Accepted Manuscript
Uranium Mining and First Peoples: The nuclear renaissance confronts historical legacies
Geordan Graetz
PII: S0959-6526(14)00287-X DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.03.055 Reference: JCLP 4162
To appear in: Journal of Cleaner Production
Received Date: 31 July 2013 Revised Date: 13 March 2014 Accepted Date: 18 March 2014
Please cite this article as: Graetz G, Uranium Mining and First Peoples: The nuclear renaissance confronts historical legacies, Journal of Cleaner Production (2014), doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.03.055.
This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Uranium Mining and First Peoples: The nuclear renaissance confronts historical legacies
Geordan Graetz 1
1Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
1Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] Phone: +61 7 3346 4005 Fax: +61 7 3346 4045
Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining Sustainable Minerals Institute Sir James Foots Building (47A), Staff House Road The University of Queensland Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT [9,024 words inclusive of abstract, keywords, references and tables]
Uranium Mining and First Peoples: The nuclear renaissance confronts historical legacies
Abstract : Forecasts of an increase in nuclear electricity generation would require a commensurate increase in the mining of uranium; however, there are a number of impediments to its successful extraction. These include government regulation, bans on uranium mining and exploration, and environmental, waste management and nuclear proliferation concerns. While literature on these issues exists, less is known about the effects of community opposition to uranium developments, particularly from First Peoples. This area of study is important for uranium companies, as 70 per cent of uranium deposits are located on the traditional lands of First Peoples. Crucially, the history and legacy of relationships between First Peoples and uranium companies would suggest that opposition by host communities could disrupt future uranium production. This paper explores these issues and reviews the experiences of First Peoples and uranium companies in Australia, Canada, the United States and several African states. It argues that if companies were to prioritise more respectful engagement with host communities, social and business risks may be reduced and more mutually beneficial development outcomes may be achieved.
Keywords : First Peoples; mining; nuclear renaissance; rights; risk; uranium
1. Introduction
In the context of sustainability issues in the global supply of energy, this paper draws particular attention to the social dimensions assoc iatedMANUSCRIPT with the mining of uranium, a major source of electrical energy when used as fuel in nuclear power plants. As global demand for energy increases, observers of the nuclear power industry have discussed the possibility of a nuclear renaissance (for example, Squassoni, 2008; Sovacool, 2010; Guidolin and Guseo,
2012). While there are numerous demand-side constraints that may call into question the viability of such a renaissance (Way, 2013), it is clear from current projections (IAEA, 2012) that nuclear power will continue to be a feature of energy supply and that uranium mining must expand to meet the increased demand for nuclear fuel. However, there also are supply- side impedimentsACCEPTED that may disrupt the expansion of the uranium industry, including access to uranium deposits, opposition by political leaders and domestic constituencies to uranium developments and the nuclear fuel cycle more broadly, and opposition by First Peoples to uranium projects on traditional lands. The paper explores this latter constraint, focusing on the history, continuing legacy and current status of relationships between uranium companies and
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT First Peoples globally. This is important, first, because approximately 70 per cent of global uranium deposits are located on the traditional lands of First Peoples (Dowie, 2009), and, second, because First Peoples’ opposition to uranium mining often is greater than it is for other commodities, due to heightened perceptions of social and environmental risks and concerns about the nuclear fuel cycle. Third, such opposition can escalate from the local to the national or international level, drawing in other actors and stakeholders, potentially occasioning political and business risks for mining companies. Fourth, given that the right of
First Peoples to control access to their lands increasingly is being recognised both in international and domestic law and jurisprudence (Graetz and Franks, 2013), failure to understand and address First Peoples’ opposition to uranium developments could affect the development of new uranium projects and, thus, the supply of nuclear fuel.
This paper is organised in to six sections. The present section describes the aims and context of the work, while the following section briefly examines the possibility of a nuclear renaissance. The third section discusses major issu MANUSCRIPTes affecting uranium production globally. In the fourth section, relationships between First Peoples and uranium companies are reviewed, with examples principally drawn from Australia and Canada; reference also is made to noteworthy examples from the United States and Africa. The fifth section discusses recent advancements in industry engagement with First Peoples in Australia and Canada. The examples demonstrate that relationships between uranium companies and First Peoples may be improved, and business risks reduced, through more respectful engagement with, and attention to the concernsACCEPTED of, host communities, particularly those concerns that pertain to unwanted social impacts and the maximisation of benefits. The final section presents concluding observations and proposes that future work focus on the incorporation of human rights instruments into corporate decision-making mechanisms and on elaborating theory on the interface between social risk and business risk.
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2. A nuclear renaissance?
Since the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the meltdown of three of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s four Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power reactors, the long-standing debate on the future of the nuclear power industry has gained new life. Critics have raised concerns about the construction of new nuclear power plants (Lovins, 2011;
Green, 2011; Sovacool, 2011), while the political leaders of Australia, Belgium, Israel, Japan,
Mexico, The Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and Venezuela either have commissioned reviews of their states’ existing nuclear programs or have announced that they will refrain from pursuing a nuclear power future (Sun, 2011; Taylor, 2011; Pons, 2011;
Rodriguez, 2011). In addition, Chancellor Angela Merkel reinstated Germany’s previously abandoned commitment to phase out its nuclear power program by 2022 (Breidthardt, 2011), and Italy held a referendum in which citizens overw MANUSCRIPThelmingly voted to preserve their country’s non-nuclear status (Ministero Dell’Interno, 2011).
