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Anaconda Mining joins the gold rush on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore

Part 3: From West Africa's gold fields to Canada’s ocean playground

February 13, 2022 By Joan Baxter 1 Comment

Gold exploration and mining companies are lining up to get at Nova Scotia’s gold, as the province undergoes a fourth gold rush. In 2017, Atlantic Gold opened the province’s first-ever open pit gold mine in Moose River, with plans to open three more along the Eastern Shore, in what it described to potential investors as […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Anaconda Mining, Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Aurelius Minerals, B2Gold Corp, Barbara Markovits, Barrick Gold, Blaise Compaore, Boungou mine, Burkina Faso, Canada, Canadian Dimension, Canadian Mining Assets, Cayman Islands, climate change, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, DDV Gold, donor countries, Eastern Shore, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Endeavour Financial Corporation, Endeavour Mining, Estruscan Resources, European Union, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), gerald McConnell, Ghana, gold, gold mine, gold rush, Goldboro, High River Gold, IAMGOLD, insurgency, International Crisis Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), James Wilt, jihadist, John Savage, Kevin Bullock, Kiaka gold project, Kirk Woodman, Libya, Lindsay Mine Services, Mali, Meguma Gold, Mina Resources, mining laws, Moose River, Natural Resources Canada, neo-colonialism, Newfoundland, Niger, Nova Scotia, Ouagadougou, Ouoba Boukary, Owen Schalk, Progress Minerals, Roxgold, Sadiola gold mine, SEDAR, Semafo, St Barbara Ltd, The Narwhal, Thomas Sankara, Toega gold project, Toronto, United Nations, United States, Vancouver, Volta Resources, West Africa, West African Resources, World Bank Goup

Anaconda joins the gold rush on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore

Part 2. Anaconda aims to avoid a federal impact assessment for its proposed open pit gold mine, but some say the whole regulatory process in Canada is “rigged”

February 11, 2022 By Joan Baxter 1 Comment

Gold exploration and mining companies are lining up to get at Nova Scotia’s gold, as the province undergoes a fourth gold rush. In 2017, Atlantic Gold opened the province’s first-ever open pit gold mine in Moose River, with plans to open three more along the Eastern Shore, in what it described to potential investors as […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News Tagged With: Abbé Jean-Louis LaLoutre, Anaconda Mining, Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Aurelius Minerals, Barbara Markovits, Beaver Dam, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012, Cape Breton Spectator, Class I environmenal assessment, Class II environmental assessment, clearcutting, Cochrane Hill, corporate capture, DDV Gold, Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, Donna Ashamock, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, environmental assessment, Fifteen-Mile Stream, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, gold mine, gold rush, Goldboro, Goldboro mine project, green economy, Health Canada, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), Iris Communications, Joel Bakan, John Perkins, Kevin Bullock, Kirby McVicar, Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office (KMKNO), lobbyist, Mainland Moose, Margaret Miller, Mary Campbell, Meguma Gold, Mi'kmaq, Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative, Mi’kmaw Ecological Knowledge, Mining Association of Canada, MiningWatch Canada, Moose River, Natural Resources Canada, Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries an Aquaculture, Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change (NSECC), One WIndow Regulatory process, open pit gold mine, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), regulatory capture, Seamus O'Regan, St Barbara Ltd, Stephen McNeil, Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia (SuNNS), tailings, tailings facility, The Corporation, Touquoy gold mine, Ugo Lapointe, Vernon Pitts, watersheds, Western Mining Action Network

Expansion of gold mining on the Eastern Shore meeting with stiff resistance

The public and Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia have until December 16 to comment on this latest round, but in a letter from June, Millbrook First Nation said they "do not support" the mine on the Eastern Shore.

November 26, 2021 By Joan Baxter 3 Comments

Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia (AMNS) looks bound and determined to mine paradise, blast a giant hole deep into the earth at Beaver Dam in a rural part of the Halifax Regional Municipality just over an hour’s drive from downtown Dartmouth, and extract 56 million tonnes of material from the bowels of this small province between 2023 […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: acid rain, Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia (AMNS), Australia, Barbara Markovits, Beaver Dam, Beaver Lake Reserve, British Columbia Supreme Court, Chief Robert Gloade, climate change, climate crisis, Cochrane Hill, Community LIaison Committee, Crown land, D.D.V. Gold, Darrell Dexter, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (TIR), diesel fuel, Duff Montgomerie, Dustin O’Leary, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Environmental Impact Statement, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Fenwick Towers, Fifteen-Mile Stream, First nations, fuel tax rebate, gold mine, greenhouse gase (GHG), Halifax, Halifax Regional Municipality, Highway 224, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), James Millard, Jim Kuipers, Killag River, land disturbance, lime, Lloyd Hines, Management and Solutions Environmental Science (MSES), Mark Parent, Mi'kmaq, Millbrook Chief and Council, Millbrook First Nation, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Montano School of Mines, Moose River, Moose River Consolidated Project, Mooseland Road, NDP government, Northern Pulp, Northern Timber, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change (NSECC), Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA), open pit gold mine, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Public Works, rmiddiond, Sheet Harbour Reserve, Simone Ryder-Burbidge, soil organic carbon, St Barbara Ltd, St. Mary's River, tax revenues, Touquoy gold mine, Wiidjaja family

