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April 18th, 2011 - Aboriginal and Public Involvement Program – See the Reports
author: AREVA
One of the principles of AREVA’s Corporate Social Responsibility is to engage with the leadership of Aboriginal people, municipal representatives and the general public in a manner that recognizes their interest in AREVA’s business, to understand how AREVA’s operations may potentially affect their interests, and how their interests may be accommodated by AREVA. We are committed to working with the general public and Aboriginal people who are interested or may be potentially affected by our projects, so their rights are respected. To do this we are committed to interact with the public and Aboriginal people in a transparent manner, with mutual respect and honesty.
In keeping with the above commitments, we are pleased to provide our Aboriginal and Public Involvement Program (APIP) Strategy document as well as the related reports describing the content and results of our APIP during the first three phases of our public engagement efforts between Spring 2009 and Fall 2010. The APIP strategy and the reports can be reviewed and downloaded on this blog right in the download section.
If you have any questions and/or comments about these documents don’t hesitate to send them to us using the contact section on this blog.
March 23rd, 2011 - Fixing Up Highway Creek Bridge!
author: AREVA
While visiting with comunity leaders and members during 2010, we repetedly heard people identify a number of specific road improvement suggestions. One of these suggestions was that the bridge over Highway Creek, west of La Ronge on Highway #2, needed to be fixed up as it appeared to be “sagging”.
Our commitment to the community people we met in 2010 was that we would communicate all the concerns they raised about the roads to the officials at the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure – we kept that commitment. We brought community concerns to Ministry officials and to the Minister himself.
We were very pleased to discover in February 2011 that the Highway Creek bridge was being repaired to addressed the issues Northerners had identified. The efforts and hard work undertaken by the Department of Highways and Infrastructure to meet the residents of Northern Saskatchewan’s expectation are commandable. We would encourage Northerners to continue to communicate with us and with government officials to ensure that issues are brought forward and that highways and infrastructure work the way they were intended to.
As stewards of Saskatchewan’s North we all play a role in bringing improvements to the region.
October 28th, 2010 - We Still Want Your Opinion!
author: AREVA-admin
In September, we held a significant community tour, which involved open houses, meetings with First Nation, Métis and community leaders, and presentations to the high schools. We had some great dialogue with people who cam out to learn about the Project, ask questions, and raise concerns Comments are questions related to the conditions of public highways, contingency and emergency response, the proposed future direct link between McArthur River and McClean Lake, aboriginal and public involvement issues, and the environmental review process were raised. We have recorded what we heard. This information will be reported in our forthcoming environmental impact statement. This report will eventually be posted to this blog.
If you were not able to come out and meet us, there is still time to provide us with your comments and ask questions. You can post comments/questions here, email mcarthurtomcclean@areva.ca, or call the regulatory coordinator, Carolanne Inglis-McQuay at 306-343-4555.
October 1st, 2010 - Blog Technical Difficulties @ Open Houses
author: AREVA-admin
For those of you who joined us at one of our open houses in the north, you may remember that we had this blog available to you to read and submit comments. Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties, your comments and/or questions submitted via the blog were lost. Â We will make sure this doesn’t happen next time.
We would really appreciate if you would take the time to once again type out your comments/questions so that we may provide you with some answers and record your comments. What you have to say is important to us.
September 21st, 2010 - Taking off for the Basin
author: AREVA-admin
We have now had 10 open houses in the north, and today we are taking off for the basin for four more open houses. Â We will be setting up in the same open house style as in other locations. The schedule is below:
Stony Rapids from 9:00am – 12:00pm on Tuesday, September 21 at Stony Rapids Community Hall
Black Lake from 4:00pm – 7:00pm on Tuesday, September 21 at Father Porte Memorial Dene School
Fond Du Lac from 4:00pm – 7:00pm on Wednesday, September 22 at Father Gamache Memorial School
Wollaston from 9:00am – 12:00pm on Thursday, September 23 at Father Megret Memorial High School
September 14th, 2010 - North of La Ronge
author: AREVA-admin
We had open houses in La Ronge, Lac La Ronge Indian Band, and Air Ronge last week. The busiest open house was La Ronge, but we received good comments and feedback from all of our sessions. We have been diligently recording comments and questions that we are being brought up. These records continue to help shape the Environmental Impact Statement and will be reported to different government agencies.
After a weekend off, we are back in the north. Today we went to Grandmother’s Bay and Stanley Mission. One of the most common themes we are hearing is related to road conditions. It is in AREVA’s best interest, for local and insutry traffic alike, to see that the road conditions are improved.
We will continue on this week holding open houses in a number of communities. We hope to see you at one of the following locations:
Southend from 9:00am – 12:00pm on Tuesday, September 14 at the Southend Youth Centre
Hall Lake from 9:00 am – 12:00pm on Wednesday, September 15 at the Band Hall
Pinehouse from 4:00pm – 7:00pm on Wednesday, September 15 at Pinehouse Community Hall
Patuanak from 9:00am – 12:00pm on Thursday, September 15 at William Apesis Memorial Hall
Sucker River from 9:00am – 12:00pm on Friday, September 16 at Sucker River Community Hall
If you are unable to make these open houses, please be sure to ask questions on this blog.
September 2nd, 2010 - Ore Slurry Containers: Built for Safety & Durability
author: AREVA-admin
The uranium ore slurry will be transported in specially-designed containers similar to those used during the past 10 years without incident between the McArthur River mine and the Key Lake mill. These containers withstand extreme cold and hot temperatures, fire hazards, and traffic accidents. Their wall thickness serves as a barrier to radiation exposure and protects their contents.
What makes these containers so special?
These containers consist of a vessel, a complete steel outer structure/frame, and steel cladding on the outside of that. The frame is made out of 150x150x6 HSS steel (hollow structure section). The outer cladding is a 6 mm thick steel plate. The vessel has 16mm thick walls. The 16mm walls by itself is very thick; to put it in perspective, a holding tank in a uranium mill that would hold similar slurry, would have 6mm thick walls.
The below diagram shows the ore slurry container. The “x” markings you see is an area full of insulation.
The containers are designed to meet all national and international safety criteria. They have been through many tests to ensure that they will be leak and spill proof and limit potential radiation on the outside of the containers. Some of the tests they have gone through include:
- drop tests
- stacking tests
- heat, cold, and fire resistance tests
- pressure variation tests
- vibration tests
- acceleration tests
- closing devices, valves, nuts and bolts tests
If you have any other questions about these ore slurry containers, feel free to ask us or catch us on the road for the next three weeks in the north.
August 19th, 2010 - Open House Schedule
author: AREVA-admin
You’re invited to attend an open house to learn more about the proposed McArthur River Ore Haul to McClean Lake Mill Project. Come and enjoy some refreshments with us and meet our team. We will be happy to answer your questions and hear your comments on the proposed projects.
August 13th, 2010 - Northern Road Conditions
author: AREVA-admin
The network of roads in northern Saskatchewan is an important link for several northern communities. These roads are also critical for several mining and exploration operations that rely on the roads for transporting goods and products to and from the mine sites and exploration camps. In turn, the roads are shared by local traffic and mining trucks. One of the concerns we’ve heard with the McArthur River Ore Haul project is that people are worried about the conditions of the roads.
It is in our best interest to ensure the quality of the northern roads is maintained and improved. AREVA and Cameco will continue to contribute significantly every year to the Northern Highway Improvement Fund. We also work closely with the Ministry of Highways & Infrastructure to find ways to improve the roads. A few specific improvement initiatives that we are willing to talk to the Province about are: