Metals Symposium Video: Atlantic Canada pitches faster permitting, clean power

Eastern Canadian provinces on Nov. 30 pitched a faster, more predictable path to mine development at The Northern Miner’s International Metals Symposium in London.

In a panel presentation moderated by The Miner’s Editor-in-Chief, Colin McClelland, Nova Scotia Natural Resources director Diane Webber, Newfoundland and Labrador assistant deputy minister of Mining and Mineral Development Paul Carter and New Brunswick assistant deputy minister of Lands and Mines Neil Jacobson outlined reforms and project pipelines to inform investors.

Webber highlighted new service standards, a large industrial projects team at the province’s Environment and Climate Change Ministry and the NovaMINE online permitting portal that lets proponents track files and reduce timelines. New Brunswick said it’s modernizing its mining act and aligning provincial–federal assessments for predictability, while Newfoundland and Labrador is reviewing its mineral and mining acts and has launched a business navigator tool to steer projects through approvals.

On competitiveness, the trio leaned on infrastructure and power. Jacobson pointed to highway and rail access plus two ice-free deep-water ports at Belledune and Saint John; Carter stressed world-scale hydropower and an emerging wind-to-hydrogen sector.

“Whoever has clean power also has a very competitive advantage,” Carter said.

Project pipeline highlights include NexGold Mining’s (TSXV: NEXG; US-OTC: NXGCF) Goldboro gold project in Nova Scotia advancing toward construction; Champion Iron’s (TSX, ASX: CIA) Kami high-purity iron ore project in Labrador with a feasibility study due in 2026; and Northcliff Resources’ (TSX: NCF) Sisson tungsten-molybdenum project in New Brunswick moving ahead under closer federal–provincial coordination. In Newfoundland, New Found Gold (TSXV: NFG; NYSE-A: NFGC) is pushing Queensway and now owns Maritime Resources’ Hammerdown, while FireFly Metals (ASX, TSX: FFM) is drilling the Green Bay copper district; in New Brunswick, Manganese X Energy’s (TSXV: MN) Battery Hill is at the pre-feasibility stage.

Watch the full panel presentation below:

The preceding Joint Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador and produced in cooperation with The Northern Miner.