TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Canadian federal government has approved Australia-based Paladin Energy's application to gain majority ownership of a proposed uranium mine in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford on Monday said the Conservative government would welcome the foreign investment and that Paladin had demonstrated that no Canadian partners could be found to develop the Michelin mining project, located in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador.

The Non-Resident Ownership Policy required a 51% resident ownership to be maintained in all uranium mining assets, unless it could be clearly demonstrated that no local partners could be found to participate in the project.

The governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan; the Australian government; and Canada’s uranium mining sector had supported Paladin’s proposal. The proposed project had also been subject to a national security review that had identified no concerns.

Paladin estimated that the Michelin project could create up to 750 jobs during the construction phase and up to 350 jobs during the operational phase, with the local Aboriginal communities to also benefit from investments in infrastructure development and training.

Any proposal by Paladin to develop a uranium mine in Newfoundland and Labrador would be subject to environmental and community impact assessments by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and other relevant authorities. The CNSC regulated all uranium mining and processing facilities in Canada to protect human health and safety, security and the environment.

According to government information, Canada’s nuclear industry employed more than 30 000 people, including 5 000 in the uranium mining sector. About 45% of uranium mine site jobs were held by Aboriginal people.

Canada is the world’s second-largest exporter of uranium, with exports valued at more than $1-billion a year.

Nuclear energy is a key contributor to Canada’s low-emissions energy mix and accounted for about 15% of the country’s electricity and more than half of Ontario’s electricity.

Nuclear energy output in Canada generated about $5-billion a year in revenues.