The province wants private companies to apply to look for uranium at three known deposits in the province.
Asking private companies to apply for specific locations will hopefully speed up the process, according to Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources.
He says they want to know if there is enough good quality uranium to potentially build mines.
“And we are already moving to capitalize on the growth of global demand for uranium,” said Rushton.
The uranium deposits include:
- An 80-hectare site in Louisville, Pictou County
- A 64-hectare sire in East Dalhousie, Annapolis County
- A 2300-hectare site in Millet Brook, Hants County
Rushton adds that exploring for uranium would significantly boost the economy, but it would also let them know about potentially dangerous amounts of radon gas, which can cause cancer and comes from uranium.
The province lifted the ban on uranium exploration in March, which received significant backlash from environmentalists.
Province will vet applications
In the request for proposals, the province says they’re looking for companies with a good safety track record and experience in the industry.
However, they do not need to go through an environmental assessment during the exploration stage, but that depends on how they are exploring. If they want to drill or use a more invasive method of searching for deposits, then they will have to do an assessment.
Mining could still be about a decade away, even if a company finds a large amount of certain minerals, because of the lengthy process to get a mine set up, according to the provincial government.
The applications will be available online on Wednesday through the NovaROC website, the province’s site for managing proposal requests.
Mines are too far off, says opposition
NDP leader Claudia Chender says she also wants to boost the province’s economy, but the potential economic impact of mining is too far off.
“It’s a long time away. It’s slow and steady. So in that case, why? Why are we doing this? And why aren’t we engaging with Nova Scotian communities about what they really want and what they really need?” said Chender.
She said the government is showing off uranium exploration to appear as though they are doing something to tackle the high cost of living and housing.
“We don’t see a real solution coming down the pipe,” she said.
Province designates new minerals as critically important
Along with the designation, the province has updated their list of critical minerals.
The point of the designation is to bring attention to those resources, and potentially attract funding federal funding, according to a government spokesperson.
They get the “critical” designation for a variety of reasons, including how much the province relies on imports, the concentration of the minerals in the region, the geopolitical significance, and whether there are any substitutes for those minerals.
The province has designated four new materials as “critical.” That includes:
- uranium used for nuclear energy and health applications
- high purity silica used for solar panels and semiconductors
- silver used for solar panels and thermoelectric devices
- tellurium used for solar panels and thermoelectric devices
The federal government has their own list of 34 critical minerals, but the province says they took a more focused approach. The four newly designated minerals brings the Nova Scotia list to 20.
