Abandoned mines in Nova Scotia are considered “low hanging fruit” to the mining companies and they want access to them in Protected Areas.
Recent publicity around the Mining Association of Nova Scotia proposal to open up protected lands to mining via a swap proposal led quickly to a “we are not going to do that” response from government.
We might have thought that was the end of it, however, as Raymond Plourde told me, they (MANS] expected that response and that’s why they are pandering to municipalities. He was right.
Warden Vernon Pitts on behalf of the Guysborough Municipal Council writes in the Guysborough Journal today:
The MANS Proposal (A Better Balance – How Can We Protect Jobs and Land?) provides an opportunity to reset our priorities. No one is suggesting that highly sensitive or unique lands be opened up for mineral exploration or development. What is proposed, is that lands of equal or greater value be “swapped” for lands currently protected. This creates a net-gain or win-win situation for everyone.
He offers some interesting comments along the way, such as
“Our Council has proposed areas of old-growth forest for protection to no avail. We understand the importance of the forest industry in Nova Scotia and also the commitment of the provinces wood fiber from Crown Land. This commitment has seemingly had a significant impact on areas proposed for protection. Barren coastal areas do not tend to support forest growth.”
and concludes:
Abandoned gold mines in eastern Nova Scotia.(NSDNR)
“Mineral exploration and development offers a significant opportunity to address the population decline through its root-cause – employment. It is for these reasons that the MODG stands with MANS in its call for the Province of Nova Scotia to revisit it’s policy related to Parks and Protected Lands and strike a balance between land protection and the elimination of economic opportunities in rural Nova Scotia. The MANS proposal offers an opportunity to do just that.”
View: Time to revisit approach to protected lands
by Warden Vernon Pitts on behalf of the Guysborough Municipal Council, Guysborough Journal Nov 15, 2017.
Also:
COMMENTARY: Save protected areas from mining
Raymond Plourde, Op-ed in Chronicle Herald, Nov 10, 2017
Ground Zero: Mining companies (& others) want the “low hanging fruit” in Nova Scotia’s Protected Areas
Post on this website, Nov 7, 2017
Now NS Mining Association blames Parks & Protected Areas for economic woes
Post on this website, Dec 19, 2016
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‘Just wonderin what happens when you stir up that low hanging fruit… some of those old mines operated under no or very lax environmental regulations. Are the Mining Cos going to address all of the related environmental issues?