Notwithstanding questions about the safety of nuclear technologies, participants in the nuclear power industry remain optimistic about the role that the technology can play both in meeting rising global demand for energy and responding to climate change and energy security challenges (WNA, 2012; Jamard, n.d.). Moreover, expressing confidence in the future safety and viability of the technology, the leaders of China, India, Turkey, USA and Vietnam have reaffirmedACCEPTED their commitments to their existing or planned nuclear power programs (RFE, 2011; Manthorpe, 2012; Lichtblau, 2011). There are now more than 70 reactors in various stages of construction worldwide (NEI, 2014); China is overseeing the bulk of this development, with 29 reactors currently under construction, while India plans to increase the share of nuclear power to 25 per cent of its electricity market from the present
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT level of three per cent by 2050 (Srivastava, 2011). Russia and South Korea also have sizeable expansion plans (NEI, 2014).
While it is questionable whether this wave of development can be labelled a nuclear renaissance considering the shift in many governments’ positions on the technology since
Fukushima (Joskow and Parsons, 2012), what is more certain is that current and planned reactors will rely on a stable and necessarily growing supply of nuclear fuel. However, there are significant supply-side constraints, which may disrupt uranium production.
3. Global issues in uranium production
The importance of supply side constraints cannot be overstated in view of the current production deficit. In 2012, global uranium production totalled 58,394 tU (68,864 t uranium oxide – U3O8), meeting approximately 86 per cent of reactor fuel needs (WNA, 2013 ). The remaining 14 per cent was drawn from decommissioned MANUSCRIPT nuclear weapons, commercial stockpiles, recycled plutonium and reprocessed used fuel (WNA, 2012a). While these figures represent a marked decrease on the previous two years’ production deficit—in 2010, uranium production (53,671 tU) met only 78 per cent of global reactor fuel needs—stockpiles are being depleted. Demand is expected to grow to 72,680 tU in 2015 (WNA, 2013), and the
Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency forecast that “world annual reactor-related uranium requirements are projected to rise to between 97 645 tU and 136 385 tU by 2035”ACCEPTED (OECD 2012, p. 12). Uranium currently is mined in 19 countries (Table 1). Six new mines are forecast to commence production in the period 2013 to 2015; these will be located in Australia, Canada,
Finland, Namibia, Niger and Russia (WNA, 2013). In 2012, the top eight uranium-producing companies in descending order were KazAtomProm, Areva, Cameco, ARMZ - Uranium One,
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Paladin and Navoi, which together accounted for 82 per cent of global uranium production (WNA, 2013).
[Insert Table 1 here]
The uranium industry has staked its future on the responses of national governments to climate change, declining energy security, population growth, diminishing fossil fuel resources and the inadequacy of many renewable technologies to deliver reliable and cost- effective base-load electricity supply. The industry contends that nuclear power represents a viable solution to such challenges, and maintains that uranium is a proven, safe, cost-effective and emissions-free source of energy (WNA, 2012b). However, against this optimism, Smil
(2010, p. 105), points to several key hurdles that may slow the uptake of nuclear power, saying: MANUSCRIPT [T]he combined challenges of the industry’s public acceptance, long-term fuel availability, permanent waste storage, and nuclear weapons proliferation do not make any early vigorous and widespread renaissance very likely.
This goes to the heart of public concerns about the risks to individuals and communities from uranium developments, which arguably are greater than those posed by the extraction and processing of other commodities (Wallace and Smiles, 2007). Chief concerns include possible exposure to the carcinogenic gas, radon; disposal of toxic waste; safe and secure transportationACCEPTED of uranium oxide and other radioactive materials; and surface and groundwater contamination, affecting both human and environmental health (Brugge and
Goble, 2002; Conde and Kallis, 2012). Furthermore, disasters at the Three Mile Island,
Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plants have contributed to perceptions that the
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT nuclear and—by extension—uranium industries are unsafe and morally questionable (ACF,
2012).
While it is important to draw a distinction between the uranium industry (mining and exploration activity) and end use services in the nuclear industry (for example, nuclear electricity generation, medical imaging, isotopic food preservation and weapons fabrication), attitudes toward risks associated with these end use services can—and do—influence perceptions of risk at the mining and exploration stages. This is evident in critiques of the uranium industry, which are symbolic of the often emotive political debates that focus on the commodity, and which draw in a range of political actors, such as non-governmental environmental organisations and anti-nuclear groups. The conflation of the uranium and nuclear industries arguably has helped to foster community perceptions of heightened risk at the mining stage. These perceptions can trigger potential business risks for uranium companies, which may arise in the form of political opposition to proposed developments, reputational risk, withdrawal of government support MANUSCRIPT for projects due to electoral concerns, and denial or withdrawal of the social licence to operate.
Government regulation and political barriers can hinder growth in the uranium sector.
