Daniel T'seleie
Northern News Services

Baker Lake (Aug 31/05) - International mining giant Cameco Corporation has struck a deal with De Beers Canada to search for uranium on the diamond company's Aberdeen Lake property, 150 kilometres west of Baker Lake.

Provided it spends at least $300,000 in its first year of exploration, Cameco will get a 60 per cent stake in any future uranium mining projects.

Many residents of Baker Lake are reserving judgment of the news, says Mayor David Aksawnee.

"Right now the public is quiet because both companies haven't held the public meetings yet."

He expects both De Beers and Cameco will schedule public meetings to discuss their plans at some time in the future.

The money spent, upwards of $2 million over four years, could be a boon to the local economy, but some say education about uranium mining and nuclear power needs to go hand in hand with industry development.

"I think there needs to be a level of comfort," said Peter Tapatai of Peter's Expediting in Baker Lake.

"There's a lot of questions going to be asked about this," he said. "The way I look at it, there's a lot of education needed to make people understand how the process works." That's what Cameco plans, said Bob Lillie, manager for investor relations.

"Whatever the community concerns are, we would go to great lengths to try and address that."

"Close consultation," with communities that may be affected by its operations is a "fundamental requirement," for Cameco, Lillie said.

Exploration will begin sometime in the next 12 months, Lillie said. It will consist mostly of aerial surveys.

Next 10 to 15 years

Discovery of a "good economic ore body," could lead to uranium mining in the next 10 to 15 years, Lillie said.

Information on employment opportunities for Nunavummiut in the early stages of exploration could not be gathered by press time.

Nunavut is a large consumer of fossil fuels, Tapatai said, and with rising fuel prices it is time to look at alternatives.

Tapatai is impressed with the amount of power generated by nuclear fuels, like uranium, but says Nunavut should not discount the strong winds and summer sunshine as sources of energy.

He is concerned about the environment, but says regulations these days are very strict.

Lillie agrees the approval process to build a uranium mine takes several years, he said.