I grew up in Dalhousie. I left two weeks after graduating High School 29 years ago. When I first heard of the mine project, I thought folks were crazy to entertain an open pit mine of this scale within the town, which boasts incredible natural beauty and is still recovering from its "Industrial age." I feel that you missed an important point that needs to be emphasized; this isnt building an open pit mine 50KM or even 5KM outside of town, but within town limits and will have negative impacts (natural beauty, air quality, noise, etc) on all residents. I suspect mine developers wouldnt even have tabled this project if it wasn't for the clear economic desperation in this community that is ripe to be taken advantage of.
"Recovering" from an industrial age is a funny way of saying "accepting an economic and demographic decline". A decline that will ultimately result in far more economic collapse in the area without significant immigration. Even healthcare supports will crash long before then without immigration. People in the area complain about wait times at the hospital now. Those will only get worse as the average age reaches 65+.
This mine while within town limits, is basically a large expansion of the quarry that currently operates there. It's likely the only reason this play is even viable. The quarry operator owns the land that the expansion would need, making a development far more feasible than having to buy out numerous property owners.
The naysayers might have been early to voice their opposition but people in support of the project have begun mobilizing their own efforts as well. I think the silent majority are far more open to potential development than the initial opposition would like people to believe.
Of course, a proper EIA still needs to happen. And they have gotten more stringent over the years. But mitigation technology has also advanced since the 70s.
I grew up in Dalhousie. I left two weeks after graduating High School 29 years ago. When I first heard of the mine project, I thought folks were crazy to entertain an open pit mine of this scale within the town, which boasts incredible natural beauty and is still recovering from its "Industrial age." I feel that you missed an important point that needs to be emphasized; this isnt building an open pit mine 50KM or even 5KM outside of town, but within town limits and will have negative impacts (natural beauty, air quality, noise, etc) on all residents. I suspect mine developers wouldnt even have tabled this project if it wasn't for the clear economic desperation in this community that is ripe to be taken advantage of.
I'm also from Dalhousie.
"Recovering" from an industrial age is a funny way of saying "accepting an economic and demographic decline". A decline that will ultimately result in far more economic collapse in the area without significant immigration. Even healthcare supports will crash long before then without immigration. People in the area complain about wait times at the hospital now. Those will only get worse as the average age reaches 65+.
This mine while within town limits, is basically a large expansion of the quarry that currently operates there. It's likely the only reason this play is even viable. The quarry operator owns the land that the expansion would need, making a development far more feasible than having to buy out numerous property owners.
The naysayers might have been early to voice their opposition but people in support of the project have begun mobilizing their own efforts as well. I think the silent majority are far more open to potential development than the initial opposition would like people to believe.
Of course, a proper EIA still needs to happen. And they have gotten more stringent over the years. But mitigation technology has also advanced since the 70s.