New Brunswick Partners With US Firm to Clean Nigadoo Mine

The Government of New Brunswick signed an exploration agreement on October 26 with U.S.-based Regeneration Enterprises to recover metals from the Nigadoo mine site near Bathurst. The mine has been closed since 1977 and currently represents a 35 million dollar liability for the province.

Regeneration Enterprises intends to extract zinc, lead, germanium, gallium, indium, silver, and copper from rock and chemical waste. The company will use revenue from these metal sales to fund the site's environmental remediation and reclamation. Managing director Michael McPhie stated that the project aims to remove the liability from the provincial balance sheet without requiring public funding.

Feasibility tests are scheduled to begin shortly, with results expected within one year. If the project is deemed financially viable and receives approval, production could start in two to three years. Natural Resources Minister John Herron noted the project is an opportunity to create jobs and revive the provincial mining industry.

The Conservation Council of NB expressed cautious support for the rehabilitation of the site. However, Executive Director Beverly Gingras warned that reprocessing tailings ponds could disturb heavy metals and contaminate local watersheds.