Areva urges minister to reject Nunavut board's disapproval of uranium project

The company that wants to eventually open a uranium mine near Baker Lake, Nunavut, is asking the federal government to reject a territorial regulator's recommendation that the project not be approved.

In May, following a multi-year environmental impact review, the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) said Areva Resources Canada's Kiggavik project should not be approved because it doesn't have a construction timeline attached to it.

But whether the project can proceed is ultimately up to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt. Areva has written Valcourt asking him to send the recommendation back to NIRB and direct NIRB to "consider the inclusion of appropriate terms and conditions to a project approval."

The company says it disagrees that the lack of a firm construction date is an unresolveable issue preventing the project from being approved.