, with opportunity for questions from the public. Details of this open house are as follows:

Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 – 6:30pm to 10:00pm

Location: Community Centre, Baker Lake NU

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