Paul Sobey philanthropist saves wonderful exploitation area
The philanthropist Paul Sobey saves the gold mines plan in the wonderful area.
"Clearly, in my opinion, it will destroy one of the cleanest areas in the province," says Paul Sobey
Despite promises of jobs and economic prosperity, a member of one of Nova Scotia's most prominent business families and an important donor of land conservation strongly opposes a proposed mining mine in Guysborough County.
Atlantic Gold hopes to dig the mine near the St Mary River north of Sherbrooke. The Nova Scotia Nature Trust owns 600 hectares of land in the area, some of which - 93 hectares - were donated by Paul and Marsha Sobey and David and Faye Sobey.
The gold mining company fired recently after a man in Nova Scotia was almost arrested at a public meeting with Atlantic Gold, apparently without reason. The brutal video of John Perkins's arrest spread like fire on the social media, causing public shouts.
Paul Sobey philanthropist saves wonderful exploitation area
If the Cochrane Hill gold mine goes on, the company plans to build a paved road over a part of a land plot of the Trust Nature - and none of these things fit well with Paul Sobey.
"Clearly, in my opinion, it will destroy one of the cleanest areas in our province," he said, citing concerns about the impact of the explosion and contamination on the terrestrial and river system.
"It will affect the entire eastern shore to Sheet Harbor.
Paul Sobey said he believes the ecological threat of exploitation in the Guysborough area exceeds any potential economic impact. (CCC)
Sobey, who retired in 2013 as president and CEO of Empire Co., the parent company of Canadian giant Sobeys, says he does not think Atlantic Gold will have enough economic impact in the area to justify the open mine exploitation.
Atlantic Gold spokesman Dustin O'Leary says Moose River Mine has more than 280 employees and 200 other indirect jobs have been created since the operation.
He said the Cochrane Hill mine will provide local residents and the community with "hundreds of highly skilled and unqualified jobs".
The company said in a statement that it can build the road and install the mine without harming the surrounding area.
Atlantic Gold recognizes that the Basin of the Holy Mary is an environmentally significant area. River protection is a priority for the Golden Atlantic, and we have retained world-class scientists and engineers to conduct studies on the assessed ecosystem components and around Cochrane Hill, "the statement said.
"Atlantic Gold can turn its attention to the Touquoy mine, which has successfully operated in an environmentally sensitive area, near Muskodoboit since mid-2017, and has an excellent record on environmental protection."
Bonnie Sutherland, chief executive of Nova Scotia Nature Trust, said there was a lot in the game, calling the St Mary River "an environmentally important place."
"There are a whole range of interesting biodiversity features that are found on the St Mary River and so what some of these protected areas offer are some of the oldest Nova Scotia growth forests and some of the most intact intact forests in floodplain forests acadice from Nova Scotia, "she said.
"And together, it protects the habitat for some of the most endangered species in Canada: extinct forest frogs and a wide range of bird species that are likely to disappear, and Atlantic salmon."
She said that the proposed mine directly influences the property of trust in nature, just like the proposed road.
"[That] means cutting the trees and opening up the protected terrains."