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Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources Minister, Charlie Parker, is supporting DDV Gold Ltd., an Australian gold company, over a family run Christmas tree farm that doesn’t want its land expropriated and turned into an open pit mine.
“This was a difficult decision to make, and while it may not be to everyone’s liking, I am confident that it best serves the public interest,” said Parker in a news release.
The Nova Scotia government says the deposit at Moose River Gold Mines contains about 635,000 ounces of gold worth $700 million. The project is expected to produce about 90,000 ounces of gold per year for five to seven years, and create about 150 jobs during operations and 300 construction jobs.
“In making this decision I gave careful consideration to a number of factors, including the substantial public interest in seeing this mine develop, the private interest of the surface land owners, and my authority and responsibilities under the Mineral Resources Act,” said Parker.
Cleve Higgins, whose father runs the farm, is disappointed with the decision and told reporters he will appeal.
“This is exactly what we hoped the government wouldn’t do,” said Cleve Higgins in an interview with the Herald Business.
“This sets a dangerous precedent. It says to Nova Scotia land owners that a mining company can just come along and take away your land because it wants to.”
The family is asking for a judicial inquiry into Parker’s decision and hope to apply for a injunction that would stop the mine.
Image of Christmas tree worker in Waterloo, Nova Scotia
2 Comments
Martin Cuda
The surface rights holder must very substantially compensated in all cases like this. Surface rights owners must always be given precident consideration. It is not only the value of the land that must be compensated. It is the attachment to the land and the area, the ordeal of having to relocate and re-establish a life that must be compensated. That compensation must be even greater if the person cannot re-establish in the immediate area and be forced into re-establishing their lives in another unfamiliar community. Therefore, this substantial cost must be factored into the equation when a mine is opened and disrupts all aspects of an environment. It will not be cheap.
Gurn Blansden
Martin, is there a precedent as to how much of a premium is attached to the land value? I understand that sometimes decisions swing in the favour of the “benefit to society”, but as an individual land owner, I would be pissed if it happened to me. How deep can one dig in its heels?