Kennedy's Big Brook Red Marble Mine

The Department of Environment and Labour today approved an application from MacLeod Resources Ltd. to extract and process red marble. The mine will be located in a four-hectare area on privately owned property near River Denys, Inverness Co.

Under the terms of the approval, the Environmental Assessment Branch will require MacLeod Resources to, among other things, monitor water quality, provide erosion control plans and not conduct any blasting. The approval also requires the company to suspend operations if it discovers an archaeological site or artifact.

Despite the environmental assessment approval, the company cannot begin mining operations until an industrial application, which outlines operational details, is submitted and approved by the department. The company will need to obtain a mining permit and a mining lease from the Department of Natural Resources.

The complete environmental assessment approval document will be available on the Department of Environment and Labour Web site, at www.gov.ns.ca/enla/ess/ea/ .

Formed in 1989, the Environmental Assessment Branch is responsible for assessing major projects to identify, correct or prevent adverse environmental impacts.