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FREDERICTON — The New Brunswick government announced progress on a pair of mining projects officials see as proof the sector is back on the rise in a province where it used to be an economic cornerstone.
Natural Resources Minister John Herron twice took to the stage at a mining conference in Fredericton this week to tout what he called an “audacious” vision to reignite the industry in his province.
“Our vision is to build a modern mineral sector that drives sustained economic growth, supports high quality jobs (and) strengthens regional economies — whether it’s through exploration, development or supply chain activity,” Herron said.
The province’s Liberal government has pushed a new minerals strategy this year to position New Brunswick as a jurisdiction ready for investment.
That’s as the federal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney has made critical mineral development a top economic and national security priority amid global demand.
“We have what the world wants,” Herron said Monday, speaking at the annual Exploration, Mining and Petroleum Conference hosted by the provincial government.
Neil Jacobson, one of the conference organizers from the province’s Department of Natural Resources, said nearly 500 executives, investors and other industry professionals attended the three-day forum, which he said was more than double the attendance from recent years.
On Monday, the government said it signed an exploration deal with a U.S.-based firm that plans to extract minerals from a long-closed mining site in northern New Brunswick.
Regeneration Enterprises wants to pull metals from rock and chemical waste left at the Nigadoo mine site, and then fund environmental clean up of the mine using revenue generated from selling the metals.
Production at the Nigadoo mine, located near Bathurst, N.B., first started in 1956, according to a University of New Brunswick research paper. The mine was permanently shuttered in 1977 after repeated closures.
“This project will convert something that has been a liability for decades and turn it into new investment, good jobs and a cleaner site,” Herron said in a statement.
Then on Tuesday, he announced an agreement with a Canadian firm that hopes to reopen a major antimony mine.
The deal gives Toronto-based Avenir Minerals the exclusive rights to explore the former Lake George mining site, located southwest of Fredericton.
The abandoned mine used to be one of North America’s largest producers of the critical mineral antimony, and operated intermittently from 1876 to 1996.
The shiny grey metal is mainly used as a flame retardant, but it is also used in solar panels, lead-acid batteries and more recently in infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles.
The agreement comes after the province announced it had started negotiations with Avenir Minerals in July.
Alden Greenhouse, chief executive of Avenir Minerals, said his company has 30 months to study the mine’s potential for antimony and other critical minerals.
He said the exploration process will likely include drilling. As well, he said his company will consult with First Nations and nearby communities.
Both projects are funded only by private capital, without an ask for provincial taxpayer dollars.
“There’s a buzz, we’re just here to unlock that potential,” said Jacobson, an acting deputy minister for the lands and mines division of the Department of Natural Resources.
We call ourselves air traffic controllers. We want the runway to be cleared for companies and New Brunswick to prosper off what potential economic opportunities that are coming.”
Others are uncertain about reviving the sector.
“It’s not a good legacy,” Beverly Gingras, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said Tuesday.
“People come in, they make money, and then they leave. And New Brunswickers are left taking responsibility, paying the environmental, social, and economic costs of other people making money.”
Terry Richardson, chief of Pabineau First Nation, said there needs to be a balance between taking care of the environment and boosting the provincial economy.
Either way, he said, Indigenous buy-in will be required.
“We hold the keys,” he said in an interview. His Mi’kmaq community signed an agreement with Regeneration Enterprises for the Nigadoo mine exploration project that could lead to financial benefits.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2026.
Eli Ridder, The Canadian Press
