Goldboro gold mine proposal submitted to province for environmental approval

A newly renamed company pitching a freshly revamped proposal for an open-pit gold mine on the Eastern Shorehas submitted its environmental assessmentofthe project to the province.

Signal Gold, previously known as Anaconda Mining, wants to develop a mine in Goldboro, N.S.,about 250 kilometres east of Halifax.

The project would include two open pits, a processing facility, a tailings management facility, waste rock storage areas, as well as water management infrastructure such ascollection ditches, culverts, settling pondsand water treatment systems.

The company also plans to bring in trailers to house employees, with 350 beds expected during the construction phase and 175 beds during the operations phase. The facility will be drug- and alcohol-free, the company says.

Signal Gold says the project will create 735 new direct and spinoff jobs a year in the province for 15 years. The company expects the project to generate $528 million in income and mining taxes at the federal, provincial and municipal level from direct and spinoff economic activity.

If approved, Signal anticipatesconstruction willbegin in late 2023, with the mine being commissioned in 2025 and operations continuing until 2035. The closure process would begin in 2036.

Proposalwas withdrawn in 2019

Anaconda had sought environmental approval for a gold mine development at the site in August 2018.

But the environment minister at the time said the company's submission didn't contain enough information, and asked Anaconda for a more extensive report on the environmental implications of the project. The minister gave the company a one-year deadline.

In September 2019, three days before that deadline, Anaconda withdrew its proposal from the environmental assessment process because it was makingsignificant changes to its plans.

The original proposal called for a mix of open-pit and underground mining, with ore to be processed on site. Thegold concentrate would then havebeen trucked to the company's Point Rousse processing facilitynear Baie Verte, N.L., via the North Sydney ferry.

The new plan calls for two open pits one measuring about 1,025 metres by 520 metres, and the other about 775 metres by 410 metres and for the gold to be processed at the site.

No significant adverse effects, says company

As part of its environmental assessment, the company evaluated theexpected impacts of the project on air, light, noise, soil, water, fish, terrestrial species and habitat, socioeconomic conditions andIndigenous people.

It concluded that once mitigation measures are implemented, the project would not have significant residual effects.

However, it did note that the project overlaps with areas that were mined over 100 years ago, and which are known to be contaminated by those historical mining operations.

Early gold production often involved the use of mercury, arsenic and cyanide, and tailings the materials left over after gold was extracted were usuallydumped on the ground or in waterways.

Gold productionat the location of the proposed mine dates back to at least 1893, and tailings that were deposited in streams and wetlands migrated along Gold Brook. Research in the area has found elevated levels of arsenic and iron in the water downstream of the tailings, and sampling by the Geological Survey of Canada in 2012 showedelevated arsenic and mercury levels in the tailings in the Upper Seal Harbour area.

Seal Harbour and nearby Isaacs Harbour have been closed to most bivalve shellfish fisheries since 2005 due to high levels of arsenic found in clam tissue.

Signal Gold's environmental assessment says historical tailings in the project area will be removed and taken to the company's tailings management facility for storage and monitoring.

Nova Scotia Lands, the provincial Crown agency responsible for cleaning up contaminated lands, is currently working on plans to remediatesites that have been contaminated by historical gold mines, including in the Upper and Lower Seal Harbour areas where the proposed Goldboro mine would be located.

Opposition to gold mine proposals

Nova Scotia has one operating gold mine, Atlantic Gold's Touquoy mine in Moose River, N.S. That company has three other proposed mines in the works, including Beaver Dam, Cochrane Hill and Fifteen Mile Stream. Each of those projects hasfaced opposition from some residents and environmental groups concerned about the short- and long-term impacts of the proposals.

Signal Gold's environmental assessment documents note the company has held open housesand met with Indigenous groups to share plans for the site and hear concerns.

According to the company, the issues raised during those sessions include:

• Impacts on traditional Mi'kmawpractices including hunting, harvesting and fishing.
• Contingency planning for accidents and malfunctions.
• Management of historical tailings.
• Environmental protections related to the tailings management facility and water.
• Employment opportunities and economic benefits.
• Road safety and traffic.
• Access to the east side of the project, ATV trails and Ocean Lake.
• Noise and potential impact to potable groundwater wells.

Feedback invited for 30 days

Public comments on the proposed project will be accepted until July 10 online, by email, phone or letter.

The environment minister has until July 30 to make a decision whether to approve the environmental assessment.