Communiqué

What's Happening

Krista Reddy logs in core samples at Shea Creek.

Exploration Going Strong

Winter and summer exploration campaigns have kept the AREVA Resources exploration team busy over the past year – and the 2010 campaign looks just as busy, according to Joseph Roux, VP Exploration. "In total, we drilled about 61,000 metres and 178 drill holes on nine claims in the east, west and central Athabasca Basin. We also had a significant summer program in Nunavut."

There are approximately 45 people in the Exploration department. Shea Creek, located south of Cluff Lake in the west Athabasca, was a big focus of activity with first three and then four drilling rigs on site. Exploration at Shea Creek is virtually year round, starting in February and continuing through the summer months. There was also considerable drilling activity on a site near Cigar Lake in the east Athabasca, where one rig drilled 18 holes and about 10,000 metres.

AREVA has been using directional drilling to help minimize its environmental footprint while maximizing the exploration effort. "With directional drilling, we drill down to the top of the target area and then we drill in any number of directions. We can explore up to 30 or 35 different holes from one surface drill hole," Roux says. "It is a huge cost saving. At Shea Creek for example, we drilled 22,000 metres. If we had drilled from the surface for each new drill hole, we would have drilled maybe 44,000 metres, so we saved approximately 22,000 metres."

Such savings are critical in uranium exploration. Even with high tech tools, drilling 7-to-10-inch diameter holes against the vast backdrop of the Athabasca Basin is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Then again, it makes every success that much sweeter.

Kiggavik Adds to Knowledge Bank

The Kiggavik-Sissons Project in Nunavut enjoyed a successful summer exploration program. But meeting its drilling target of 9,000 metres was just one of many activities underway at the site. Throughout 2009, consultant teams were working with local residents to gather data and community information for several environmental baseline reports. The nature of these reports is adding valuable information to the public domain.

Exploration camp at the Kiggavik Project, 80 km from Baker Lake, Nunavut.

Did you know, for example, that an archaeological baseline is part of the requirement for Kiggavik? "We have to ensure that we know where any artefacts or archaeological sites are in the project area," says Barry McCallum, AREVA's manager of Nunavut affairs. "This is year three of the survey and a presentation was made to the community committee on the findings."

A marine baseline survey of Baker Lake and Hudson Bay is also ongoing. The marine survey looks at things like sediment at the bottom of the lake where dock sites may be located, and catching and analyzing fish to provide a reference of how things were before mining. AREVA also did airborne surveys in July and September along several hundred kilometres of Hudson Bay to create a baseline of marine animals such as beluga whales, seals, walruses and polar bears.

Both the archaeological and marine/wildlife baseline programs employ local residents to work with the consultant teams, and findings are reported back to the community. The knowledge of local hunters and trappers has been invaluable in the process. "They often assist us by sharing information. For example, we adjusted the fall flight of our marine survey of Hudson Bay coastline because local hunters and trappers said mid-September was a bit late. They told us to go earlier and we'd be more likely to find belugas near shore as opposed to way out, and they were right," McCallum says.

This process of community engagement is ongoing. In fact, it has become the norm for AREVA Resources' projects. "Community involvement is critical," McCallum says. "Our modern environmental assessment process relies on a combination of modern science and traditional knowledge from people who live near potential mine sites."

Licensing Updates

Although rising costs and lower uranium prices have put development of several projects on hold for now, environmental assessment and engineering activities are continuing so the projects will be ready to proceed when market conditions improve. The re-submission of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Midwest Project has been delayed to the first quarter of 2010 to address additional information requirements requested by federal regulators. The Midwest Project is located 16 km west of McClean Lake.

The environmental assessment process also continues for the Caribou Project, a small deposit located near the Sue mining area and encompassed by the McClean Lake Operation. The EIS has been submitted to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and the Province of Saskatchewan, and the CNSC screening report is being finalized. The company has been advised by the Province that they are prepared to issue an approval for the Caribou Project, which can be issued with a formal request by AREVA. We are finalizing the procedural requirements to obtain approval of the EIS from the CNSC. In early November, applications for an amendment of the CNSC Operating Licence and approval related to the Provincial Operating Licence regarding McArthur River ore being brought to McClean Lake for processing were submitted.

AREVA will be discussing this proposed ore haulage from McArthur River to McClean Lake with the various community members and local representatives along the proposed route. Despite the recent decision to place the McClean Lake mill in a temporary care and maintenance mode, the plan remains to obtain approval to haul McArthur River ore to McClean Lake and use it to restart the mill approximately one year before the expected start of mining at Cigar Lake.