Editor’s Note MODEL P.R.

That other characteristic peculiar to yellowcake extraction is its public image. The nuclear industry as a whole has not endeared itself to the public. The blame rests largely with the industry itself for it has failed to communicate its position effectively (given the controversial nature of uranium mining and the nuclear industry in general, such communication is difficult). In Saskatchewan, the mines themselves are working to educate the public. Every year, operators from Key Lake and other mines arrange for town councillors and teachers from around the province to be flown directly to the mines. This exercise, says Josef Spross, site operations manager for Key Lake, ensures that the educators and municipal decision-makers in Saskatchewan see for themselves what uranium mining is all about. “They should have first-hand knowledge of what we’re doing. They shouldn’t rely solely on the news media,” Spross says. (In fact, the Saskatchewan Mining Association funds a tour for teachers every year that covers a cross-section of mining and metallurgical operations.)

This is grassroots public relations at its best. And it’s what uranium mining (and mining in general) badly needs. You can buff your public image by booking flashy commercials on television. You can proclaim your greatness and national worth in full-page newspaper advertisements. But you won’t reach the skeptical unless you show them what you’re doing. Every provincial mining association should take a hard look at the Saskatchewan model.

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