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BAKER LAKE
Areva Resources Canada's Kiggavik uranium project near Baker Lake took another step forward this past week with the beginning of a technical review on the project.

Elder Elizabeth (Anaaluk) Papak was interested in the various information displays during an Areva session in Chesterfield inlet earlier this winter. - photo courtesy of Barry McCallum

The Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) ruled adequate information had been provided to commence the technical review of the Kiggavik proposal.

The next steps in the process will include the preparation of technical-review comments and the scheduling of a technical meeting and pre-hearing conference.

Areva responded to more than 400 information requests concerning Kiggavik's draft environmental-impact statement on the proposed uranium mining and milling operation located about 80 km west of Baker.

Areva provided responses to requests for information from Inuit organizations, federal and territorial government departments and several other organizations.

The environmental-impact statement reflects more than five years of recent engineering, environmental and public-engagement studies conducted by Areva.

Company manager of Nunavut affairs Barry McCallum said during the technical review, questions are often asked on methods and assessments, among other areas of concern.

He said the reviewers now have 60 days (April 8) to write their technical comments and pass them on to Areva.

"The technical meeting will follow shortly after that," said McCallum.

"There won't be as much time to answer the technical comments, so we'll come up with a strategy and go into the technical meetings to discuss the issues raised in this phase of the review.

"In NIRB's revised schedule of events, May 8 is noted for our responses, which gives us 30 days to respond to the technical comments.

"NIRB will determine the actual date of the technical meeting by the end of this month, which, it estimates, will be between May 28-31."

The technical meeting will be followed by a pre-hearing conference in early June, with a NIRB report being issued on the gathering in July.

McCallum said that will give Areva its guidelines for the final environmental-impact statement.

He said the year-long process incorporates everyone's questions, Areva's responses and all the resolutions into one final document.

"We're confident when we work our way to the end of the NIRB process, the board will agree we have a sound project and we'll wind up with a project certificate.

"We're looking at late 2014 to early 2015 as a reasonable time frame to complete the environmental-assessment process.

"There will be one-to-two years of licensing required after that and, when that's completed, the economics of the project will be viewed.

"If that looks good and we have the environmental-assessment process, we could move into construction no earlier than somewhere in 2017."

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