Ont. uranium plans on hold amid native protest threats

Ont. uranium plans on hold amid native protest threats

25th June 2007

CBC News - http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html

A uranium mining company has put its operations on hold in an eastern Ontario community, leaving residents with mixed feelings.

Frontenac Ventures left North Frontenac Township, about 110 kilometres southwest of Ottawa, last week, after local First Nations threatened to hold a day or multiple days of protest. Frontenac plans to develop uranium deposits in the area.

Both the Sharbot Lake Algonquin First Nation and the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation say they are opposed to the development, which involves mainly Crown land that is the subject of ongoing land claim negotiations with the provincial and federal governments.

George White, president of Frontenac Ventures, said Chief Doreen Davis of the Sharbot Lake Algonquin First Nation asked the company to withdraw until the days of protest are complete.

The company is trying to negotiate with the Sharbot Lake First Nation, White said. But it is not concerned about protests from the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, which has no legal claim to the land the companying is eyeing, White said.

The company plans to resume development on the Crown and privately held land where it has staked mineral rights, White said.