Regulatory impediments include: international and national supervisory agency requirements governing the use, beneficiation and export of uranium; environmental governance regimes; national mining laws; and the outcomes of statutory social and/or environmental impact assessments, which may result in restrictions being placed on uranium projects or aspects thereof (for example,ACCEPTED mine design and location in order to protect cultural heritage sites). In contrast, political impediments primarily stem from the machinations of electoral politics, as two recent Australian cases exemplify. In the first, the former Northern Territory Labor government withdrew its support in 2010 for Cameco Australia and Paladin’s Angela and
Pamela proposed joint venture projects on the outskirts of the Territory’s second largest city,
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Alice Springs, in order to appease crossbenchers who opposed the development and thus maintain the Government’s parliamentary majority. In the second, the South Australian government banned mining in that State’s privately-owned and uranium-rich Arkaroola
Wilderness Sanctuary through the enactment of the Arkaroola Protection Act 2012 (SA)
(Austl.), ostensibly to prevent one company, Marathon Resources, from developing its Mt
Gee uranium tenement, which lay within the boundaries of the Sanctuary (ABC News, 2011).
Other noteworthy political impediments include party platforms, such as the
Australian Labor Party’s former ‘Three Mines Policy’ (Clarke, 2011) and, until recently, its ban on the sale of uranium to India (Packham 2011), as well as jurisdictional bans on uranium mining and exploration activity, for example, in New South Wales (only exploration is permitted), Queensland (until 2012), Western Australia (until 2008) and the Navajo Nation
(discussed below). Civil society, activist and Green party opposition to the nuclear fuel cycle;
‘not in my back yard’ (NIMBY) sentiment; and opposition by some First Peoples to uranium exploration and mining activity on traditional land MANUSCRIPTs also are key issues (Graetz and Manning, 2011).
This last point has emerged as a crucial barrier to the extraction of uranium, as the majority of uranium developments in leading uranium producing countries (excluding
Kazakhstan) occur on or adjacent the lands of First Peoples. First Nations’ rights to control access to these lands, such as the right of free, prior and informed consent, and to receive benefits in return for access, increasingly are being recognised in domestic and international law (Graetz and ACCEPTEDFranks, 2013; O’Faircheallaigh, 2013). However, industry participants have been criticised for being slow to recognise these rights, and in the past have been accused of rights violations (Katona, 2001; Marsh, 2010).
4. The uranium industry and First Peoples
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In their 2011 study, Graetz and Manning established that opposition by First Peoples to uranium projects is an under-theorised, yet consequential, subject of inquiry, and that such opposition represented a critical, though not insurmountable, impediment to the future prosperity and longevity of the uranium industry in Australia. This paper elaborates on Graetz and Manning’s finding, and suggests that First Peoples’ experiences of social risks—defined here as potential unwanted social impacts that either are experienced or perceived (Graetz and
Franks, 2013)—provides the grounds for such opposition, which, in turn, can transmute into business risks for uranium companies. Understanding social risk, then, is key to (1) minimising business risks and (2) to addressing future barriers to nuclear fuel supply.
In this section and the next, relationships between First Peoples and uranium industries in Australia, Canada, the United States and Africa are examined. Discussion on
Australia and Canada is prioritised for the reason that these states at once are home to some of the world’s largest uranium deposits, have sizable MANUSCRIPTand historically significant First Peoples on whose traditional lands uranium deposits are located, and domiciled uranium mining companies are some of the world’s largest producers of processed uranium. Major global uranium developments and details about the operator of each site and the affected First Nation are provided in Table 2.
[Insert Table 2 here] ACCEPTED 4.1 Australia
Australia is estimated to have 31 per cent of the world’s recoverable uranium, but supplies only 11 per cent of the global market (WNA, 2013a). Four mines currently are
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT operating: Olympic Dam, Ranger 1, Beverley and Honeymoon; with Four Mile expected to commence production in the near future. Uranium exploration and mining activity is permitted in the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, while exploration alone has been allowed in New South Wales since 2012 (Swanepoel, 2012).
The industry is relatively small when compared with other commodity/export sectors. For example, in 2010-2011, coal, iron ore and concentrates, and natural gas exports were valued at AUD$43.9 billion, AUD$58.4 billion and AUD$10.3 billion respectively, while uranium exports—6,950 tonnes U3O8—had a value of AUD$610 million (WNA, 2013a). However, this was expected to rise to 14,000 tonnes ($1.7 billion) by 2014, and the industry has forecast that, if barriers to its expansion were removed, exports could reach 37,000 tonnes per year by
2030, contributing an additional $17.4 billion to Australia’s gross domestic product (DIE,
2008). These forecasts—especially for 2014—may be overly optimistic, given the latest available production figures (see Table 1, above). However, this would not be the first time that the industry has overestimated the economic poMANUSCRIPTtential of uranium mining for Australia, as documented by Leaver (2011).
As Table 2 makes clear, most uranium developments in Australia are on or adjacent
First Peoples’ traditional lands. Perhaps as a result of this proximity, Traditional Owners’ views of uranium mining principally have been negative, with the relationship between uranium companies and Australia’s First Peoples historically characterised by conflict and mistrust. Poor corporate community relations processes, inaccurate reporting of the social and environmental risksACCEPTED of uranium mining and the nuclear industry, campaigns by, and alliances with, anti-nuclear activists, and a general lack of understanding about the industry and its processes also have contributed to this perception (Graetz and Manning, 2011).
