Objection to Fifteen Mile Stream open pit mine

Reference Number
27
Text

My parents live near the Mooseland open pit mine that is operated by Atlantic Gold.  Atlantic Gold has taken pristine wilderness area that was rich in biodiversity and turned it into a wasteland.  It will take generations for the environmental damage that this company has already done in Mooseland to be repaired.  A few jobs over the relatively short timeframe of about 10 years are not worth it when you consider the damage that has been done to the environment.  If we had a way to place value on the biodiversity that has been lost through open pit mining there is no way that it would be able to pass a basic cost-benefit analysis.

We are living through a climate change crisis.  We need to take immediate action to minimize our impacts on the earth.  Science is showing that we need to make drastic changes to our way of life if we want to have a planet to live on.  One of these changes should be to take account of the actual environmental costs associated with human activities such as open pit gold mining.  This company whitewashes its activities by pointing to advances in the management of tailings and their "investment" in the local economy through job creation.  From my perspective, a basic cost-benefit analysis is not being met here.  This mining operation will negatively impact rare lichen species, a wetland area, the endangered mainland moose and migratory birds.  If these species become extinct we cannot replace them.  They are infinitely more valuable than a few jobs over a short period of time.

I am a Nova Scotian and have spent time exploring the rich biodiversity in the areas of Mooseland and Fifteen Mile Stream.  These areas need to be protected from exploitation at the hands of companies like Atlantic Gold.  Nova Scotia is a beautiful place, please do not allow foreign companies to come here and destroy the natural beauty of our province for a bit of shiny metal.

The legislative framework that is currently in place, which allows this kind of project to proceed, needs to be changed.  No open pit mines should be approved in Nova Scotia.

Submitted by
Cheryl Crocker
Phase
N/A
Public Notice
N/A
Attachment(s)
N/A
Date Submitted
2021-04-25 - 10:09 AM
Date modified: