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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 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

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

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 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

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

A young man wearing a purple jean jacket and sporting a moustache lies on the green grass surrounded by pink plastic flamingos

Episode 80 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne, is published.

Singer-songwriter Willie Stratton has wandered a number of genre paths, starting with raw acoustic folk as a teen phenom, moving through surf rock as Beach Bait, and landing in a Roy Orbison-style classic country on his new album Drugstore Dreamin’. Ahead of his release show at the Marquee on Friday, he stops in to explain why mixing influences makes the best art, how he approaches the guitar, and what he likes about his day job as a barber.

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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