 |
This list of mines in Nova Scotia, Canada is subsidiary to the list of mines and list of mines in Canada articles. This list includes working, defunct and future mines in the country and is organised by the primary mineral output. For practical purposes stone, marble and other quarries may be included in this list.
| Mine | Coordinates | Town | Owner | Dates | Comments |
| Springhill coalfield | 45°40′N 64°4′W | Springhill, Nova Scotia | A.V. Roe Canada Company Ltd. | ????-1958 | Coal was so prevalent in the town that "there was a time when men got coal out of their backyards; shallow pits were found everywhere. In recent years, there have been instances when a homeowner would step out of his door only to find a big gaping hole where his driveway had been. Another part of an old mine had caved in." [1] |
| Westray Mine | 45°33′14″N 062°38′44″W | Plymouth, Pictou County, Nova Scotia | Curragh Resources | 1991-1992 | It was the site of an underground methane explosion on May 9, 1992. The explosion resulted in the deaths of all 26 miners who were working underground at the time. [2] |
| Pioneer Coal Mine | 45°33′56.5″N 62°40′30.4″W | Stellarton | Pioneer Coal | Currently open | Pioneer Coal is in the process of winding down mine operations at this site, which has been supplying coal to Nova Scotia Power. They are in search of new sources of coal in the province and have submitted a proposal in Pictou County [3] |
| Donkin Mine | 46.1815 N 59.8746° W | Donkin | Cline Group LLC | Reopened in 2017, closed again in 2020. | The 2020 closure was a result of adverse geologic conditions in the mine. The closure resulted in approximately 150 jobs lost [4] |
| Mine | Coordinates | Town | Owner | Dates | Comments |
| Catcha Lake | 44°44′09″N63°11′40″W / 44.73583°N 63.19444°W | Halifax Regional Municipality | Acadian Gold Corporation | 1882–Present | The report indicated that 20,734 tons of ore had been crushed to date, resulting in the recovery of 22,757 ounces of gold valued at that time at $19.00 per ton WJW. Today the Acadian Gold Corporation controls approximately 6.4 kilometres of strike length on this structure and is planning to drill for samples in the future . |
| Moose River Gold Mine | 44°59′03″N 62°56′34″W | Moose River | Acadian Gold Corporation | 2017–present | The Moose River operation currently provides full-time employment to over 300 Nova Scotians, plus indirect and contractor positions. In its first year alone, the mine produced over 90,000 ounces of gold. [5] As of March 25, 2019, the Moose River operation had a combined estimate of 1.9 million ounces of gold in reserve at a grade of 1.12 grams per tonne. [6] |
The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources created the Abandoned Mine Openings Database, which is an inventory of abandoned mine workings from both underground operations and advanced exploration in the province. In the database, over 600 mining areas have been identified, consisting of over 7,000 shafts, adits, slopes, trenches, and associated underground workings which are or once were open to the surface. The database is updated regularly whenever locations are visited, or new mine openings are identified. The inventory can be filtered by mine opening name, mine opening type, location, claim, reference map, landowner type, commodity mined, county, name of vein or seam, hazard degree and by mine opening original depth. [7]
The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources created the Abandoned Mine Openings Remediation Program in 2001 which has a budget of $50,000 a year to remediate openings that are located mainly on crown land, of which there are 2000. The Geoscience and Mines Branch of the Department of Natural Resources carries out regular inspections of the openings. This is managed on a three-year cycle in which almost every abandoned mine opening on crown land is inspected and assigned a degree of hazard. The hazard ratings range from Type I (inescapable) to Type IV (no significant hazard) and the openings are remediated in order of safety hazard. Closing all of the Type I abandoned mine openings on Crown land was the top priority of the Abandoned Mine Openings Remediation Program and was accomplished by the end of 2011. Remediation is completed by means of back-filling, fencing or placement of concrete caps over the mine opening. [8] As deforestation and urban development increase, abandoned mines have become an important source of habitat for a number of bat species. Thus, the closure of abandoned mine openings presents a potential threat to bat populations. In response, habitat surveys have become an essential part of abandoned mine assessments. Should the area be deemed important for habitat preservation, the method of closure will be designed to suit the resident species. [9]
From 2001 to 2015, approximately $810,000 was spent remediating hazardous openings on crown land. As of 2015, all 40 Type I abandoned mine openings and approximately 40% of Type II openings on crown land have now been remediated. [10]
In 2019, the Auditor General of Nova Scotia identified a significant control weakness relating to the Department of Lands and Forestry’s financial reporting of abandoned mine sites. The Department of Lands and Forestry had not completed adequate investigations at all abandoned mine sites which were identified to have possible areas of contamination. Unidentified potential contaminants may result in ecological or human health concerns. Further investigation is ongoing. [11]
Cumberland County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underutilized, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and land developers within different countries. The main difference in definitions of whether a piece of land is considered a brownfield or not depends on the presence or absence of pollution. Overall, brownfield land is a site previously developed for industrial or commercial purposes and thus requires further development before reuse.
