Uranium is bad news for squirming Victoria

Paul Willcocks
Vancouver Sun
July 24, 2006

Uranium was always trouble in old movies. A rattling Geiger counter meant something bad was about to happen. This time uranium is bad news for the B.C. government , as political heat mounts over two potential uranium mine developments in the Interior.

The problem is that the government's position on uranium mining doesn't really stand up to scrutiny and risks alienating everyone involved, from mining companies to worried communities.

The Liberals don't want anything to do with uranium mines. Any economic benefits are dwarfed by the environmental questions and the huge political problems. Rural communities, urban enviros, anti-weapons activists and average citizens can pretty much all agree that they don't want uranium mining.

But the government also doesn't want to tell companies no uranium mines will be allowed. Uranium shouldn't even be an issue because there are no worthwhile deposits, the Liberals argue, but if companies want to look that's their business. (A kind of gloomy approach for a pro-mining government.)

So the government will let companies buy claims, conduct drilling tests and raise money from investors. And they are. Even if the projects are unlikely ever to go ahead, they're alarming people in Okanagan and North Thompson.

It's all confusing. Why not make the policy clear and save companies from wasting money on fruitless exploration and the government from grief?

That's what Socred Premier Bill Bennett did back in 1980. A consortium including Ontario Hydro announced plans for a uranium mine about 50 km southeast of Kelowna. The opposition was fierce. Bennett read the political winds and astutely brought in a seven-year moratorium on uranium development. The less astute Bill Vander Zalm allowed the moratorium to lapse, setting the stage for today's controversy.

Uranium hasn't been an issue for decades. Three Mile Island and Chernobyl scared people, as did fears that uranium would end up as weapons. The nuclear power industry stalled, uranium prices were low and there was no interest in B.C.

But spiking oil and gas prices -- and global warming -- have given the industry new life. Gas-powered plants have been the preferred alternative to nuclear, but spiking gas prices have scared power companies. Nuclear is now more competitive. And nuclear power doesn't emit greenhouse gases, unlike gas, oil or coal-fired plants.

The Ontario government has committed to new nuclear power plants. China plans to increase its nuclear power capacity by 600 per cent over the next 14 years.

The uranium has to come from somewhere. New projects are being proposed around the world and mothballed mines are being re-opened. And some mining companies think B.C. could be part of the boom. Last summer two companies announced plans to revive the project that sparked the 1980 moratorium, buying the Blizzard uranium claim near Beaverdell.

This summer it's International Ranger Corp. doing a bit of test drilling on property about 15 km from Clearwater. The protest group is already well-organized and a company open house this month -- ordered by the energy ministry -- didn't do anything to win them over. (The company now says it's really interested in potential molybdenum deposits, not the uranium. Since it stressed the huge uranium potential in its earlier statements, the claim isn't flying.)

Why won't the government just say no?

The Liberals have worked hard to rebuild the mining industry's confidence in B.C. Companies felt the former New Democratic Party government mistreated them, making arbitrary land-use decisions that killed projects after millions had been spent. The effort has paid off. But the industry is still nervous and some are looking at this as a test of the government's commitment.

Canada is already one of the top two uranium producers, they argue, and Saskatchewan is home to the largest mine in the world. And what if, the industry says, a small amount of uranium is a by-product from a major copper find? Should that be reason enough to abandon the jobs and government revenue that would be created from a mine?

The odds are against either of the current proposed developments going ahead. International Ranger is a small company with no real track record.

But other companies are going to come looking if uranium prices stay high and the the door remains open.

It all leaves Victoria in a tight spot. Judging by the squirming so far, it hasn't figured out any safe escape.