The Saint Mary’s River vs. the Cochrane Hill Gold Mine Project
/The Saint Mary’s River is most widely known for being Nova Scotia’s longest river. This river represents far more than this. It is an incredibly important home to several endangered species such as the wood turtle, mainland moose and most importantly, the Atlantic salmon. The amount of biodiversity that is supported within and surrounding the Saint Mary’s ecosystem is often overlooked but is necessary for maintaining the health of the Saint Mary’s River and the community it supports.
The Saint Mary’s River Association are a group of community members taking action to protect and preserve the river. There has been a major ongoing project to restock the river with Atlantic Salmon, which over the past few years has been showing genuine promise in returning the Atlantic Salmon to their prime. The Mckeens drainage basin is an especially productive area with rare footage recently being recorded of Salmon spawning here. The Salmon is slowly getting back to their prime in this river because of the incredible biodiversity that it holds and the help of the Saint Mary’s community.
Unfortunately, the biodiversity that this river supports does not garner the recognition that it deserves. Despite the millions of dollars that the Saint Mary’s group has invested into the restoration of the Atlantic Salmon here, all their work is at risk. Atlantic is proposing a Gold Mine to be put in place on Cochrane Hill. This proposal is for about 600 acres of land directly above the Archibald Lake drainage basin (which creates a cold-water refuge site for salmon when it runs into the Saint Mary’s) and more importantly the Mckeens drainage basin. A large chunk of this proposal is for a tailings pond that would be 70m tall and 2km long above some of the most productive salmon spawning area in the river, that’s in the Mckeens drainage basin. This tailings pond would potentially leach into the drainage basins on either side of Cochrane Hill, creating an imminent threat for the Salmon of the river.
Making matters worse is the fact that the community that must face the environmental devastation of the mine will gain no monetary compensation. A few short-term jobs will be generated within the community, but the company does not even make the promise of hiring 10% of it’s employees from the community. The provincial benefits are only marginally better, with a 1% royalty on the project. What is astounding about this number is how other provinces such as British Columbia have a 13% royalty for gold mining. In comparison, Nova Scotia is essentially giving away it’s land for free and mining companies are coming in hand over fist to pick up all the mining contracts available. These mining companies are going into rural Nova Scotian towns, with the promise of creating much needed jobs and leaving the community with environmental degradation that will last far longer than the brief economic relief. Atlantic Gold says “This is not your grandfather’s mine” to try to appease the community members fighting this mine. The irony in this is palpable, as the mining done a century ago with mine shafts was certainly safer ecologically than the open pit mine being proposed at Cochrane Hill.
I interviewed Scott Beaver, the president of the Saint Mary’s River Association, and he had a hard time conceiving the scale not only of the mine but the impact that it would have on this beloved river. The Saint Mary’s River Association has hired environmental consultants to
come and assess the potential effects of the Gold Mine on the community. Their findings have been overwhelming. “Significant risk and minimal benefit” is how Scott Beaver summarized it. Scott Beaver has been president of the Saint Mary’s River Association since 2016. He has devoted countless hours to the community and to the health of the river. Unfortunately, since the Cochrane Hill Gold Mine was first proposed in 2017 by Atlantic Gold Corporation, most of his time has been spent fighting for the health of the salmon that he has come so far to recover. One of the mines proposed by Atlantic Gold has already been put in place. The Touquoy Mine in Mooseland is a cautionary tail for what Cochrane Hill could one day become.
Even worse is that the odds are stacked in favor of the Gold Mine. The process for determining whether the mine should be allowed to go through is called an approval process. The key word is “approval” because the entire process is centered around approving the mine to go ahead with their plan. Even if there is community pushback for the mine, in scenarios such as the Cochrane Hill Gold Mine, at best the mine may be delayed for a few years and must make some small changes to their plans. Even if their plans are rejected, they can resubmit another proposal a few years later. After speaking with Scott, he said that the only way to generate real change is to change the archaic mining laws in Nova Scotia. One strategy could be increasing the royalties that mining companies must pay, this would help to decrease the number of mines in Nova Scotia.
The Saint Mary’s River represents a battle ground for the recovery of the Atlantic Salmon and the health of the ecosystem it signifies. We are in the middle of a climate crisis, and it is battles that the Saint Mary’s group is fighting that will create a positive impact today and for generations to come. If you are interested in learning more, please visit “The Gold Mine Conversation: Cochrane Hill Gold Mining in NS”. If your interested in helping the Saint Mary’s River Association in their fight against the proposed gold mine, go to stmarysriverassociation.com and donate today!
