Moose River, Nova Scotia (August 29, 2024) – Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia (a subsidiary of Australian-based St Barbara Limited) is pleased to announce the process by which land trusts, community groups, and members of the public are encouraged to submit ideas for high ecological value land that Atlantic Mining can acquire and preserve in an appropriate land trust or similar organization. Through this process, the Company hopes to move quickly to achieve its vision of protecting high-value ecological land, mirroring the same land area as the Touquoy Mine.

Atlantic Mining will follow through on its 2014 commitment with the Nova Scotia Department of Environment (NSECC) to acquire 129 hectares of land. In parallel, the Company is also initiating a separate process to acquire an additional 136 hectares.

For nearly a decade, Atlantic Mining has been attempting to complete a process to purchase high ecological value lands for donation and protection. The vision was for the land to be at least equal in area to that which would be disturbed by the open pit and infrastructure required of Atlantic Mining’s Touquoy Gold Mine (now in reclamation).

St Barbara and Atlantic Mining have been attempting to finalize the process to purchase high value ecological lands since 2015, but provincial government delays in identifying and approving viable options has complicated the seemingly straightforward process.

About the Call for Land

The deadline for submissions is 5 pm on October 28th, 2024, emailed to community.relations@stbarbara.ca. Submitters should provide informed proposals identifying parcels of high ecological value land that may be suitable to be included in the total purchase of a minimum of 136 hectares of land. Suggestions that will be considered for purchase must follow rules similar to those applying under the Conservation Land Plan process. The land must:

• Be available for purchase within the boundaries of the Province of Nova Scotia;
• Be of little or no residential or commercial development potential;
• Be of no significant mineral development potential; and
• Be ecologically significant to the benefit of all Nova Scotians.

The Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia management team will review all eligible parcels, have environmental experts review their ecological merit, then submit a proposal for endorsement by the Touquoy Community Liaison Committee (CLC). With expert and CLC endorsement, the 136 hectares will be purchased and transferred to a conservation group. To assist the chosen conservation group in taking stewardship over these lands, Atlantic Mining will provide the group with an additional $50,000 to cover the costs of integration.

“St Barbara and Atlantic Mining are determined to purchase the equivalent area of high ecological land that was impacted by the Touquoy mine and in doing so honor the original vision, protect Nova Scotia’s ecology and benefit Nova Scotia’s future despite bureaucratic delays” says Andrew Strelein, Director of Atlantic Mining.

“The Department of Environment has made statements in the past that the process of the land purchases has been delayed due to ‘negotiations with the Company. Such statements have inaccurately implied that the Company was responsible for delays, and we wish to correct this and assert our continued commitment to move forward in good faith.”

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Timeline Details, for Information

Atlantic Mining provides the following timeline which reveals the true cause of delays:

December 2011 – Atlantic Gold (now Atlantic Mining) provide the first draft Conservation Land Procurement Plan to Protected Areas Branch (of what is now NSECC) pursuant to the Environmental Approval.

March 2014 – Industrial Approval issued with agreed purchase of offset lands at a cost of up to $500,000 and a Conservation Land Plan required within twelve months and a new Conservation Land Plan required.

January 2015 – Atlantic Gold meets with NSECC and Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and it is agreed that the model would be that NSECC and NCC would identify candidate lands under a new plan to be acceptable to NSECC.

March 2015 – Atlantic Gold submits the draft Conservation Plan to NSECC within the required time period.

June 2015 – Atlantic Gold provides a further draft Conservation Land Plan to NSECC with agreed changes.

July 2015 to August 2018 – NSECC make several requests for extensions to their time for review of the draft Conservation Land Plan due to various accounting and other bureaucratic delays. In August 2018, Atlantic Gold ask that they be more involved. 

January 2019 – Atlantic Gold submit another draft Conservation Land Plan. NSECC now seek input from Department of Lands and Forests.

February 2019 – NSECC request another extension for provision of comments on the draft Conservation Land Plan until May 2019.

May 2019 – NSECC request another extension for provision of comments until July 2019.

July 2019 – Atlantic Gold shareholders approved sale of Company to St Barbara. Atlantic Gold on the very next day, following the shareholder vote, sign and execute the Conservation Land Plan and provide to NSECC.

March 2021 – The Conservation Land Plan is signed by the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Lands and Forests - two years after being signed by Atlantic Gold.

April 2022 – First meeting with Department of Environment but land identified by Department had owners that were ultimately unwilling to sell.

April 2023 – Second meeting with Department of Environment. Land parcels identified and promptly shared with Community Liaison Committee by Atlantic Mining staff to obtain endorsement.

June 2023 – Third meeting with Department of Environment. CLC approval confirmed. NSECC advised that they would need to meet with DNR to obtain formal approval for proposed land purchases.

June and July 2023 – Four times the follow up meetings with NSECC were rescheduled and ultimately cancelled by NSECC as they had not yet met with DNR regarding the land purchases.

November 2023 – Company followed up NSECC on status and find out that one of the approved parcels is no longer available because NSECC had used it for another offset situation. Still no meeting held by NSECC with DNR.

December 2023 – Fourth meeting with NSECC. NSECC and DNR had met but no agreement yet on process between them. The two departments were to provide a “Decision Note”. Two more land parcels were identified for potential purchase, but details were still to be provided to Atlantic Mining to present to the Touquoy CLC.

January 2024 – Reminder sent by Company to NSECC seeking the details of the new land parcels. Details were then sent to Atlantic Mining and provided promptly to CLC for endorsement.

February 2024 – Company obtained endorsement from CLC on latest proposed land parcels. NSECC advised that they were still yet to agree on arrangements with DNR.

April 2024 – Company again follows up with NSECC to ask of status of the Decision Note with DNR to which the reply was “things are still ongoing with the Decision Note”.

Today – Still no information from NSECC on situation with the “Decision Note” and therefore the Company is still unable to acquire the relevant pieces of high ecological value.