1 At the time of writing (January 2014), processing of stockpiled ore at Ranger mine had been suspended due to an operational incident. It is unclear if and when regulators will allow the mine to resume operations. Following the incident, the Traditional Owners expressed concerns about the mine’s procedures and management, and also criticised regulatory oversight and independence (ABC News, 2013).
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT However, two particular events stand out in shaping First Peoples’ perceptions of the uranium industry and in both the affected First Nation has suffered long-lasting social impacts. First, between 1955 and 1963, the Australian government permitted Britain to conduct nuclear tests at Maralinga in outback South Australia. The government facilitated the forced relocation of the Maralinga-Tjarutja from their lands—though it is believed that not all were successfully removed—at great social cost to the community’s members (Cane,
2002). Those who were removed suffered from lost access to their traditional homelands, among other negative social impacts, while those who remained were exposed to large doses of radiation (McClelland, 1985). While the Spinifex People, as they colloquially are known, were allowed to return to their ancestral lands in the late 1980s, the social and environmental impacts have not been forgotten. Indeed, the 2008 Indigenous play, Ngapartji Ngapartji , confronted this history, by “address[ing] issues of isolation, cultural dislocation, alienation and survival. It [also made reference to] the impacts – physical, psychological and emotional – of the testing on past and current generations of MANUSCRIPTSpinifex people” (Grehan, 2010, p. 40), and tied the Maralinga-Tjarutja experience to “the bombing of Hiroshima and the Cold War-led nuclear arms race of the 1950s and 1960s” (Varney, 2011, p. 212), pointing to First Peoples’ concerns about the nuclear fuel cycle more broadly.
The industry’s reputation was further eroded as a result of the findings of the
Australian government’s Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry (Fox, 1977), which recommended that the then proposed Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory be allowed to proceedACCEPTED despite opposition by some of the region’s Traditional Owners, including the Mirarr , the recognised Traditional Owners of the land on which the mine was to be constructed. Particularly alienating was the fact that the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern
Territory) Act 1976 endows Indigenous Territorians with title over their lands with an accompanying right to veto proposed developments. However, the Ranger Project Area was
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT “exempted from this provision under sub-section 40(6)” of the Act (GAC, n.d.) by agreement between the Commonwealth government and the then newly formed Northern Land Council; as a consequence, the Mirarr were prevented from vetoing the mine.
The Mirarr claim (Katona, 2001; Margarula, 2005) that they have experienced severe negative social and cultural impacts as a consequence of the Ranger mine, and the community’s campaign against Ranger and the proposed development of the adjacent
Jabiluka uranium deposit in the mid-1990s became a focal point for national and international anti-uranium and anti-nuclear activism (Hintjens, 2000; Katona, 2001), with attendant business risks for the developer, Energy Resources of Australia, and its parent companies,
North Limited and, later, Rio Tinto. Foremost among these was the mothballing of the
Jabiluka deposit and the decision to place Jabiluka under a Long-Term Care and Maintenance
Agreement, which was finalised in 2005. The Agreement states that Rio Tinto will not mine
Jabiluka without the free, prior and informed consent of the Mirarr . In light of the experiences of the Maralinga-Tjarutja MANUSCRIPT and Mirarr , First Australians have expressed concerns about proposed uranium developments elsewhere in the country. In
Western Australia, BHP Billiton’s plan to mine the Yeelirrie deposit (since acquired by
Cameco Australia) was criticised by Wongatha community members Geoffrey Stokes and
Kade Muir. Stokes disputed the need for uranium mining, saying, “We have sun, we’ve got wind, we’ve got people. Why should we pollute our country for money?”, while Muir questioned the inter-generational benefaction of uranium developments: “We don’t want this product disturbedACCEPTED from the ground. We don’t want to bequeath a legacy for future generations of a toxic environment” (Boylan, 2010). Similarly, South Australian Adnyamathanha
Traditional Owner Enice Marsh has been strident in her opposition to the Beverley uranium mine and its subsequent expansion, as well as to the proposed expansion of Olympic Dam, where uranium is extracted as a by-product at the predominantly copper-gold mine. Marsh
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT says: “We regard any disturbance of these sites as a threat to our health, our environment, our culture and our heritage. It’s totally at odds with our beliefs and values. This dangerous substance should be left in the ground” (Webb, 1999). Moreover, in the Northern Territory, the plan by joint venture partners Cameco Australia and Paladin to develop the Angela and
Pamela deposits was opposed by some members of the Arrernte , as well as by local and national environmental activists and tourism operators. Concerns centred on the potential for contamination of the potable water supply of Alice Springs, reduced air quality, erosion of traditional culture and threats to the eco-tourism industry (Clarke, 2009). As noted above, the
Northern Territory government withdrew its support for the joint venture project in response to this opposition, rendering the development defunct.
