Company says drilling planned for Crown land just outside of Moncton

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Inco will resume its exploration for uranium in southeastern New Brunswick next week by drilling at an undisclosed site 20 kilometres from Metro Moncton.

Company spokesman Cory McPhee would not divulge where the drilling will take place, but he said it would be on Crown land that's not near the Turtle Creek watershed, which supplies Metro Moncton with its drinking water.

Inco, a Toronto-based mining corporation with net sales of more than $8 billion last year, is one of four companies exploring for uranium in New Brunswick.

Yvonne Devine, president of the southeast chapter of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said yesterday members of the organization will be "keeping their eyes open" for the drill trucks next week.

Inco signed a five-year agreement with the Province of New Brunswick last year for the exploration of uranium on about 133,000 hectares (329,000 acres) of land. The area for exploration must be cut in half by June 1, according to the agreement.

Inco paid the province $700,000 for the first year of exploration.

Exploration began last year based on previous geological surveys, some of the dating back to the 1970s, McPhee said.

The current "energy crisis" combined with increased worldwide demand for uranium prompted renewed interest in New Brunswick's potential, he added. Also, prices from uranium have increased sharply in recent months.

Inco identified two sprawling areas for exploration -- one known as the Sussex project and the other as the Caledonia project, which included the contentious Turtle Creek watershed in Albert County.

The company began with basic site inspections, which included soil sampling and it led to diamond drilling, 250 metres deep, to get core samples.

"The fact of mineral exploration is that is like looking for a needle in a haystack," the Inco spokesman said.

"Exploration does not mean the inevitability of a mine. A lot of things have to go right between the time of starting exploration and the opening of a mine.

"We understand this. We've been in this business for a long time and we're in the business of mineral exploration every day, all over the world."

McPhee said exploration in New Brunswick was called off last November, when harsh weather forced the company to delay operations until the spring.

Some of the drilling was done on private land, but he said it was always done with the landowner's permission. According to the provincial Mining Act, written in 1985, landowners retain only surface rights and prospectors are under no obligation to inform landowners they're staking claims. The province owns all minerals beneath the surface, according to the act.

McPhee said Inco has always sought consent from the landowner before drilling and the company has never been turned down. Under the company's agreement with the province, "we have a right" to drill on private land, he said.

Landowners have 60 days to appeal and prevent exploration companies from drilling. The Conservation Council said only farmers, golf course owners and cemeteries are exempt from drilling regulations.

The Conservation Council said landowners have been paid by mining companies rates of $250-1,000 per drill hole.

McPhee said all drilling is done in an environmentally-friendly way. "We cap the hole, rehabilitate the site to its original state and move on."

"We respect the fact that people have a lot of questions about what is going on, but this is not a cloak and dagger operation," the Inco official said.

"We are going to be environmentally responsible. We want to be available to communicate with the people in the area. We have nothing to hide."

McPhee said Inco will be represented at the provincial government's public information sessions June 4, at the K.C. Irving Theatre at the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre in Fredericton and June 5, at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton.

Provincial government scientists and company officials will make presentations at the two sessions. The Conservation Council has not been asked to participate, but Devine said the group will attend both to ask questions and express concerns.

The council has already held a number of meetings to voice their opposition to uranium exploration. Another meeting is planned for next Thursday night in Grande-Digue. Sam McEwan, director of minerals and petroleum development for the department of natural resources, has told the council he will attend.