Evaluation of financial assurance alternatives of licensees

The Uranium and Thorium Mining Regulations of the Atomic Energy Control Act require that applicants/licensees indicate to the AECB what financial assurance plans they have made to fund the decommissioning plan they propose to put in place. We have determined through our own business knowledge from other projects, as well as information provided by contacts in the banking, accounting, legal, investment and insurance communities, what financial assurance plans might be available. We have tabulated these alternatives, included explanations of how each might be implemented, and recorded advantages and disadvantages of each alternative to both the AECB and the applicant/licensee. In addition we have ranked the alternatives in order of most suitable to least suitable, from the AECB's perspective. Although these financial assurance mechanisms have been tabulated with a view to decommissioning of a uranium mine, they could be used in other licence or business arrangements that require financial assurance. (author). 3 tabs., 1 fig