Mine expansion would give Dalhousie community a 'black eye,' residents fear
Company behind pozzolan mine says project is in 'conceptual' stage, but it has already bought land
Hundreds of residents of Heron Bay in northern New Brunswick are worried about plans to turn a quarry into a massive mining operation within municipal boundaries just 200 metres from a school.
It was standing room only at two public meetings recently as people asked a mining company questions such as: "Does this create dust … that would spread in the bay or in the town of Dalhousie?" and "Have you ever thought about the people who have wells up there?"
Quebec-based companies Carboniq Inc. and Cimbec Canada Inc. have come together to form EcoRock, which hopes to greatly expand a quarry already in the Dalhousie community into an open mine.
The material being extracted is pozzolan, a low-carbon alternative to the cement now used in the creation of concrete. The company's goal is to process the material at a local plant, then export it around the world, using the nearby port and rail lines.
With a population of about 3,000, Dalhousie amalgamated with nearby Charlo in 2023 to form Heron Bay.
The community has faced economic hardship in recent years after the closure of three major industries — a paper mill, a chemical plant and a power generating station.
Francis Forlini, the EcoRock Dalhousie general manager, said the project would create up to 168 permanent jobs.
"We're really at the start of the project," he said. "Right now the project is very conceptual."
Pozzolan is a 400-million-year-old volcanic ash now being considered as a way to lower emissions in the production of the binder needed for concrete. For the cement now being used, a mixture of limestone and clay goes into a kiln, where it decomposes under high heat. The process produces greenhouse gas emissions, but with pozzolan, this step is avoided.
EcoRock has purchased the quarry and surrounding land, along with the West Wharf and nearby railway.
Forlini said he believes the expansion of the quarry could see the amount of pozzolan extracted go from 55,000 tonnes each year to three million tonnes.
"Maybe in December or November 2025, maybe sooner if everything goes really, really well, maybe later if it takes longer," he said.
"So it's really hard to say, but we're in no rush. We want to do things right to make sure that we become a good neighbour."
Never zoned for a mine
Federal and provincial approvals will be needed at different stages of the project.
At the municipal level, Heron Bay Mayor Norman Pelletier said the existing rock quarry has operated as a non-conforming use within Dalhousie town boundaries but an expansion can't move ahead without the area being rezoned.
The Heron Bay municipality recently passed first reading of a zoning bylaw amendment that would give it the authority to allow, deny or put stipulations on a mine or quarry in the area. Pelletier voted to break the tie vote of 3-3. Council decided to delay the second and third reading until 2025.
"It gives us a voice," Pelletier said. "We could say that the company who wants to establish a mine in our town, you're going to have to follow all the criteria."
"We as a municipality can say, well, you're not going to be driving on our roads with your trucks. We want a conveyor system, we want silos. We don't want no dust."
EcoRock said the next steps include a feasibility study and an environmental impact study on top of the environmental "survey" that's already been completed.
Pelletier, who's also the provincial Progressive Conservative candidate in Restigouche East, has not yet decided whether to support the mine.
"There's still a lot of obstacles in the way. I'm not going to say yes or no until we hear all the facts," Pelletier said.
"I'm pro whatever development's going to come to our region. I'm not going to deny that. But I want to see the whole package laid out in front of me."
If the mine does expand, it would go from its current 11 hectares to 80 hectares.
EcoRock promised residents at meetings that the mine would be buffered by 200 metres of forest on all sides, and the popular Dalhousie Mountain Trail would be a "conservation" site.
Concerns about dredging the ocean floor to allow for ships to load pozzolan at West Wharf were also raised.
Across the Bay of Chaleur, Miguasha, Que., resident Jean-Marc Beaulieu worried the expansion would hurt his community.
"The bottom of the bay is heavily polluted," he said. "And with the mine, if they dredge the port or they dredge the bay to get bigger ships to the port, they will just put back all this sediment that are contaminated in circulation."
David (Tapit) Slagger, a member of Woodstock First Nation who lives in Dalhousie, said he too worries the project could harm the Bay of Chaleur and its inhabitants.
"What they're proposing here is going to affect our way of life, the fishery and, and overall the environment," he said. "The reverberations of blasting would have a devastating effect on the fishery."
Residents fear for environment
None of the residents who asked questions at the recent meetings spoke in favour of the project, and many signs along Victoria Road, which leads to the area, reflect opposition to the project.
"We want to turn the page on industry," said resident Gail Fearon, who served on Dalhousie's town council for more than a decade, until 2022.
She worries the company isn't consulting enough with the community.
"You see [the company] moving ahead and going 100 per cent with this project, and getting the rail lines and getting the ports put in place and everything. And we haven't even dealt with the bylaw."
Slagger wants to see the community lean into tourism, instead of returning to its industrial past.
"It's going to hurt the town and the people, the tourism industry, it will give Dalhousie such a black eye that no one will want to come here," he said.
Fearon said there's now a group of over 1,500 residents from both sides of the bay, and surrounding areas, who are opposed to the mine expansion.
And as for whether the company behind the project can convince her it's a good idea?
"Not in my lifetime, no."
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