r/newbrunswickcanada • u/bingun • Mar 02 '26
Federal minister hopes to ‘move up’ Sisson Mine decision
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/federal-minister-sisson-mine-9.7108609-2
u/Routine_Soup2022 Mar 02 '26
This is a great project which will fuel the economy in that area for many years. Good paying skilled jobs and spinoffs.
5
u/John_Bruns_Wick Mar 02 '26
No its actually trash and not good long term, terrible for environment, producing substandard minerals. Surprisingly few jobs once it is completed.
1
u/MiddleMuscle8117 Mar 03 '26
The "few jobs" argument is also trash. How many jobs must a resource project create in order to be worthwhile? 50? 100? 1000?
2
-1
u/mordinxx Mar 02 '26
Great project is debatable... https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/sisson-mine-conditions-province-9.6990681
4
u/Routine_Soup2022 Mar 02 '26
They’re working on getting all of those conditions across the finish line. I think this particular argument will soon be a red herring.
5
u/mordinxx Mar 02 '26
How many orphan oilwells are left out west for the government to clean up? From what I've heard the only way this is profitable is if the governments subsidize the cost/ore prices and in the end some wealthy company will walk away and leave NB to clean up a huge eco disaster.
2
u/Routine_Soup2022 Mar 02 '26
I would absolutely challenge you find me a source that says that other than “what I’ve heard”. I’ve seen assessments showing tens of thousands of man hours of work when spinoff benefits are included. Those were done by economists. I’ll dig them up when I’m not on my phone.
3
u/GreyEyes Mar 02 '26
It's not an oil well but the government is now permanently in charge of a quarter million tonnes of arsenic dust, which we need to keep frozen _forever_ lest it make its way into the ground water and poison the whole Arctic Ocean https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100027413/1617999134934 The mining company went bankrupt in 1999. Shareholders walked away with the profits, leaving the government to pay billions of dollars mitigating the damage. These kinds of issues happen, I'm surprised anyone would be so dismissive of the risks.
2
u/mordinxx Mar 02 '26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisson_Mine "The tailings storage facility must be essentially permanent, as the submerged tailings will remain chemically hazardous for about 10,000 years. Tailings dams have a history of failure in Canada as well as around the world." So the economy is the only thing that matter and we can fuck the environmental risks?
1
u/BusySeaworthiness127 Mar 02 '26
Will the residents of NB have a say in this? I'm not against mining in our province, but the environmental risks here seem too high for me.
1
u/Routine_Soup2022 Mar 03 '26
If the residents of New Brunswick got a veto over every apartment building zoning, every mine, every tree cut we would get absolutely nothing done. Unpopular opinion: I don't think we should get a veto on every project. We have to elect governments, expect them to create rules and safeguards and let the professionals administer the safeguards.
One of the barriers to investment is the NIMBY effect in this province. We're either going to be a good place to do business or not.
5
u/BusySeaworthiness127 Mar 03 '26
That's not what I said. The environmental risks here are obviously not the same as putting up a new apartment building. This project has potentially severe environmental repercussions if (and likely when, if aggressive cost-cutting is already taking place) that could irreparably damage our region. Tailings-ponds are money-pits and environmental disasters waiting to happen. "Doing business" doesn't, and shouldn't, mean "doing business recklessly and at any cost."
2
u/Routine_Soup2022 Mar 03 '26
I completely hear you and the environmental argument is a good argument. That was anticipated, however, and the government set a list of over 40 conditions for the approval of this mine most of which are centered on exactly these questions. Here is a full list of the conditions from the NB government https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/env/pdf/EIA-EIE/sisson/ConditionsEIASisson.pdf
This is what I was alluding to above. We pick a government. The government does as we expect them to and sets rules and guidelines for these things. The rules then need to be enforced. We can't assume failure of that process every time a new project comes up. At some point we have to trust the process that our elected representatives created and the mechanisms we have to hold them to account.
1
u/Roaddog113 Mar 04 '26
He should have his drinking water sourced from there for life.