Cameco receives uranium mine approval under challenging conditions

Cameco Australia has been given federal environmental approval for the Yeelirrie uranium project in Western Australia after a two-year approval process. The approval from the Department of Environment and Energy follows Western Australian Government approval in January 2017.

Canada’s Cameco considers that both approvals involve ‘comprehensive conditions’, ensuring the project is responsibly managed. Cameco General Manager Simon Williamson described the approvals process as a rigorous and extensive environmental assessment.

“We have worked with the Department over the two-year process to demonstrate how we will reduce and manage any environmental risks,” Williamson said. “While we are happy to have this approval in place, current market conditions are challenging, and we expect them to remain so in the near term.”

The approval is not without controversy, however, since it was approved one day before the federal election was called and not announced until this week. Williamson told the ABC he was pleased Environment Minister Melissa Price had approved the mine before calling the election.

“Yeah, that’s likely to raise questions about rushed decision and all that stuff, but the state [government] made their decision in January 2017,” he said.

“The timing was such that all of [the assessment] was completed to allow her to sign off before the election. I think it’s quite appropriate and I think the Minster would want to sign off on projects on her plate before she goes to an election.”

The state approval of the proposed mine was similarly approved by the WA Barnett government only weeks before it lost the WA election. The decision is still being fought in the state’s Supreme Court by members of the Tjiwarl traditional owners.

In 2016, the West Australian Environment Protection Agency advised the mine not be approved, concluding it posed too great a risk of extinction to some native animals.

Cameco acquired the Yeelirrie project from BHP in 2012. More than 10,000 historical and recent drill holes have been completed by prior owners.

Minerals Council of Australia Chief Executive Tania Constable said Australia’s complex and duplicative project assessment and approval processes generated unnecessary delays and uncertainty.

“The length of this approval process again underlines the need for certainty from policymakers, including streamlined laws, which protect our environment while removing duplication and red tape as unnecessary overlap,” Constable said.

“Australia has the world’s largest endowment of uranium resources and is well placed to continue to supply growing global markets with affordable, near zero-emissions energy. This development will be another part of Australia’s contribution to the transition to a lower carbon economy.”

Cameco Australia stated that any decisions to advance its projects in Western Australia would depend upon market conditions.

Image caption: Yeelirrie, near Wiluna, the site of Australia’s largest uranium deposit. Source: ABC News.