In Response to “Atlantic Canada vs. Atlantic Gold”
/Sean Kirby is Executive Director of the Mining Association of Nova Scotia
A note from the editor: After publishing “Atlantic Canada vs. Atlantic Gold,” it has become clear that the subject of gold mining in Nova Scotia is of great interest to many in our local community. If you would like to share your thoughts in response to that article, or this one, The Xaverian Weekly welcomes further submissions. Please direct thoughts, comments, or submissions to xw.eic@stfx.ca or use the contact form.
I am writing to respond to “Atlantic Canada vs. Atlantic Gold,” published November 17.
There is a lot of exciting activity in Nova Scotia’s gold exploration and mining sector these days. One gold mine opened in in 2017, four are in the permitting process and there is a lot of exploration taking place. This activity is bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to the province and creating hundreds of jobs for Nova Scotians, mainly in rural areas.
Modern mining is a sophisticated, science-based activity that takes proper care of the environment. Nova Scotia mines are stringently regulated by the provincial and federal governments.
Some people have questions about how we manage the environment, so I am writing to provide answers.
Reclamation Bonds - Before getting operating permits, companies must get government approval of reclamation plans and post reclamation bonds that ensure funds are available to properly take care of sites.
Water Management - Mine operators are required by law to treat, strictly monitor and test water, and report back to the provincial Department of the Environment. Water is usually recycled on-site to reduce the overall amount that an operation draws from local sources. Water released back into a river or lake is usually cleaner after it has been used in a mine or quarry than it was beforehand.
Groundwater - Uranium and arsenic occur in all Nova Scotia rock. They are unstable and often leach naturally into groundwater. It's important to test wells for them. Mining does not release uranium and arsenic or create a problem that did not already exist. In fact, mines contain these materials in engineered facilities that protect water.
Mercury - Modern gold mines do not use mercury. It’s an obsolete method of processing that is harmful to the environment. Mercury has not been used in Nova Scotia since the early 1900s.
Historical Mines - Former gold mines like Montague and Goldenville, which the provincial government recently announced it will clean up, date to the 1860s, an era long before environmental awareness or scientific understanding of peoples’ impact on the environment. It was an era of people and companies dumping garbage and waste in rivers and forests. We agree that these sites were not properly managed, just like most human activities back then. However, historical sites like these have nothing to do with modern mining.
Modern mines even sometimes fix issues with historical sites by cleaning up tailings or stabilizing land that was left unusable by the pick and shovel mining of the distant past. For example, the Touquoy gold mine has cleaned up historical tailings in Moose River and the Point Aconi mine reclamation project fixed subsidence issues caused by historical bootleg coal mining.
Most industries have unfortunate legacy issues. Governments have paid to clean up sites like the Sydney tar ponds, Amherst Aerospace and Trenton's Tibbetts Paints. Mining also has legacy issues but they date from another era and the industry takes proper care of the environment today.
Mining employs 5,500 Nova Scotians, mainly in rural areas. We are the province’s highest-paying resource industry with average wages of over $55,000 per year. An entry-level job, such as haul truck driver, pays an average of $25 per hour.
If you have more questions about gold, mining or anything else, please consider visiting our educational web site at www.NotYourGrandfathersMining.ca and following our daily educational social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also, please feel free to contact me any time.
