St Barbara is withdrawing its environmental assessment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and Part IV of the Nova Scotia Environment Act for its mines in Nova Scotia, including Touquoy, Beaver Dam, and Fifteen Mile Stream.
Andrew Strelein, the managing director and CEO of St Barbara Ltd, which owns Atlantic Mining NS, made the announcement via a community newsletter on Tuesday.
“Last month, we provided an update advising that the Touquoy Mine site will enter a period of care and maintenance in September 2023 due to the inability to permit additional tailings capacity with the provincial government,” Strelein wrote in a community newsletter. “AMNS has elected to withdraw the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Touquoy Mine project which includes the application for in-pit tailings deposition. In the months ahead, reclamation activities will begin at the Touquoy site and information on opportunities for engagement with First Nation Communities will be provided.”
The withdraw for the Touquoy mine also includes the application for in-pit tailings deposition. Reclamation will begin at that site over the next months.
Strelein said Atlantic Mining will focus on its project at Fifteen Mile Stream project and extensive public engagement has taken place.
“Extensive engagement on the Fifteen Mile Stream Gold Project has taken place leading up to this point. The input received from the public, stakeholders, and Mi’kmaq communities will also now be taken into account in the revised design. Much of that feedback has already been able to be incorporated into redesign work and we are excited to show that work in future engagement,” Strelein wrote.
The project at Beaver Dam was put on hold in December 2022. That project faced significant opposition from the Millbrook First Nation and the Nova Scotia Salmon Association.
Strelein added that “geological investigations continue at the Cochrane Hill Gold Project.”
As Joan Baxter reported in July, Atlantic Mining has processed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold at the Touquoy mine, but didn’t pay any federal taxes. And neither did St Barbara until four years after Touquoy produced its first gold.
The headline has been changed to correct an error in the company name. We apologize for the error.
What a disaster. The only advantage to open pit mining is the reduced to practically zero the risk of mine cave ins trapping miners. Look at that thing, though. What on ugly blotch in beautiful Nova Scotia.