Reps with a local mining project say they’ve entered into an agreement with the province’s Mi’kmaq.
Anaconda Mining reps, who are behind a proposed Goldboro gold project in Guysborough Co., say they’ve signed a memorandum of understanding with their Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs counterparts.
Lynn Hammond, Anaconda’s vice-president of public relations, says the MOU is the first step in developing a mutual benefits agreement with assembly reps that would detail how they would work together.
Hammond tells The Hawk it’s an important relationship.
“Immediately upon acquiring this project, we reached out to the assembly and KMKNO- over the past couple of years, we’ve developed a very positive relationship, we share things like environmental studies, archaeological information, that sort of thing,” she says. “It’s important to have, and it’s not just us sending them documents- there’s a to-and-fro of information, we seek their input.”
Hammond says they want to develop as many community partnerships and as much support as possible because of the heavy impact a mine would have on the area.
She says recent testing turned up grades higher than anticipated, which is fantastic, and site construction could start as early as 2020 if they decide to move forward with the project.
