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Atlantic Gold’s parent company hints it may halt its Nova Scotia operation

After St Barbara Ltd issued a statement falsely blaming the province for permitting delays, its stock price fell by 14%.

June 25, 2022 By Joan Baxter

St Barbara Ltd, the Australian mining company that owns Atlantic Gold and Atlantic Mining NS, which operates the Touquoy open pit gold mine in Moose River, is in trouble. This week, St Barbara’s share prices crashed 14% “to a multi-year low,” after the company released a statement that warns of “near-term risk of disruption” at...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Australia, Beaver Dam, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, CEAA, Craig Jetson, Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, DFO, DNRR, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, environmental assessment, environmental charges, Fifteen-Mile Stream, Fisheries and Oceans, gold mine, Halifax Regional Municipality, IAAC, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, industrial approval, Moose River, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change, NSECC, open pit gold mine, Papua New Guinea, Simberi, St Barbara Ltd, Steven Dean, tailings, tailings management facility, Touquoy

Up close and privileged: Nova Scotia’s “One Window” process gives mining execs seats at the table in the halls of power

March 19, 2022 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

On November 1, 2018, a year after Atlantic Gold produced its first gold bar at its Touquoy open pit mine in Moose River, 11 provincial public servants gathered for a two-hour meeting with four high-level representatives of the gold mining company. Two were with Nova Scotia Environment, six with Lands and Forestry, and three with […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Beaver Dam, Cochrane Hill, corporate capture, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR), Dustin O’Leary, Eastern Shore, Energy and Mines, Environment Canada, environmental assessment, environmental charges, ESTMA reports, extractive industries, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Fifteen Mile Stream mine, fines, FOIPOP, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, gold mine, Guinea, Jim Millard, John Savage, Jonathan Porter, Judge Alana Murphy, Lands and Forestry, Mi’kmaq Conservation Group, mineral development, Mineral Resources Development Fund (MRDF), Mining One Window Process, Moose River, Moose River Road, Natural Resources Canada, Northern Pulp, Northern Timber, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Envrionment and Climate Change (NSECC), Office of L'nu Affairs, old growth forest, One Window process, one-stop-shop, open pit gold mine, Paper Excellence, Patricia Jreige, Public Accounts, public servants, regulatory capture, Sierra Leone, St Barbara Ltd, taxes, Touquoy gold mine, Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR)

Atlantic Gold sentenced to $250,000 fines and penalties after pleading guilty to federal and provincial environmental charges

February 11, 2022 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

Provincial court judge Alana Murphy has sentenced Atlantic Mining NS, which does business in Nova Scotia as Atlantic Gold, to pay a total of $250,000 in fines and contributions for failing to comply with federal and provincial environmental regulations at and around its Touquoy open pit gold mine in Moose River, about an hour’s drive […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Beaver Dam, Cochrane Hill, David Cox, deleterious substances, Environment and Climate Change Canada, environmental charges, Fifteen-Mile Stream, Fisheries Act, gold mine, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, Jennifer Henderson, John Perkins, Judge Alana Murphy, Marian Fortune-Stone, Meryl Jones, Mi’kmaq Conservation Group, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change, Nova Scotia Salmon Association, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), St Barbara Ltd, Touquoy open pit gold mine, Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR)

Updated: Photos suggest that there is a tailings leak at Atlantic Gold’s Moose River gold mine

August 29, 2021 By Joan Baxter 6 Comments

Latest update: On Monday morning (Aug. 30), we published an update (below) with a statement from Dustin O’Leary, spokesperson for Atlantic Gold and Atlantic Mining NS, subsidiaries of the Australian company St Barbara that owns the open pit Touquoy gold mine in Moose River, HRM. O’Leary stated that “there is no leak of any kind […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: acid mining drainage, Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Beaver Dam, Cochrane Hill, Dustin O’Leary, environmental charges, Fifteen-Mile Stream, French River watershed, French Rivert watershed, Joan Kuyek, John Perkins, Kitco, leak, Meryl Jones, MiningWatch Canada, minister of environment and climate change, Moose River gold mine, Mount Polley, No Open Pit Excavation (NOPE), Nova Scotia Environment, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change, Rachel Boomer, Scott Beaver, Sherbrooke, St Barbara Ltd, St. Mary’s River Association, Steven Emerman, tailings dam leak, tailings facility, Tatamagouche, Tim Houson, Touquoy gold mine, Tracy Barron, Vladimir Basov, Warwick Mountain

The Examiner quizzed the four main political parties on gold mining issues. Here are their responses.

July 30, 2021 By Joan Baxter 9 Comments

Nova Scotia is experiencing a 21st century gold rush. Unlike the three previous gold rushes in the province in the 1800s and 1900s, this one involves a whole new kind of destructive extractive industry — open pit gold mines so massive they can be seen from outer space. These mines leave behind mountains of toxic […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News Tagged With: Aaron Beswick, Anaconda Gold, Archibald Lake, Atlantic Gold, Aurelius Minerals, biodiversity, Catherine Klimek, Chronicle Herald, clean technology, climate crisis, critical minerals, Dartmouth, Earthworks, Eastern Shore, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, environmental charges, French River watershed, gold mining, gold rush, GPNS, Green Party of Nova Scotia, green technology, Halifax, Liberals, Lucas Wide, Matt Hefler, Meguma Gold, Mining Association of Nova Scotia, Moose River, Muncipality of the County of Colchester, NDP, New Democrats, Northern shield Resources, Nova Scotia Liberal Party, Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party, open pit gold mine, PC, Progressive Conservatives, protected areas, protected wildnerness status, provincial election, royalty rate, Sherbrooke, St Barbara Ltd, St. Mary's River, Tatamagouche water supply, taxes, Transition Metals, water supply, wetlands, World Gold Council

Who benefits from Atlantic Gold’s Nova Scotia operations?

Firm with gold mines on the Eastern Shore pays no taxes and low wages to its employees while it gets large government subsidies and maximizes profits. Oh, and it will leave toxic mine tailings that will be with us forever.

June 21, 2021 By Joan Baxter 3 Comments

In mid-May, Laird Brownlie, head of external affairs for Australia’s St Barbara Ltd that acquired Atlantic Gold and its mining operations in Nova Scotia in 2019 for $722 million, sent out an email — a “special bulletin” — about the company’s proposed modifications at its Touquoy open pit gold mine in Moose River. Brownlie’s message […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Australia, Barb Bryden, Brenna Reynolds, Burkina Faso, Charlier Parker, clay borrow pit, Cochrane Hill, corporate taxes, Craig Hudson, Darrell Dexter, DDV Gold, Deborah Bayer, Department of Energy and Mines (DEM), Dustin O’Leary, Earthworks, Eastern Shore, Ellen Moore, Environment Act, Environmental Approval, environmental charges, Environmental Impact Statement, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Fifteen Mile Stream mine, Fisheries Act, FOIPOP, Frances Willick, Freedom of Information request, fuel taxes, gold mine, Highway 7, IAMGOLD, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), industrial approval, information session, James Wilt, Jennifer Henderson, Jim Millard, John Perkins, KPMG, Laird Browlie, land expropriation, Leonora mine, LinkedIn, Lloyd Hines, MacGregors Industrial Group, Mario Fortunato, Mi'kmaq, mine tailings, Mineral Resources Development Fund, Minerals Incentive Program, Moose River, Moose River Consolidated Project, Moose River Gold Mines Provincial Park, Moose River Road, Natural Resources Canada, NDP, net smelter royalty rate, net value royalty rate, Nova Scotia Environment (NSE), NS Power, open pit gold mine, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Paul Palmeter, Pieridae Energy, PNG Mineral Resources Authority, PowerPoint, proposed Beaver Dam mine, RCMP, Robert Grant, royalties, Sara Wallace, Sherbrooke, Simberi mine, St Barbara Ltd, St. Mary's River, Stantec, Steve Streatch, Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia (SuNNS), tailings management facility (TMF), taxes, The Narwhal, Touquoy mine, Transportation and Active Transit (TAT), United Nations Human Development Index, United Steelworkers union, waste rock storage area

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

Sacrificing wild Atlantic salmon for gold

A project that is undoing environmental damage from acid rain finds itself under threat from a gold mine proposed for Beaver Dam.

March 4, 2021 By Joan Baxter 6 Comments

We’re standing on the snow-covered banks of the Killag River beside the lime doser, a white silo that has been calibrated with intricate controls to apply just the right amount of lime into the river every day. Edmund Halfyard, a biologist working with the Nova Scotia Salmon Association, tells me that the “right amount” — […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: acid rain, acidification, Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Atle Hindar, Beaver Dam, Cameron Flowage, Cochrane Hill gold mine, Craig Jetson, Dustin O’Leary, Edmund Halfyard, environmental charges, Fifteen Mile Stream mine, gold mine, Greenland, helicopter, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), Jeff Hutchings, Jillian Leonard, Keef Brook, Killag River, lime doser, liming, Marinette, Mi'kmaw Conservation Group, Mike Crosby, Moose River Consolidated Project, Moose River gold mine, Newfoundland, Northern Pulp, Northern Timber, Norway, Nova Scotia Power, Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA), NS Department of Lands and Forestry, proposed Beaver Dam mine, smolts, Species at Risk, St Barbara Ltd, St. Mary's River, Tent Brook, Touquoy mine, Trout Nova Scotia, US Clean Air Act, West River Sheet Harbour, wild Atlantic salmon

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

A young white woman with dark hair and a purple shirt lies on a large rock at dusk, looking up at the sky and playing her banjolele.

Episode 85 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne, is published.

Logan Robins (writer/director/composer) and Katherine Norris (star/composer) of the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company are on the show this week ahead of their provincial tour of HIPPOPOSTUMOUS, Robins’ musical exploration of invasive species, colonization, environmentalism, and history. Hear how Pablo Escobar’s personal hippos have invaded and are ruining a section of Colombia, why Robins was intrigued to make a show about it, and all the places you can catch it this July. Plus Norris cracks out the banjolele to perform one of the show’s songs. And the new jam from Beauts!

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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