Three sites in Canadian province announced as potential targets
The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has added uranium to its list of priority critical minerals and has issued a request for exploration proposals at three sites.
The potential uranium exploration sites are Louisville in Pictou County, East Dalhousie in Annapolis County and Millet Brook in Hants County.
Natural resources minister Tory Rushton said the list includes critical minerals that the province considers a priority for development.
Rushton said the province hopes to reap economic benefit from the exploration, but a department official said any potential mining project could be “decades” away.
New legislation passed in March lifted a moratorium on uranium exploration that had been in place for more than 40 years and ended a 15-year-old ban on uranium mining.
Novia Scotia premier Tim Houston has said the legislative changes were needed to make the province better able to withstand economic challenges that would result from US tariffs.
The Mining Association of Novia Scotia (Mans) said uranium is considered a critical mineral because it is the key nuclear fuel.
“Experts around the world agree that nuclear power is essential to achieving climate goals because it provides vast quantities of baseload energy without generating any greenhouse gas emissions,” Mans said.
It noted that countries around the world, including Canada, have committed to tripling nuclear power generation as part of trying to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
“Tripling nuclear power generation will require huge additional quantities of uranium in coming years, and there are concerns about shortages,” Mans said.
“Uranium also makes possible things like smoke detectors and medical equipment and procedures, such as radiation therapy treatments for cancer patients.”
Canada is a major global uranium producer, particularly in northern Saskatchewan. It is currently the second-largest uranium producer in the world, behind Kazakhstan, and was once the largest.
“If uranium actually caused the problems that some allege, the people of Saskatchewan would tell us so,” Mans said. “Instead, 83% of people in Saskatchewan support uranium mining, according to polling.”
