No takers for Nova Scotia uranium blocks post-ban lift

Nova Scotia, having recently lifted its decades-long ban on uranium exploration, says it has not received any bids for the request for proposals (RFPs) covering three areas prospective of the nuclear fuel.

The RFPs were announced last month by the government of Nova Scotia following its repeal of the province’s 44-year ban on uranium, which came into effect late March.

These RFPs called for individuals and companies to apply for exploration licences in three areas identified by the Department of Natural Resources to have higher levels of uranium: East Dalhousie, Louisville and Millet Brook. The application deadline was Wednesday, June 11.

“In the case of uranium specifically, there [were] no bids,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters in a news brief on Thursday.

Houston said that uranium was just one of many critical minerals that the province has listed for mining opportunities to grow what he considers to be the “worst performing economy in North America.”

Pushback on uranium

The province’s move to allow uranium exploration has been met with strong pushback. Multiple municipalities have requested a delay to assess potential effects, while the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs has condemned the lack of consultation.

The Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment also raised concerns about health risks, warning that uranium is both radioactive and chemically toxic, with the potential to contaminate water in high-rainfall regions.

However, Premier Houston said he believes uranium mining can be done safely. “There are a number of ways to explore for uranium,” he told CityNews. The province was once a hotbed of uranium exploration in the late 1970s, with tens of millions of dollars spent by major energy companies like Shell and Esso, before a moratorium was imposed due to health concerns.

According to the Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), uranium mining methods now are much different than what they were some 40 years ago. Today, most uranium is mined using solution mining (aka in-situ leaching), which results in less disturbance at surface and produces basically no tailings or waste rock, it said.

More action needed

In response to the lack of RFP bidding results, MANS believes the next step the government needs to take is to cut red tape in permitting while maintaining environmental standards.

“Fixing permitting is essential because it takes an average of 17 years to get from mineral deposit discovery to actual mining – too slow to achieve climate goals,” MANS said in a statement issued Thursday.

“Permitting is a major bottleneck in the process. That is why jurisdictions across Canada and around the world are taking steps to expedite permitting, while continuing to ensure the highest environmental standards are applied.”