Atlantic Mining faces $80M cleanup bond deadline amid court battle with Nova Scotia

A Nova Scotia subsidiary of Australia’s St Barbara (SBM:ASX) is scrambling to pay off a C$79.9 million cleanup bill by next Tuesday for its closed Touquoy gold mine.

The company, Atlantic Mining, must submit the remaining C$38.7 million of a reclamation bond for the site in Moose River, about 175 km west of Halifax, even though it’s fighting the amount in Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court. The province’s environment ministry and a local environmental group say the cleanup regulations are needed to protect the low-lying province’s groundwater. The company says they are onerous, impractical and unattainable.

“If we are compelled to pay the bond, we will need to seek financial assistance from St Barbara and arrange funding accordingly," Atlantic Mining CEO Andrew Strelein told The Northern Miner by phone this week. "Our goal is to engage in constructive dialogue with the government to establish practical guidelines and a feasible timeline for reclamation.”

The dispute questions who will bear the brunt of the cleanup costs of the closed mine, which Atlantic operated from 2017 to 2023. The court’s ruling will not only affect Atlantic’s future but could set a precedent for mine cleanups in the region. Strelein says the provincial minister of mines supports the company’s efforts and shares a commitment to what the CEO calls effective reclamation.

Environmental violations

The government declined to comment on the case, but Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre says St. Barbara has often tried to bend regulations to suit it at a cost to the environment. The company has been charged with 23 provincial and three federal violations of environmental laws, the centre said.