Springhill is a community located in central Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Westville is a town in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located immediately west of Stellarton and about four kilometres southwest of New Glasgow, the major town in the area.
Land rehabilitation as a part of environmental remediation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process has resulted in its damage. Many projects and developments will result in the land becoming degraded, for example mining, farming and forestry. It is crucial that governments and businesses act proactively by working on improvement, lay out rehabilitation standards and ensure that decisions on mediation should be based around value judgment for higher sustainability in the future.
The Westray Mine was a Canadian coal mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia. Westray was owned and operated by Curragh Resources Incorporated, which obtained both provincial and federal government money to open the mine, and supply the local electric power utility with coal.
The Sydney Tar Ponds were a hazardous waste site on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which the overlying rock is left in place, and the mineral is removed through shafts or tunnels.
The Devco Railway was a Canadian railway. Devco Railway operated as an unincorporated department within the Coal Division of the Cape Breton Development Corporation, also known as DEVCO; as such there is no formally incorporated entity named "Devco Railway". Devco Railway took over the operations of the Sydney and Louisburg Railway on March 30, 1968 when DEVCO expropriated the S&L as part of the assets of the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation, or DOSCO.
The Cape Breton Development Corporation, or DEVCO, was a Government of Canada Crown corporation. It ceased operation on December 31, 2009, after being amalgamated with Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC).
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as Mount Lyell. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in Queenstown, Tasmania.
Sydney Steel Corporation (SYSCO) was a Crown corporation in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It owned and operated a steel mill in Sydney.
Mine exploration is a hobby in which people visit abandoned mines, quarries, and sometimes operational mines. Enthusiasts usually engage in such activities for the purpose of exploration and documentation, sometimes through the use of surveying and photography. In this respect, mine exploration might be considered a type of amateur industrial archaeology. In many ways, however, it is closer to caving, with many participants actively interested in exploring both mines and caves. Mine exploration typically requires equipment such as helmets, head lamps, Wellington boots, and climbing gear.
The Cumberland Railway and Coal Company is a defunct Canadian industrial company with interests in coal mines in Springhill, Nova Scotia, and a railway that operated from Springhill Junction to Parrsboro.
Point Aconi is a rural community in Nova Scotia at the northeastern tip of Boularderie Island. It derives its name from the headland of the same name, Point Aconi.
An abandoned mine refers to a former mining or quarrying operation that is no longer in use and has no responsible entity to finance the cost of remediation and/or restoration of the mine feature or site. Such mines are typically left unattended and may pose safety hazards or cause environmental damage without proper maintenance. The term incorporates all types of old mines, including underground shaft mines and drift mines, and surface mines, including quarries and placer mining. Typically, the cost of addressing the mine's hazards is borne by the public/taxpayers/the government.
The Springhill Institution is a Canadian federal corrections facility located in the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia.
The environmental impact of iron ore mining in all its phases from excavation to beneficiation to transportation and beyond may have detrimental effects on air quality, water quality, biological species, and nearby communities. This is predominantly a result of large-scale iron ore tailings that are released into the environment which are harmful to both animals and humans.
Legacy pollution or legacy pollutants are persistent materials in the environment that were created through a polluting industry or process that have polluting effects after the process has finished. Frequently these include persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals or other chemicals residual in the environment long after the industrial or extraction processes that produced them. Often these are chemicals produced by industry and polluted before there was widespread awareness of the toxic effects of the pollutants, and subsequently regulated or banned. Notable legacy pollutants include mercury, PCBs, Dioxins and other chemicals that are widespread health and environmental effects. Sites for legacy pollutants include mining sites, industrial parks, waterways contaminated by industry, and other dump sites.
