Higgins family loses final appeal against gold mine

A family that has been fighting expropriation of lands on the eastern shore has lost its final appeal.

The Higgins family does not want to give up land for a gold mine, but the Supreme court of Canada will not hear the case.

In 2012, the provincial government ordered the expropriation of a chunk of the family's Christmas tree farm in Moose River Gold Mines on the Eastern Shore.

The land will be part of an open-pit gold mine proposed by Australia's DDV Gold Ltd. The company has said the mine will be worth $140 million and create about 150 jobs.

The company was able to buy up more than 70 parcels of land. But not the Higgins property, even though the family was offered up to $300,000.

The family appealed the expropriation order to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, which sided with the government. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal upheld the lower court decision.

Now that the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the expropriation, the Higginss legal battle is over.