Nunavut's first uranium mine is closer to becoming a reality, with owners of the Kiggavik and Sissons sites saying construction could begin as early as 2011.

Areva Resources Canada Inc. plans to begin a two-year feasibility site this summer at the two uranium properties, located about 80 kilometres west of Baker Lake.

Company officials also intend to submit detailed development proposals to Nunavut's environmental regulatory bodies.

"Our owners have quite recently taken the decision that we should move forward to launch the formal regulatory approvals process, and we hope to initiate that during 2008," Bob Pollock, an executive adviser for Areva, told CBC News Thursday during the Nunavut Mining Symposium in Iqaluit.

If the company's proposal for the Kiggavik-Sissons mine is approved, Areva could start construction as early as 2011 and start production around 2015.

50% aboriginal staff

Pollock said 500 to 600 workers would be needed for construction. After that, about the same number would be needed for production, which would include surface and underground mining and operation of an on-site mill.

He added that Areva currently has about 50 per cent aboriginal staff working at its mines in northern Saskatchewan.

Construction of the proposed mine is estimated to cost up to $1.5 billion.

Companies began exploring for uranium on the two properties around 1974, uncovering three ore deposits.

The potential for uranium mining has long been controversial among Baker Lake Inuit, who successfully stopped a German company from opening a mine at Kiggavik in a 1990 plebiscite.

At the time, residents raised concerns that the mine activity would affect nearby calving grounds for caribou.

Areva took over the uranium deposits in 1993, and company officials say mining technology and people's attitudes about uranium mining have changed since then.

Nunavummit will have an opportunity to voice their opinions about the proposed mine during public hearings that the regulatory bodies will hold.

Areva officials are already preparing for some opposition, telling delegates at the mining symposium that their proposed mine's risks to caribou would be minimal.

"There are plentiful caribou in the area, and Kiggavik is actually located near post-calving grounds," senior process engineer Nicola Banton told delegates in a presentation.