CITYnews halifax: Zinc mine restarts in Halifax County following ‘undeniable’ push, N.S. says

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

According to the Nova Scotia government, there has been significant “momentum” in the province’s mining sector in the last several months.

Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources, said in a statement that the movement is “undeniable.”

“Over the past few months, we have seen major projects move forward that will support communities, create jobs and grow our economy,” he said in a release.

The minister touched on how global uncertainty caused the United States tariffs — some of which were applied at 50 per cent on imports including hockey sticks and wine — is the reason for the province to look to mining.

In a recent roundtable discussion with industry leaders, Rushton said that it is allowing the reopening of a zinc mine in Halifax County. Scotia Mine Ltd. received approval to change its industrial approval to restart operations.

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“The mine will produce zinc, a critical mineral used in renewable energy technologies, batteries, electric vehicles, infrastructure and protecting steel from corrosion. It will also produce lead used in batteries and gypsum, which is important to housing and agriculture,” the minister said.

It is the first project to receive approval since the province’s new strategy was released, which details how it can support development, attract investment and support jobs through transitioning to cleaner energy.

This one mine reopening will create 150 jobs and support the economy for more than 14 years, the press release notes.

Environment critics concerned

Experts are concerned with the ongoing environmental impacts of mining on Nova Scotian land, even if mines are restarted and do not necessarily spread further.

A report from Dalhousie University last year shows flaws in the environmental review process for mining operations in Canada, with researchers finding that data for 20 per cent of the projects they reviewed was incomplete or missing entirely from public records.

In one instance, researchers filed an access request with Nova Scotia for environmental assessments done before the year 2000. Nova Scotia started requiring environmental assessments in 1989, but prior to 2000, they were done manually.

“When we’re talking about starting new projects … there are what’s called ‘cumulative effects,’” Dr. Alana Westwood, lead author of the report, said in a recent interview. “Pollution or contamination from a mine can build up over time, reaching dangerous thresholds.

Passing thresholds can lead to a species dying out, or to serious contamination of groundwater that can leave communities without clean water, she said. “If we don’t have baseline data, we don’t know where we started and we can’t estimate or understand the potential impacts.”

The report collected all available environmental impact assessments on mining projects dating back to 1974 — that’s 266 assessments on 227 projects over 50 years. However, researchers ran into problems.

Canadian mining is a big industry, accounting for about six per cent of the country’s economy. But mining also leaves a big footprint. The report shows there could be more than 10,000 abandoned mines across the country, continuing to pollute the environment with no oversight.

With files from Emily Baron Cadloff, The Canadian Press.