4.2 Canada
Canada is one of the world’s largest producers MANUSCRIPT of uranium, and is home to approximately ten per cent of global uranium reserves. Production principally has been concentrated in the province of Saskatchewan, but in recent years exploration activity has surged in other provinces, notably, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. As with Australia, the majority of uranium developments in Canada have been located on, or adjacent to, traditional tribal lands. It is noteworthy that Canadian legislation recognising the rights of its
First Nations has matured over a number of years, with the Supreme Court ruling in 1973 that: “Canada’s ACCEPTEDindigenous people have an ownership interest in the lands that they and their ancestors have traditionally occupied, and the resources that they have traditionally used”
(Anderson et al., 2006, pp. 49-50). Moreover, as Anderson et al. (2006, p. 49) write:
Over the last 25 years of the 20th century, grudgingly and in fits and starts, the policy of the Canadian federal government has shifted from contesting indigenous claims to land, resources, and some form of ‘nationhood’, to negotiation. Accompanying this shift to negotiation there has been another
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT fundamental change. Increasingly, the national government has come to view the settlement of Aboriginal claims less as a cost and more as a vehicle for improving Aboriginal socioeconomic circumstances, a view long held by the indigenous people.
However, uranium companies have faced significant opposition by First Peoples to the development of new mines in parts of Canada. Indeed, as Kneen (2011) states:
It was uranium exploration, and its impacts on the li[f]e-giving caribou herds, that helped start the whole land claims process for Inuit in what eventually became Nunavut. In Baker Lake, a proposed uranium mine called “Kiggavik” became the centre of controversy in the late 1980s and it was withdrawn from the environmental assessment process in 1990 after the community voted 90 per cent against uranium mining.
Areva subsequently assumed ownership of Kiggavik and, in 2007, the company commenced a feasibility study and environmental assessment of the site. While the Nunavut government reluctantly supports the development of the uranium industry in the province, citing the need for revenue and employment opportunities for citizens (Government of Nunavut Uranium Policy Statement, 2012), the majoriMANUSCRIPTty of Baker Lake Inuit still are opposed to uranium mining (Bernauer, 2011). While this opposition, too, has softened, with some community members coming to see opportunities for jobs and greater prosperity, as well as expressing faith in the regulatory system to monitor social and environmental impacts
(Kneen, 2011), other Inuit are concerned about the impacts on the local social economy
(Bernauer, 2011). Areva has launched a concerted public relations effort in the community in a bid to counter community unease about the project.
Another Nunavut First Nation, the Dené , also experienced negative social impacts as a consequence of ACCEPTEDradium and uranium mining on their ancestral lands between 1934 and 1962. The community now faces the prospect of new uranium mines, to which they have expressed opposition. As Tufts (2010) documents, the Dené have raised concerns about the impacts of past direct dumping of mine waste in to Great Bear Lake, the continuing effects of radiation exposure on mine workers and community members, impacts on food production, caribou
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT herds and water quality, and the possibility of a loss of spiritual and cultural connection. As with the Kiggavik project, and notwithstanding community resistance, the government of
Nunavut has indicated that it supports uranium mining in the region in order to supply fuel for nuclear power plants (Tufts, 2010).
4.3 The United States
Uranium mining has been a feature of industrial activity in the United States (US) for many decades, and the industry’s impacts on First Peoples have been pronounced. The
Navajo simultaneously were the short-term beneficiaries and long-term victims of the uranium boom that centred on the Navajo Nation reserve and the Colorado Plateau, which spans parts of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico (Brugge and Goble, 2002). While many
Navajo men sought and gained employment in the uranium mines, for many of the Navajo workers, their exposure to radioactive materials re MANUSCRIPTsulted in their contracting lung cancer. Samet et al. (1984) found that of the 32 Navajo men in their control study (which took account of smoking rates) who contracted lung cancer between 1969 and 1981, 23 had worked in uranium mines. Navajo also have experienced higher incidences of thyroid disease, birth defects and other cancers (Mayo, 2010); aquifers have been contaminated, and there are significant lasting social and environmental impacts from abandoned mines (Brown and
Lambert, 2010). The NavajoACCEPTED Nation’s experiences of social impacts as a consequence of community proximity to, and employment at, uranium mines has turned the Nation and its allies in civil society and Congress against the uranium industry, and has resulted in numerous legal actions
(Brugge and Goble, 2002). In a crucial development, in April 2005, then Navajo Nation
President Joe Shirley Jnr. signed the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005 , “which
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT prohibits all uranium mining within Navajo Indian country, thereby foreclosing an estimated twenty-five percent of the recoverable uranium within the United States” (Cooley, 2005-2006, p. 393). (The percentage share of uranium reserves on tribal lands in the United States is in the vicinity of 60 per cent; Johansen, 1997). The purpose of the Act “is to ensure that no further damage to the culture, society, and economy of the Navajo Nation occurs because of uranium mining within the Navajo Nation” ( Diné Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005 ).
As Cooley (2005-2006) notes, this represents a considerable assertion of Navajo sovereignty, and it has regulatory, human rights and business risk implications, both internal and external to the United States.
