New Brunswick Scraps Old Mining Act to Fast-Track Critical Mineral Projects

New Brunswick is overhauling its decades-old mining framework to streamline project approvals, furthering the province's compliance to a federal push that seeks to augment Canada’s critical mineral reserves.

The new bill is engineered to cut red tape and accelerate the permitting pipeline while simultaneously fortifying engagement policies with local communities and First Nations.

Following years of sectoral decline that eroded the province's late-2010s mining boom, Natural Resources Minister John Herron stated his ambition is for New Brunswick to be the top jurisdiction in Canada for mining development.

In March, the province began to evaluate private sector proposals to resurrect the Lake George antimony mine. Located 30 kilometers west of Fredericton, the site was once North America’s largest antimony producer before weak market conditions forced its closure in 1996. It has been under provincial management since 2020.

Driven by its newly signaled minerals strategy, the province closed expressions of interest for the site on May 4 and is currently evaluating submissions. Estimations forecast the dormant site to contain roughly 800,000 metric tons of antimony-bearing ore. At current market prices of approximately US$22 per pound, the deposit boasts a potential in-situ value of around US$1 billion.

Explorer Hertz Energy (CSE:HZ,OTCQB:HZLIF), which recently acquired the mine’s foundational geological and technical database, stated it planned to mount an aggressive bid for the asset.

“In today’s economic and geopolitical climate, the need for secure, responsibly produced critical minerals has never been greater,” Herron said earlier this year.

Last year, Prime Minister Mark Carney identified the province's Sisson critical minerals mine as a primary target for expedited federal approval via the Major Projects Office (MPO).

The Sisson development is part of a US$116 billion portfolio of energy and resource initiatives the federal government is aggressively fast-tracking to insulate the domestic economy from US aggression and tariff threats.

Labeling the initiatives as "transformational," Carney has emphasized the urgency of repositioning Canada as an independent heavyweight in the critical minerals supply chain to realize its full potential as an energy superpower.

"Many of Canada’s strengths — based on close trade ties with the US — have become our vulnerabilities," Carney said when unveiling the fast-tracked projects. "With the world changing rapidly, Canada must change our economic strategy dramatically."

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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.