Environmentalists Worried NS Gold Mine Waste Could Breach Tailings Dam
PORT HAWKESBURY — A mining company has been given the green light to increase the height of a tailings dam holding back toxic mining waste in Moose River. But advocates with the Ecology Action Center are concerned the changes increase the risk of a breach.
“It’s really disappointing to be honest with you,” says Wetlands and Water Coordinator, Mimi O’Handley.
Atlantic Gold, a subsidiary of St. Barbara, applied to expand its tailings pond’s capacity by raising its dam height. The appliation comes as the company awaits approval of an environmental assessment that would allow for the open-pit Touquoy Gold Mine, 63 kilometres Northeast of Halifax and 19 kilometres southeast of Middle Musquodoboit, to be used as a tailings pond.
“They had their original environmental assessment in 2008 and the tailings pond was not engineered to store more tailings that they’re asking for now,” O’Handley says. “Two factors that go into tailings dam breaches are a heightened dam and an increased volume in the tailings. Both are going to be happening at the Touquoy mine site.”
Tailings waste is a by-product of mining. It’s made up of oils, grease and sometimes toxic substances like arsenic and mercury.
Without the modifications, Atlantic Gold will run out of space for the mining waste and have to cease some operations at the site.
While the company is awaiting approval for an ongoing environmental assessment, Atlantic Gold did recieve what’s called and “industrial approval” on Aug. 10, 2022. That approval didn’t require any public consultation and was meant to keep operations running on site by raising the height of the dam on the existing tailings storage.
O’Handley says the lack of transparency around the industrial approval of the dam raising is concerning.
“We don’t have all of the information available to us. Usually, if it had gone through an environmental assessment process, we would be able to see all the proposed plans from the mining company.”
A release from St. Barbara says “the Tailings Management Facility lift should provide sufficient time for the Company to work with the Provincial government to resolve NSECC’s (Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change) outstanding queries on the Environmental Assessment for in-pit tailings deposition.”
“Upon receipt of the in-pit tailings deposition permit, the Touquoy site will have sufficient tailings capacity to support the longer term Atlantic Province Plan, which is also proposed to include Beaver Dam and Fifteen Mile Stream.”
In an email statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Environment wrote that “after a thorough review, the Administrator is satisfied that the proposed activities are in line with the applicable legislation, regulations, policies, and standards. Raising the height of the tailings facility provides the company with required capacity.”
“Government’s job is to ensure opportunities for sustainable development that benefit Nova Scotians economically and increase employment can move forward, while continuing to protect the environment.”
Because the changes were approved out of the public eye, O’Handley says she’s not sure if there’s anything that can be done to protest the dam raising or to quell gold mining in Nova Scotia.
“We have more than enough gold in the world to sustain human needs… it can be recycled infinitely, so we really don’t need to be digging up more gold from the earth.”
Anastasia Payne is a reporter with CKHZ 103.5 in Halifax, a Huddle content partner.