Contentious plan moves ahead to process leftover ore at idled Nova Scotia gold mine

HALIFAX – The company behind a plan to process stockpiled ore at Nova Scotia’s idled Touquoy gold mine says it has already signed contracts worth $56 million with two rural companies to support the reopening.

Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia, a subsidiary of Australia-based St Barbara Ltd., was granted industrial approval by the provincial Environment Department on April 10. The gold mine, about 70 kilometres northeast of Halifax, is expected to begin processing three million tonnes of ore in November.

And if all goes according to plan, gold shipments to the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa will start next year.

But this is not a long-term project. The ore processing is expected to last only 14 months, creating about 200 jobs at the open pit operation near Moose River, N.S.

Dustin O’Leary, business development manger with St Barbara, says the company worked with the province to overcome regulatory hurdles regarding the storage of tailings, the waste byproducts of ore processing.

The province has agreed to allow the waste to be dumped into the open pit, which hasn’t been done before in Nova Scotia, O’Leary said.

“Nova Scotia wants to get the most out of the mining industry that it possibly can, and that doesn’t mean we skirt regulations,” O’Leary said in an interview. “We’re all responsible to treat the environment well and to protect it.”

Karen McKendry, wilderness outreach co-ordinator with the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, said the pit was never meant to store tailings.

“(That) was never originally proposed for this project,” McKendry said in an interview “They’re starting to … use the site in ways that the public was not aware of and wasn’t approved (until now). I sincerely hope there’s some excellent engineers who are looking at this and are going to make it as safe as possible.”

O’Leary said the company spent years working with industry-leading experts to ensure the pit will properly contain the waste.

“We’re very confident in the studies that we’ve done and the modelling that we have done (showing) the pit is able to hold those tailings,” he said, adding that the company has already spent $18 million on cleaning up the site.

The unprocessed ore was left behind when mining operations stopped in September 2023 after five years of production. A cleanup began the following year.

Atlantic Mining says the ore is believed to contain about 38,000 ounces of gold, which at current prices would be worth more than $200 million. The government says the new work is expected to contribute about $150 million to the province’s economy.

Meanwhile, the cleanup of the mill area will be paused while the remaining ore is processed, but reclamation work will continue in other areas, the company says.

The province holds a $79.9-million bond from Atlantic Mining to ensure full reclamation is completed as required under the Environment Act.

The mining company recently applauded a new deal between Ottawa and Nova Scotia aimed at simplifying federal and provincial environmental approvals for major infrastructure and resource projects. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Tim Houston signed an agreement in late March when the prime minister was visiting Halifax.

The agreement on environmental assessments is aimed at removing duplication, shortening review times and increasing regulatory clarity. The projects that typically need approvals from both levels of government include energy transmission lines that cross provincial boundaries, airports, marine terminals and ports, pipelines and some mining projects. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.