Nova Scotia approves gold mining company's plan to process leftover ore at idled mine

Gold is shown in this handout photo provided by Province of Nova Scotia. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout-Province of Nova Scotia

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government has given a mining company approval to process stockpiled ore at the idled Touquoy gold mine about 65 kilometres east of Halifax.

Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia was granted industrial approval earlier this month by the provincial Environment Department.

The department says the mine at Moose River, N.S., has about three million tonnes of unprocessed ore that was left behind when operations stopped in 2023 and a cleanup of the site began the following year.

The government says there will not be any new mining at the site and the processing is expected to take up to 14 months, with all of the waste to be dumped into the open pit.

As well, the government says the work is expected to create about 200 jobs and contribute about $150 million to the province’s economy.

Meanwhile, the cleanup of the mill area will be paused while the remaining ore is processed, but reclamation work will continue in other areas.

The province holds a $79.9-million bond from Atlantic Mining to ensure full reclamation is completed as required under the Environment Act.


This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.