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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)

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

Part 1. What do we know about its plans for a new open pit mine in Goldboro (and haven't we been here before)?

February 10, 2022 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

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 peddled to investors as its […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: acid rock drainage, Anaconda Mining, arsenic, Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Aurelius Minerals, CN Tower, corporate capture, Dartmouth, Department of Energy and Mines, Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, Eastern Shore Forest Watch, ESTMA, expropriation, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), focus report, Fogarty’s Cove, FOIPOP, Geological Survey of Canada, gold, Gold Brook Lake, gold mine, Goldboro, Goldenville, historic tailings, history gold mining districts, Howard Richardson, Joan Kuyek, Joel Bakan, Kevin Bullock, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Lloyd Hines, man camp, Margaret Miller, Maritime Launch Services, Meguma Gold, mercury, Mi’kmaq Grassroots Grandmothers, Mike Parsons, mine tailings, Mineral Resources Act, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), MiningWatch Canada, Montague Mines, Moose River, Morien Resources, Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG), Natural Resources Canada, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change, open pit gold mine, Pieridae Energy, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), reclamation plan, regulatory capture, St Barbara Ltd, Stan Rogers, The Corporation, Toronto, Touquoy gold mine, Transport and Infrastructure Renewal, Unearthing Justice, Vernon Pitts, Vulcan Resources, waste rock

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

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

Atlantic Gold paid $0 in taxes in 2019

As the company is in court facing 32 charges of polluting the environment, the promised windfall in tax revenue is proving illusionary.

January 27, 2021 By Joan Baxter 1 Comment

Atlantic Mining NS Inc., an affiliate of the St. Barbara company Atlantic Gold, which operates the Touquoy open pit gold mine at Moose River, has succeeded in delaying its day in court. Arraigned in Dartmouth Provincial Court, Atlantic Mining NS asked for and received an adjournment until March 15. In September 2020, Nova Scotia Environment […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Atlantic Mining NS, Beaver Dam, Cochrane Hill, Dartmouth Provincial Court, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Fifteen-Mile Stream, Fisheries Act, gold price, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, Krista Gillis, Mitchell Glawson, Moose River gold mine, Mooseland, Natural Resources Canada, Nova Scotia Environment (NSE), Prospectors and Developers of Canada Association (PDAC), royalties, Scraggy Lake, St. Barbara Limited, tax, Touquoy mine

Nova Scotia government doubles down on gold mining

October 25, 2019 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

There were moments during last week’s “Water Not Gold” rally outside the Alt Hotel at the Halifax airport where the “Gold Show” was in progress, when I was reminded of a video from 2011 during Occupy Wall Street. That footage shows protestors marching along Wall Street, calling out money barons, greed, and the neoliberal system […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Atlantic Gold, Billy Lewis, Department of Energy and Mines (DEM), Donald James, East Coast Environmental Law, Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, Ecology Action Centre, Energy Minister Derek Mombourqeuette, Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Gary Andrea, Gold Show, Jacinda Mack, Joan Kuyek, Jor Richman, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS), Moose River gold mine, Nova Scotia Prospectors Association, Perry MacKinnon, Peter Lund, Portia Clark, Ray Plourde, Sean Kirby, Sierra Club, St. Mary’s River Association, Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia, Transition Metals Corp., Water Not Gold

Like blood from a stone: trying to get information out of the Department of Energy and Mines

February 7, 2019 By Joan Baxter 5 Comments

Late last year, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Derek Mombourquette, penned an op-ed that his department sent out to the media. As I mentioned in Morning File on January 16, 2019, the opinion piece was entitled “A little piece of Nova Scotia, everywhere,” and it claimed that the province’s mining industry was “something we can all take […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, Province House Tagged With: Atlantic Gold reclamation plan, Atlantic Mining NS, Beaver Dam, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Cochrane Hill, DDV Gold, Department of Energy and Mines (DEM), Dustin O’Leary, Energy Minister Derek Mombourquette, Environmental Assessment Registration Document, Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), Fifteen-Mile Stream, James Wilt, Jennifer Johnson, JoAnn Alberstat, Mineral Resources Act, Moose River, Moose River Consolidated Project, Natural Resources Canada, royalty rate for gold, Toby Koffman, Touquoy mine

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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  • Royal flush: the monarchy’s role in reconciliation and Canada today May 19, 2022
  • Dartmouth man charged with wilful promotion of hatred May 19, 2022

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