New Brunswick, located in Atlantic Canada, is seeing a resurgence in its mineral resource sector. This is backed by the Comprehensive Minerals Strategy to attract investment, drive exploration, and develop sustainable mineral development frameworks for its provincial industry.
Most of Atlantic Canada — including New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador — is seeing this resurgence. The provinces boast strong mineral endowments across a range of commodities, which can play a major role in growing domestic supply for key metals and minerals and strengthening local economies.
New Brunswick’s strategic reset
In New Brunswick the government announced a new strategy in October 2025, aiming to place the province as a leader in both Canada’s and global metals supply chains. It announced a goal of creating “an investor-ready framework that secures social licence while unlocking the province’s full mineral potential”.
New Brunswick’s mining sector has historically been anchored by the Bathurst Mining Camp, host to 45 known volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits, with 12 of these producing more than 180 million tonnes of ore between 1957 and 2022.
The Lake George antimony mine in southern New Brunswick was once the largest primary producer of antimony in North America.
Antimony returns to the spotlight
The government strategy highlights significant antimony potential in the region, with local deposits hopefully contributing to future global supply chains.
It notes that while mining has declined in the province in recent years, there is a renewed focus on future development across the province.
“Building on this legacy, recent exploration activity suggests that New Brunswick’s mineral potential remains underexplored and highly aligned with emerging global priorities,” the strategy outlines.
The strategy also notes the province’s strategic infrastructure advantages, including two deep-water ports and a growing container terminal, and its streamlined regulatory and permitting processes.
“Historically, New Brunswick was recognised for its favourable policy environment, ranking first globally on the Policy Perception Index (PPI) in the Fraser Institute’s 2011 Annual Survey of Mining companies,” the strategy says.
“By enhancing efficiency and reducing timelines, New Brunswick is well positioned to reinforce its competitiveness as a destination for mineral investment.”
Golden Pike’s dual-commodity edge
Albright Metals (ASX:ABR) is carving out a dual-commodity advantage in New Brunswick, noting how the province’s supportive policy and favourable geology are reawakening its mining legacy.
The Golden Pike Project — combining a defined gold deposit with ‘high-grade’ antimony prospects — is aligning the company with global demand for both precious metals and critical minerals. At the same time, it capitalises on a jurisdiction eager to reinvigorate exploration and development.
CEO Greg Hill says that since the Liberal Party won the provincial election in 2004, the government in New Brunswick has taken an incredibly active approach in developing New Brunswick’s economy and diversifying its industry through mining.
Hill notes that the government’s commitment to a strong local mining industry also means that projects are gaining broader momentum, even outside of the province.
“New Brunswick is becoming attractive for explorers and mine development companies to actually chase and develop their projects,” Hill says.
“We now have a level of certainty around key processes and a level of certainty around risks.”
With Golden Pike focused on both gold and antimony, the region’s strong history across both of these commodities is a significant boost for Albright.
It sees significant long-term opportunities for a project underpinned by a strong gold price and through antimony’s industrial, technological, and defence applications.
Antimony Resources (CSE:ATMY) is also looking to unlock North America’s antimony potential through the Bald Hill Antimony Property, which comprises around 2,700 hectares in 120 claims in southern New Brunswick, near Lake George.
The company notes that Bald Hill has past work completed, outlining an antimony deposit that is more than 700m long and open in all directions and at depth.
The National Instrument 43-101 technical report has outlined the potential for 2.7 million tonnes @ 3–4% antimony, with metallurgical test work outlining a 96% recovery.
Antimony Resources notes that New Brunswick is “one of the best places to explore in Canada”, with key infrastructure in place, including ports, highways, and power, as well as year-round access to exploration with an experienced workforce.
Newfoundland’s expanding resource economy
Meanwhile, Newfoundland and Labrador has a long history with the mining industry. It is a significant contributor to economic growth, with current estimates of more than 7,000 individuals employed directly in the industry.
A provincial report from 2025 by the Department of Energy and Mines notes that Newfoundland and Labrador’s mining sector has seen considerable growth and diversification in recent years.
It also highlighted the province’s critical role in Canada’s resource economy, with total estimated mineral shipments in 2025 at C$5.3 billion ($5.35 billion), predominantly led by iron ore.
Newfoundland and Labrador hosts globally significant projects, including Equinox Gold’s (TSX:EQX) Valentine Gold Mine and Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO) Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), a joint venture between Rio, Mitsubishi, and the Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Corporation.
It is also where Vale Base Metals’ Voisey’s Bay Mine and Atlas Salt’s Great Atlantic Salt Project operate.
Atlas Salt’s game-changing product
Atlas Salt (TSX-V:SALT) is building the first new salt mine in North America in more than 25 years, filling a significant gap in the salt supply market across Atlantic Canada and the Northeastern US.
Chief Executive Officer Nolan Peterson explains that the Great Atlantic Salt Project will be a major source of de-icing salt for the region.
The project itself is a shallow deposit, located around 3km away from Turf Point, a deep-water port for shipping and other logistics.
Peterson notes that the company’s project brings significant advantages, which will help push its development along.
“We are similar in so many ways to other underground sale mines in North America, but have so many more advantages, like being shallow rather than deep, using battery electric instead of diesel equipment, and having this deep-water port on our doorstep, which will be one of the largest ports for salt movement.”
Atlas Salt has completed two feasibility studies on the project already. An updated study from October 2025 shows strong economics, including C$188 million per year in free cash flow after tax, with a mine life of 24 years.
The company has all key approvals in place and commenced early works at the project in February 2026, including permitted land clearing, grubbing, and site preparation to establish the mine site footprint.
It is now focused on financing and investor education as key steps as the company needs to raise the capital to build out the project.
Mammoth Minerals’ Skyline copper story
Mammoth Minerals (ASX:M79) is positioning itself as a diversified explorer, with copper projects in Canada and Peru, complemented by gold assets in the US.
In Newfoundland, the company is advancing the Skyline Copper Project, acquired in 2024 as an early-stage exploration story centred on a historic underground mine.
Skyline Copper is a ‘high-grade’ polymetallic opportunity, with drill-defined mineralisation. The project sits within “a region experiencing renewed exploration activity”, with projects run by FireFly Metals (ASX:FFM) and AuMEGA Metals (ASX:AAM) as neighbours.
Managing Director Glenn Poole says that since the acquisition of the project, Mammoth has “completed further drilling to extend the known mineralisation, expanded the land holding, and completed multiple phases of geophysics, developing a pipeline of drill targets outside the drilled mining zone”.
“Moving forward, the next phase of exploration will see the drilling of the Governor’s target, development through ground-based induced polarisation (IP) work, and advancement of the Earls prospect, a copper dominant zone, to drill-ready status.”
According to Poole, the mining and exploration sectors form a significant part of both the economy and culture for the province.
He shares that local government and other authorities are aware of the opportunities offered by the industry, not only for investment and development, but also for the communities in which they operate.
“The province is well set up with regards to permitting and development pathways to help companies get on the ground and get work done,” Poole says.
Mammoth notes that Newfoundland is a globally recognised mining jurisdiction, with strong supportive legislation and exceptional access and infrastructure in place to enable project development.
“Newfoundland is a place of dramatic landscapes and a diverse cultural identity,” Poole says.
“You are on the edge of the world, but that is the opportunity. The island hosts a wealth of mineral and mining experience and will continue to grow as an investment hotspot.”
Nova Scotia’s exploration surge
Nova Scotia’s mining industry is also thriving, with exploration spending reaching C$68.6 million and production anchored by gypsum, salt, gold, and critical minerals.
The province is also positioning itself as a key supplier of responsibly sourced minerals for global supply chains.
In February this year, the Mineral Management Division for Nova Scotia Natural Resources distributed a publication focusing on key exploration and production data from 2024 and 2025. It outlined the challenges facing the mining sector and opportunities to make the province a leading investment destination.
Yet despite the challenges, the report reveals that in 2025, exploration in the province “reached unprecedented levels, marked by a significant surge in new exploration licences and a major expansion in the area under exploration”.
One of Nova Scotia’s most notable mining operations is St Barbara’s (ASX:SBM) Touquoy mine, an open pit mine that began commercial production in March 2018.
Extraction from the pit ended in 2023, but a restart is planned for later in 2026, with production of 38,000 ounces over 13 months expected to generate operational cash flow of US$85 million, considering a spot gold price of US$4,500 per ounce.
A final investment decision for the restart was completed in April 2026, and the project progression is aligned with the updated permitting regime in both Nova Scotia and Canada overall.
Atlantic Canada’s global position
Atlantic Canada’s mining revival is more than a regional story — it’s a signal that jurisdictions with deep mining legacies, supportive policy, and modern infrastructure are positioning themselves at the forefront of global supply chains.
From gold and copper to antimony and salt, the provinces are proving that resource-rich regions can reinvent themselves for a new era of critical minerals, investment certainty, and sustainable development.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au, Albright Metals, Atlas Salt, Mammoth Minerals