4.4 Africa
Africa represents the new “frontier” (Conde and Kallis, 2012, p. 597) for the uranium industry, with the continent’s share of global uran iumMANUSCRIPT production standing at 18 per cent (Dasnois, 2012). There are significant ore deposits in Namibia, where uranium is mined at
Rio Tinto’s Rössing mine and Paladin’s Langer Heinrich mine, and Niger, where the Société des Mines de l’Air and the Compagnie Miniere d’Akouta mine the Arlit/Arlette, Tamou,
Tagora and Artois, and Akouta, Akola and Afasto/Ebba deposits, respectively. Uranium also is mined at the Kayelekera mine in Malawi and is obtained as a by-product of gold mining at the Ezulwini mine and Vaal River Area Mines in South Africa. There are substantial deposits associated with otherACCEPTED minerals, such as phosphate and copper, in other African states, including Algeria, Botswana, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Morocco and Tanzania.
While the terms ‘Indigenous’ or ‘First Nations’ seldom are adopted by, or applied to,
Africa’s Tribal Peoples, uranium companies have faced, and are likely to continue to face,
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT similar challenges in their engagement with African host communities to those that they experience with First Peoples in other uranium-rich regions. For example, in 2002, the
Botswanan government evicted more than 600 San Bushmen from their tribal lands in the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve in a move that some argue was made to pave the way for uranium mining and the extraction of other commodities (Survival International, 2009). The
San fought their eviction in the High Court and in 2006 won the right to return to their homelands (Survival International, 2009). Notwithstanding the Bushmen’s opposition, 16 uranium exploration licences have been granted over the reserve. The San have been supported in their campaign against mining by several international civil society organisations, including Survival International. The involvement of such an organisation and the clear community opposition to uranium mining could result in business risks for uranium companies, particularly with regard to reputational risk and operational stoppage time arising from protest campaigns. In another case, the Topnaar , an Indigenous MANUSCRIPT Nama ethnic group in central Namibia, have voiced concerns about the proposal by Australian miner, Reptile Uranium, to develop the company’s Aussinanis tenement. Concerns centre on the location of the mine and its potential effects on grazing areas and wildlife, and dust and noise pollution (Conde and
Kallis, 2012). Members also have reported community fragmentation, due to concerns about payments that the company has made to the Chief of the community. There has been notable community opposition to uranium mining in South Africa (Scheele, 2011), Tanzania (Nzwili, 2012), Zambia (SAIEA,ACCEPTED 2011), and to the Kayelekera mine in Malawi (Hajat, 2008).
5. Community engagement with First Peoples: a brief review of developments in
Australia and Canada
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Notwithstanding the opposition that the uranium industry has faced from First Peoples around the world, in Australia, a détente of sorts has emerged between key industry and national Indigenous leaders. There are several reasons for this. First, during the last decade, the industry has come to understand the need to engage better with First Peoples. This realisation did not come easily; indeed, it has been described as “a kicking and screaming approach” by Australian Uranium Association (AUA) board member and prominent
Indigenous leader, Warren Mundine (Graetz and Manning, 2011). Industry and national
Indigenous leaders hope that this understanding will lead to strengthened relationships and improved avenues for dialogue and negotiation between stakeholders.
Second, the prevailing sustainable development paradigm means that the industry must abide by different rules with regard to corporate social performance. For example, businesses are expected by industry associations, civil society organisations, host communities, concerned members of the public and governments to: voluntarily disclose their social and environmental performance (Jenkins and MANUSCRIPT Yakovleva, 2006) in line with organisations such as the Global Reporting Initiative; meet stakeholder demands; respect human rights; and meet legal and regulatory requirements. While there are some industry participants who are moved to play by these rules out of genuine concern and respect for First
Peoples’ rights and well-being, the shift in corporate attitudes largely comes down to the fact that there is a good business case to be made for changing industry practice. Industry leaders understand that First Peoples may be more willing to grant access to their lands if companies engage with hostACCEPTED communities on a more equal footing. At the same time, some First Peoples have identified opportunities to improve community development outcomes if they negotiate with developers to grant access to their traditional lands (Pearson, 2007; AUA, 2009). Among these benefits, revenue sharing, employment opportunities, local procurement contracts,
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT community development, skills training, and other forms of social and human capacity building figure prominently.
In an effort to improve its outreach to Australia’s First Peoples, in 2009, the AUA launched a Dialogue Group with Indigenous leaders to assist in the formulation of the industry’s strategy to contribute to the economic development of Australia’s First Peoples
(AUA, 2009). One outcome has been the establishment of a plan to set percentage targets for employment of First Peoples at uranium developments (Morgan, 2012). The AUA also has established a scholarship fund for Indigenous tertiary students who are enrolled in mine engineering and other industry-related degree programs (AUA, n.d.). These small steps forward demonstrate the industry’s growing recognition that business risks can be reduced, and opportunities enhanced, if companies attend to the social risk and rights concerns of host communities.
Three cases are illustrative of the dividends that can accrue to companies that prioritise respectful engagement with First Peoples MANUSCRIPT. First, with regard to Marathon Resources’ proposal to develop its Mt Gee tenement in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary,
Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association (ATLA) chairperson, Vince Coulthard (2010), stated:
It saddens me to say that we get far more respect from mining companies in [consultation] than we do from the State Government. The mining companies understand they have to negotiate with us, the Traditional Owners, to get access to the land and to complete work area clearances…. The reality is the only stakeholder who [has] shown us respect in this whole situation is Marathon Resources, they have shown us the respect that is rightfully ours.
