Ministerial Statement – Minister Coady Welcomes the Reopening of Beaver Brook Antimony

  • Natural Resources

March 19, 2019

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Siobhan Coady, Minister of Natural Resources:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this Honourable House to recognize the reopening of Beaver Brook Antimony mine in central Newfoundland – creating approximately 100 new jobs for the people of the province.

On March 8, I had the pleasure of joining the Premier, my colleagues and representatives from Beaver Brook Mine and China Minmetals Rare Earth Group for the official opening ceremony and to celebrate this significant announcement for the people of the region and the mining industry as a whole.

Mr. Speaker, some 160,000 tonnes of antimony ore per year will be mined at full production and processed into concentrate. The direct and indirect impacts of Beaver Brook mine will be felt throughout the area, demonstrating that by working together, we are able to unlock our natural resource wealth and create new opportunities for trades people, engineers and many other fields.

The reopening of Beaver Brook mine is another example of how our plan, Mining the Future 2030 is working to grow the Newfoundland and Labrador mining industry, and in the process, create jobs throughout the province in collaboration with Indigenous governments, industry and community stakeholders.

Mining is a major contributor to our economy. In 2019, the mining sector is forecasted to employ a total of 6,300 people – an 11 per cent increase from 2018. Also, the gross value of mineral shipments in Newfoundland and Labrador is forecasted at $4 billion for 2019, a 47 per cent increase since 2016.

Mr. Speaker, a world of possibilities is at our doorstep because our geology positions Newfoundland and Labrador to be a global supplier of minerals. We are very pleased with China Minmetals Rare Earth Group’s continued interest in central Newfoundland and we hope for a long, safe and prosperous future for the company, its workers and communities.

Thank you.

2019 03 19 1:55 pm