St Barbara Atlantic Operations must reduce workforce this Fall to transition to care and maintenance

MOOSE RIVER, NS, July 18, 2023 /CNW/ - St Barbara owned Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia Inc. ("AMNS") will undergo a workforce reduction this Fall as operations at the Touquoy mine site in Moose River, NS, transition into care and maintenance. This workforce reduction has been brought about because the currently permitted tailings capacity at the mine will be exhausted around the end of September 2023.

In January 2023, mining activities at the Touquoy open pit concluded and the operation moved to processing stockpiled medium and low grade ore. Processing operations were hoped to last until the end of 2024 if approvals had been obtained for additional tailings capacity, whereby tailings deposition would be allowed to be made into the completed open pit. The approval process was still unresolved this month when the difficult decision had to be made to advise workers that there appeared no prospect of a breakthrough in permitting the additional capacity with the regulator.

Without this additional tailings capacity, the Touquoy mine will by necessity, transition into care and maintenance in September. Beginning July 13, 2023, employees at AMNS were notified that staffing levels will be reduced from a workforce of around 220 currently to a workforce of approximately 40 personnel for care and maintenance.

"The Touquoy mine has been a great success and should be celebrated for the opportunity it has provided for well-paid rural jobs, the work it has provided to our Nova Scotian contractors and suppliers and the many local small businesses" says Andrew Taylor, General Manager at AMNS. "The Touquoy mine was originally scheduled to be processing for approximately five years and it has operated for nearly six. The mine has employed more than 300 Nova Scotians consistently for most of that time and operations have been performed safely, with minimal impact on our shared environment."

AMNS will partner with Nova Scotia Works to assist those affected employees in finding new placements within the province and making their next professional steps as seamless as possible.

"Though this is difficult news to share, all mines come to the end of their lives and without the additional tailings capacity, this action is unavoidable. If the additional tailings capacity had been available, there was around an additional 15 months of stockpiled ore available for processing," says Meryl Jones, President Americas at St Barbara owned AMNS.

AMNS will continue to help our local communities thrive, grow, and prosper, where we operate now and where we plan to operate in the future. AMNS intends to work closely with external stakeholders and is now focused on progressing permitting at Fifteen Mile Stream and later, Cochrane Hill. These future projects have potential to continue employing hard working Nova Scotians, while providing positive economic opportunities for the province.

SOURCE St Barbara - Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia