Environmental Impacts on St. Mary's River Habitat / Watershed Need Careful Study

I am concerned about the proposed reopening of mining sites near the St. Mary's river ecosystem. Before approval, a thorough assessment should be conducted on the potential impact of proposed activities on Atlantic Salmon habitat, the broader watershed, and other relevant issues such as species at risk and water quality. While the company's website advertises reduced environmental impact due to centralized processing and the cleaning up of existing tailings, what is less clear to me is whether new tailings will be produced, how much of local water resources will be required (especially in a time of higher water stress due to lower precipation and hotter summers), and the CO2/other emissions (direct and indirect) associated with ore/tailings processing. What are the risks to aquifers that people rely on? What is the long-term strategy for storage of waste products? How might this work affect Atlantic Salmon recovery in the long term? Without clear answers to these questions it will be difficult to safeguard the health of the ecosystem in the long term after the lifetime of the project. I believe these questions should be answered and shared with Nova Scotians in a meaningful consultative process (especially with local communities that may be impacted) before work begins to ensure this project is in the broader public interest.