Atlantic Gold’s imaginary conservation land

In 2008, Atlantic Gold was given provincial approval for the gigantic Touquoy open pit gold mine with the condition that within 4 years the company buy and give the province nearby land for conservation purposes. 13 years later, that condition is still unmet, and the province is making no real effort to enforce it.

May 20, 2021 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

Atlantic Gold has just announced that in “late spring/early summer 2021” it will be undertaking a new Class 1 Environmental Assessment for modifications to its open pit Touquoy gold mine in Moose River. Among other things, the company wants to expand its waste rock storage area that is already sky-high, prepare to store tailings in […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, News Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS Corp, Auditor General, Australian, Barbara MacLean, Barbara Markovits, Beaver Dam, Beck Gilbert, Bob Bancroft, Cabot Cliffs, Cabot Links, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012, CBC, Chuck Porter, Cochrane Hill gold mine, Community LIaison Committee, conservation land, DDV Gold, Department of lands and Forestry, Department of Natural Resources, Dustin O’Leary, East Coast Environmental Law Association (ECELAW), Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Environment Act, Environmental Approval, environmental assessment, environmental charges, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Fifteen Mile Stream mine, FOIPOP, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Freedom of Information request, golf courses, Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), Iain Rankin, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, industrial approval, Jamie Simpson, Jennifer Henderson, judicial review, Juniper Law, Keith Irving, Laird Brownlie, Lighthouse Links Development Company, Michael Gorman, Michael Pickup, Moose River Consolidated Project, Moose River gold mine, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nova Scotia Environment, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change, Nova Scotia Environment and Labour, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Owls Head, Owls Head Park, proposed Beaver Dam mine, Provincial Court in Dartmouth, Rachel Boomer, Save Owls Head Provincial Park, St Barbara Ltd, Supreme Court Justice Christa Brothers, Terms and Conditions, Tim Bousquet, Touquoy mine

Atlantic Gold plans to mine “paradise”

Citizens near Beaver Dam and Moose River raise the alarm about the high environmental costs of open pit gold mines in eastern Nova Scotia, the province’s “sacrifice zone.”

March 21, 2021 By Joan Baxter 3 Comments

Debbie Marlborough lives just 15 kilometres as the crow flies — 50 kilometres by road — from the giant crater, massive tailings pond, and mountains of waste rock at Atlantic Gold’s Touquoy open pit gold mine in Moose River. She’s never been able to make herself go and see it. Marlborough says that even though […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Barbara Markovits, Brighter Community Planning & Consulting, carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, Chrystal Fuller, climate change, Cochrane Hill gold mine, Debbie Marlborough, Dustin O’Leary, Eastern Shore, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Fifteen Mile Stream mine, Harry Kelly, Highway 224, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), Killag River, Lawrence Goodland, mine tailings, Moose River, Moose River Consolidated Project, Moose River gold mine, Moose River Road, Northern Pulp, Nova Scotia Department of Transport and Infrastructure Renewal, Nova Scotia Environment, Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA), Scraggy Lake, Sherbrooke, St Barbara Ltd, St. Mary's River, Touquoy mine, Veronica Chisholm, West River Sheet Harbour, wildlife

Moose River betrayal

In 2008, the approval of the Moose River gold mine was conditioned on the mining company giving the province hundreds of acres of conservation land within four years; 12 years later, there's still no approved plan in place.

April 3, 2020 By Joan Baxter Leave a Comment

The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. On March 31, the Australian company St. Barbara, which last year acquired Atlantic Gold with its open pit gold mine at Moose River and a project to open three more mines along Nova Scotia’s Eastern shore, sent investors a COVID-19 update. It stated: St Barbara’s […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, Investigation, News Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Barbara Markovits, coronavirus, COVID-19, Dustin O’Leary, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Ecology Action Centre (EAC), Health Protection Act, Marla MacInnis, Maryse Belanger, Minister Mark Parent, Moose River gold mine, pandemic, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), Rachel Boomer, social distancing, St. Barbara Limited, Touquoy mine

A community rallies to save Owls Head

Morning File, Tuesday, February 4, 2020

February 4, 2020 By Suzanne Rent 10 Comments

News 1. Zane Woodford Tim Bousquet wrote this item. After a month covering City Hall for the Halifax Examiner, Zane Woodford is leaving to write for SaltWire. He’ll be working on their new weekly newspaper, SALT. [Insert your joke here.] While we’ve seen good subscription growth from Zane’s writing, the Examiner is unable to hire […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alexander Quon, Barbara Markovits, Bob Bancroft, Caitlin Porter, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Chris Miller, Chris Trider, councillor Waye Mason, Eastern Shore Cooperator, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Jacque Dubé, Jamie Simpson, Jeremy Lundholm, Matt Dagley, Michael Gorman, Middlemore Home, Owls Head Park, Pamela Wile, Paul LaFleche, QEII redevelopment, robbery Cranberry Crescent, SALT, Sheila Martin, Sydnee Lynn, Zane Woodford

Spill at Moose River gold mine raises environmental concerns

Atlantic Gold springs an effluent leak, plugs a new mine, and sells itself to investors 

March 15, 2019 By Joan Baxter 6 Comments

Cover photo: the tailings facility at the Touquoy gold mine. Photo: Saint Mary’s River Association Atlantic Gold’s manager of environment and permitting, James Millard, calls it a “spill” or a “loss of control” caused by a “gasket failure.” By whatever name, the event happened on the night of January 3, 2019, at the company’s open […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Adele Poirier, arsenic, Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Barbara Markovits, Barry Clattenburg, Beaver Dam, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA), Charles Clattenburg, Cochrane Hill, Craig Hudson, cyanide, D.D.V. Gold, Dustin O’Leary, Eastern Shore Forest Watch, Eastern Shore Wildlife Association, Eastern Shore Wildlife Centre, Fifteen-Mile Stream, Friends of the St. Mary’s River, James Millard, Jim Turner, Maryse Belanger, Moose River, Moose River Consolidated Project, Mount Polley, Nova Scotia Environment, Nova Scotia Salmon Association, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), Scraggy Lake, Sean Thompson, Sheet Harbour, Torquoy Gold Mine, Wayne Oakley, West River

Fool’s gold

Nova Scotia's Myopic Pursuit of Metals & Minerals (Part 2)

May 23, 2018 By Joan Baxter 3 Comments

A Halifax Examiner / Cape Breton Spectator investigation. This is the second in a series of articles on the push for mines and quarries in Nova Scotia. You can find Part I here. Going for gold The CEO and chairman of Vancouver-based Atlantic Gold Corporation, Steven Dean, a man with a history of international coal and […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Alastair Tiver, Anaconda Mining, Andrew Bell, arsenic from mining, Atlantic Gold Corporation, Atlantic Mining NS, Barbara Markovits, Bruce Nunn, Chrissy Matheson, Cochrane Hill mine, coronet Metals, councillor Steve Streatch, Darrel Dexter, DDV Gold, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Dufferin gold mine, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Emergency Response Assistance Plan (ERAP), Fifteen Mile Stream mine, Fool’s Gold part 2, Forrest Higgins, Gary Burrill, Goldboro gold mine, James Millard, Jamie Kneen, Joan Baxter, Marla MacInnis, Mayor Bill Mills, miners’ rights, Mining Watch Canada, Minister Charlie Parker, Moose River, Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB), Oceanic Iron Ore Corp., proposed Beaver Dam mine, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), Rachel Boomer, Resource Capital Gold Corp., Scraggy Lake, Steven Dean, tailings water, Tom Ellard, Touquoy mine, transporting cyanide, Wayne Oakley

PRICED OUT

A collage of various housing options in HRM, including co-ops, apartment buildings, shelters, and tents
PRICED OUT is the Examiner’s investigative reporting project focused on the housing crisis.

You can learn about the project, including how we’re asking readers to direct our reporting, our published articles, and what we’re working on, on the PRICED OUT homepage.

2020 mass murders

Nine images illustrating the locations, maps, and memorials of the mass shootings

All of the Halifax Examiner’s reporting on the mass murders of April 18/19, 2020, and recent articles on the Mass Casualty Commission and newly-released documents.

Updated regularly.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Two young white women, one with dark hair and one blonde, smile at the camera on a sunny spring day.

Episode 79 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne, is published.

Grace McNutt and Linnea Swinimer are the Minute Women, two Haligonians who host a podcast of the same name about Canadian history as seen through a lens of Heritage Minutes (minutewomenpodcast.ca). In a lively celebration of the show’s second birthday, they stop by to reveal how curling brought them together in podcast — and now BFF — form, their favourite Minutes, that time they thought Jean Chretien was dead, and the impact their show has had. Plus music from brand-new ECMA winners Hillsburn and Zamani.

Listen to the episode here.

Check out some of the past episodes here.

Subscribe to the podcast to get episodes automatically downloaded to your device — there’s a great instructional article here. Email Suzanne for help.

You can reach Tara here.

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Recent posts

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  • Halifax residents rally to save Dalhousie-owned Edward Street home from demolition May 12, 2022
  • Walking through the stories of the volunteers of the North End Services Canteen May 12, 2022

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