In 2011, ACCEPTEDthe Native Title holders, through the ATLA, voted in favour of mining on their traditional lands, and expressed support for the Mt Gee project (Gage, 2011). In legislating to ban mining within the boundaries of the Sanctuary, arguably the Native Title holders were denied free, prior and informed consent with regard to the use of, and provision
18
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT of access to, their lands. It also is noteworthy that Mr. Coulthard supported Heathgate
Resources’ plan to develop the Beverley uranium mine (now operational), which is located on
Adnyamathanha traditional lands.
Second, in October 2012, the Western Desert Lands Aboriginal Corporation
(WDLAC) and Cameco Australia signed a memorandum of understanding in which the company secured the community’s support for its proposal to mine the Kintyre deposit, located on Martu lands in northern Western Australia. Cameco also has secured an
Indigenous Land Use Agreement with the Martu . Upon signing the memorandum, WDLAC chairman Teddy Biljabu said: “The Kintyre Agreement opens the door to a range of business, employment and cultural initiatives which ensure Martu have a strong stake in the future of the development” (Cameco and WDLAC, 2012). Cameco Australia’s managing director,
Brian Reilly, commented: “We’ve developed a strong relationship with the Martu leadership and are pleased that the community supports this agreement” (Cameco and WDLAC, 2012). Finally, in Canada, there are examples of FirstMANUSCRIPT Peoples, such as those situated in the Athabasca Basin, coming to accept the uranium industry, and, further, welcoming the benefits that have accrued to their communities. Through their development arm, the Athabasca Basin
Development Limited Partnership, Athabasca Basin First Nations provide a range of services to uranium (and other mining) companies in the region. Similarly, some uranium companies operating in the Basin have come to see the benefits of successful engagement with First
Peoples. For example, Cameco believes that “partnerships with aboriginal communities anchor support forACCEPTED its existing operations and facilitate the prospects of expansion and new mine development” (Sloan and Hill, 1995, p. 35). Moreover, the Athabasca Working Group
(AWG), comprising Cameco, Areva, and six of seven Athabasca communities, was founded in 1993 with the aim of signing an Impact Management Agreement. The AWG reached an
19
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT agreement in 2001, which governs employment, training, business relationships, environmental protection and benefits to the Basin communities (AWG, 2011).
6. Conclusion and future developments
While consensus has not been reached on whether we are witnessing a new nuclear renaissance, it is clear from current projections that uranium production is likely to expand to meet rising global demand for nuclear fuel. However, this paper suggests that the uranium industry will continue to face opposition by First Peoples to the development of uranium deposits in a number of jurisdictions around the world. The central thesis is that such opposition may affect future uranium supply, and thus the nuclear power industry. The examples from Australia, Canada, the United States and Africa demonstrate that opposition by First Peoples to uranium mining can draw in multiple actors, with local campaigns quickly transmuting into national or international debates. MANUSCRIPTMoreover, the Australian and Navajo Nation cases established that such opposition also can translate into regulatory and political constraints on the number of new mines being permitted.
This paper has documented First Peoples’ principally negative encounters with uranium developments, and has suggested that this history has shaped successive generations’ perceptions of the uranium industry and their opposition to new developments. However, the paper also notes that evidence for improving relationships can be found in the Australian uranium industry’sACCEPTED outreach to communities through initiatives such as the Dialogue Group, the setting of Indigenous employment targets and the establishment of scholarship programs for Indigenous tertiary students, as well as in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, where uranium companies and First Nations have developed relationships based on engagement, but more importantly, the provision of Indigenous-operated services to the mining industry.
20
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Notwithstanding this progress, the uranium industry has a long way to go with regard to incorporating best practice community relations processes into corporate decision-making mechanisms. The practise of community engagement with First Peoples, community relations more broadly, and the use of social impact assessments (SIA) to identify unwanted social impacts from developments and opportunities for their mitigation, require reform if they truly are to realise their potential. Several practitioners (Vanclay and Esteves, 2011; Esteves et al.,
2012) have pointed to the theoretical and practical deficiencies in SIA that arguably hinder the achievement of successful development outcomes and relationship building between First
Peoples and businesses. For example, O’Faircheallaigh (2011, p. 140) contends that, due to a
“history of dispossession and economic and political marginalization,” as well as past negative experiences of SIA, First Nations are wary of “state-initiated or state-controlled regulatory processes including impact assessment.” Indeed, in the case of the Ranger and
Olympic Dam developments, inadequate attention to the rights of the affected First Peoples and their social risk concerns has resulted in repo rtsMANUSCRIPT of negative social impacts, as well as reputational damage to the developers and regulatory agencies (Katona, 2001; The Flinders
News, 2009; cf. Garrett, 2008).
