St Barbara’s Canadian subsidiary in Nova Scotia fined $250,000

Atlantic Mining NS, a subsidiary of Australia’s St Barbara (ASX: SBM), has been fined $250,000 for violating the Fisheries Act and Nova Scotia’s Environment Act, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).  

An investigation by the government agency found seven cases of “unauthorized deposits of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish,” at the company’s Touquoy mine site in Nova Scotia in 2018 and 2019, the ECCC said.  

The company failed to collect samples from the area for testing and report the results to the ECCC as per the regulations of the Fisheries Act, according to the ECCC. The agency said the company pleaded guilty to the charges at the Nova Scotia Provincial Court. 

 “As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry,” the ECCC stated in a press release.  

“The company must hire a qualified consultant to develop and deliver training to staff on the Fisheries Act, emergency response surface sampling and other environmental response responsibilities. They must also … provide training to contractors and employees on environmental topics,” the ECCC stated.  

In a statement sent to The Northern Miner, a St Barbara spokesperson said St Barbara and Atlantic Operations “will meet the stated requirements for training as outlined and in full.” 

In a separate statement that the company first published on February 11, it said that there were a number of incidents of surface water run-off from a haul road that introduced sediment and suspended solids into an un-named stream prior to St Barbara’s acquisition of Atlantic Mining in 2019 and that most of the incidents were “self-reported” to the Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change at the time. 

“But Atlantic Mining neglected to notify and report to Environment and Climate Change Canada as required in every instance and failed to test the quality of the surface water run-off as required by federal regulations,” the company stated, adding that it had made “major changes to its storm water management infrastructure and also strengthened its training and operations protocols to reinforce accurate and timely notification, testing and reporting.

Furthermore, the company said that it invested about $2.5 million to “study, design, construct and operate a robust solution to prevent” further run-offs.”  

The ECCC said $120,000 of the $250,000 fine will be given to Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund, and $120,000 will be directed to indigenous environmental organizations in Nova Scotia. The remaining $10,000 will cover court fines, the government agency said.  

In its annual report published in September last year, St Barbara’s CEO Craig Jetson said that the company was working hard to reduce its environmental footprint and that its Atlantic operations, which include the Touquoy mine, is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2025.  

St Barbara’s Atlantic operations produced 101,243 oz. gold in 2021 at an average grade of 0.88 gram gold per tonne and at an all-in-sustaining cost of A$1,027 (US$742) per ounce.