Full-time monitor needed for uranium ice-drilling site: watchdog

A mining advocacy group is insisting that a full-time environmental monitor be on site for a proposed uranium exploration program in Labrador.

'I think there's a strong temptation to take short cuts and the problem is there's nobody there to monitor it.' —Jamie Kneen, Mining Watch Canada

Mining Watch Canada said an ice-drilling technique proposed by Aurora Energy is risky and should not happen without an independent observer on site at all times.

Aurora Energy wants to extract samples from the bottom of Melody Lake by drilling through the winter ice. It believes there may be a significant uranium deposit at the site.

"It's a bit of a pain to go through all these procedures to protect the environment," said Jamie Kneen, communications co-ordinator with Mining Watch Canada, an Ottawa-based watchdog.

"I think there's a strong temptation to take short cuts and the problem is there's nobody there to monitor it."

Earlier this week, the Newfoundland and Labrador government said continuous environmental monitoring was not needed.

That has raised concerns among Labrador residents, particularly in the Labrador coastal community of Makkovik, which is near the Aurora Energy site.

"I don't think any exploration should go ahead without having environmental monitors in place," said Terry Rice, who chairs a committee on the issue.

Rice said an exploration boom in the 1970s in central Labrador left the land littered with oil drums that were never removed.

"It's time for the government to learn from their mistakes and put regulations and monitors in place to ensure the environment is protected."

Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale said the Newfoundland and Labrador government is following practices on uranium exploration that were developed over the last 30 years in Saskatchewan.

By those standards, she said, full-time monitoring is not necessary.

Dunderdale is expected to rule soon on Aurora Energy's request.