NOPE (No Open Pit Excavation)

St. Mary’s River becomes Canada’s first Ecologically Significant Area candidate! 

Watch our short video of the announcement here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWE8XTSVkA8&t=9s

An open pit gold mine had been proposed along the banks of the St. Mary’s River, near the community of Sherbrooke. If the mine were to go ahead it will impact pristine river habitat and is counter productive to the community’s efforts to restore the past damage to the river and become Canada’s first Ecologically Significant Area.  

From St. Barbara website 2025: “Mining of the Touquoy open pit commenced in in 2017, with commercial production beginning in March 2018, exceeding all expectations and production guidance in its first year. Extraction from the pit ended in early 2023. The processing plant is a conventional Carbon in Leach (CIL) circuit with a nominal capacity of 2 million tonnes per year. As part of the planned expansion on Fifteen Mile Stream, Cochrane Hill and Beaver Dam, we are investigating the repurposing of the Touquoy plant.”

All the water courses in the Cochrane Hill area end up in the river. Water used by any proposed mine on Cochrane Hill can no longer be pulled from Archibald Lake which is a very important drainage basin for St. Mary's River.

Watch Archibald Lake Wilderness Area become a Wilderness Area here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA7SmJSvzeo

Runoff from the site would contain toxins such as arsenic, mercury, and other heavy metals, posing a direct threat to the fish and other wildlife of the river. A large tailings impoundment had been proposed with an earthen wall 130 feet high and 3 km's long above the McKeen drainage basin. The Mckeen drainage basin is one of the most significant salmon spawning habitats in the watershed. Where this drains into the river is the most important and productive habitat within the entire system. Chemical spills and leaching from other gold mines have contaminated rivers so badly that they may never recover. 

Trucks carrying ore from the site to be processed elsewhere would increase road traffic, adding a source of mortality for wildlife, and a health and safety risk to the people of the area. It is unacceptable to endanger the aquatic species, groundwater, tourism, and quality of life in the small community of St Mary's.

The St. Mary’s River hosts many federally and provincially listed Species at Risk, many of which would be threatened by a large scale mine. The St Mary’s River contains some of the last unspoiled habitat available for these species, and this habitat is right beside the proposed mine site! The St. Mary’s River Association, working with partners, have spent over 4 million dollars on Atlantic salmon recovery efforts, and this work is helping salmon return to the river. Let’s not let this work be in vain!

There is no doubt that folks in rural areas like St. Mary's need jobs. It seems like we have all been waiting for a boost to our small community’s economy for years, but the few jobs temporary mining projects could bring are not worth the high, everlasting price of contaminating the river. We need to find long term solutions to our economic problems that build on the natural features the St. Mary’s amazingly still has, and not go after short term benefits that come at a very large cost. Progress should not be at the expense of our community's water, and the vision the community has crafted for a future that centers on a healthy ecosystem, Atlantic salmon recovery, maintaining the worlds largest population of Wood turtles, eco-tourism opportunities and research opportunities.

It’s time to stop proposing open pit mining in pristine ecosystems!  Please add your name to our petition. Talk to municipal counselors, provincial MLAs, and federal MPs about your support for St. Mary's River as Canada's first Ecologically Significant Area.  Your support is critical! 

Donations can be sent to:                https://www.stmarysriverassociation.com/donations.html                                            If donating please indicate N.O.P.E. donation