While there is not scope in this paper to address these issues in sufficient detail, it should be noted that a debate on the future of SIA, possible alternative avenues for engagement, and the incorporation of human and Indigenous rights considerations into corporate policy has commenced. One possible pathway forward that has been advanced in the literature is theACCEPTED process of human rights impact assessment (HRIA) (Harrison, 2011; Bakker et al., 2009; de Beco, 2009; NomoGaia, 2012). It is proposed that future work in this area focus on the strengths and weaknesses of SIA and HRIA, as well as the development and application of Indigenous rights instruments and the subsequent incorporation of human rights considerations into corporate decision-making processes. First Peoples increasingly are
21
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT cognisant of their rights, and the promulgation of Indigenous rights instruments over the last two decades has enhanced their bargaining position vis-à-vis uranium companies. If companies fail positively to respond to this new paradigm, they will find it increasingly difficult to gain and maintain the important social licence to operate.
Finally, attention also should be paid to the development of theory on social risk and business risk, and their interconnections, especially as social risk applies to the extractive industries. Social risk is relatively under-theorised in the literature on the extractive industries, with more empirical and theoretical work needing to be performed to demonstrate its appropriateness as a prism through which to engage First Peoples who are confronted with uranium developments. The recent thawing in relations between some First Peoples and the
Australian and Canadian uranium industries arguably is attributable to the recognition both of the rights of First Peoples and the business risk consequences of not getting engagement right.
Acknowledging the importance of this point, AUA Chief Executive Officer, Michael Angwin, says: “We don’t believe we can develop [our] projec MANUSCRIPTts, we don’t believe we can develop our industry, unless we have very good relationships with indigenous people” (Morgan, 2012).
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Daniel Franks, David Brereton, Kathryn Sturman, Peter
Woods and three anonymous reviewers for their comments on drafts of this paper. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the International Association for ImpactACCEPTED Assessment 27 May – 1 June 2012, Centro de Congresso da Alfândega, Porto – Portugal.
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32 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Tables
Table 1: Uranium Production by Country - 2012 Country Uranium Production - 2012 (t/U) Australia 6,991 Brazil 231 Canada 8,999 China 1,500 Czech Republic 228 France 3 Germany 50 India 385 Kazakhstan 21,317 Malawi 1,101 Namibia 4,495 Niger 4,667 Pakistan 45 Romania 90 Russia 2,872 South Africa 465 Ukraine 960 The United States 1,596 Uzbekistan 2,400 Total 58,394 Data drawn from WNA 2013.
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Table 2: Uranium Mining and Exploration Activity on First Peoples’ Lands Country Site Company Status Indigenous Group(s) Australia Olympic Dam BHP Billiton Operational Barngarla, Kokatha, Kuyani, Adnyamathanha, Yandruwandha/ Yawarrawarrka, Arabunna Australia Ranger Energy Resources Operational Mirarr of Australia (Rio Tinto) Australia Beverley (incorporating Heathgate Operational Adnyamathanha Beverley North) Resources Australia Honeymoon Uranium One Operational Adnyamathanha
Australia Jabiluka Energy Resources Stalled Mirarr of Australia Australia Kintyre Cameco Exploration Martu Australia Angela Cameco-Paladin JV Exploration Central Arrernte Australia Yeelirrie BHP Billiton Exploration Wangai Australia Manyingee Paladin Exploration Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation Australia Ben Lomond Mega Uranium Exploration Malanbara Australia Mt Gee Marathon Defunct Adnyamathanha Resources Australia Four Mile Quasar Resources, Exploration Adnyamathanha Alliance Resources
Australia Wiluna Toro Energy Feasibility Martu Australia Lake Maitland Mega Uranium Exploration Martu, Ngaanyatjarra, Wongi, Yamatji, Wiluna, Punmu, Jigalong Australia Mulga Rock Energy and Exploration Ngaanyatjarra Minerals Australia Australia Valhalla Paladin ExplorationMANUSCRIPT Kalkadoon Canada McClean Lake Areva Operational Métis, other First Nations groups Canada Rabbit Lake Cameco Operational Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Canada McArthur River Cameco-Areva Operational Athabasca First Nation, Métis groups Canada Cigar Lake Cameco Exploration Athabasca First Nation, Métis groups Canada Dawn Lake Cameco Exploration Athabasca First Nation, Métis groups Canada Millennium Cameco Exploration Athabasca First Nation, Métis groups Canada Shea Creek Areva-UEX Exploration Athabasca First Nation, Métis groups United Crow Butte Cameco Operational Oglala Sioux (Pine Ridge Reservation) States United Grants Mineral District, Miscellaneous Exploration Navajo, Acoma and Laguna Indian States New Mexico, Reservations encompassing various leases including Church Rock United Willow Creek (Christensen Uranium One Operational Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapaho States Ranch) Namibia Aussinanis ACCEPTEDReptile Uranium Exploration Topnaar (Nama) Niger Arlit (SOMAÏR) Areva Operational Tuareg Niger Akouta (COMINAK) Areva Operational Tuareg Niger Imouraren Areva Commissioned Tuareg
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Highlights of the paper:
Uranium Mining and First Peoples: The nuclear renaissance confronts historical legacies
• The nuclear power industry requires augmenting fuel supply in the coming decades • Reactor fuel supply will be impeded if uranium production cannot expand • A consequential barrier to uranium production is opposition by First Peoples to new mines • The uranium industry suffers from the historical legacy of poor community relations • The industry should place greater emphasis on community engagement with First Peoples
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