What Mining Leaves Behind
The real opportunity of resource development in New Brunswick is increased expertise, not extraction
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This is the fourth of a multi-part series on the Sisson Mine project and the restarting of New Brunswick’s mining sector. If this story matters to you, please share it. Every share helps shine a light on issues that deserve attention and keeps independent reporting strong on Canada’s East Coast.
New Brunswick is resource-rich, and the benefits of mining are promising – but the culmination of that promise is not found at the mine mouth.
In a December 2025 report, the Bretton Woods Project, a London-based organization that monitors and critiques the policies and operations of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, argues that “the most realistic and transformative opportunities lie in developing sophisticated supplier ecosystems around extraction and processing.”
“These supplier spaces – logistics, arbitrary testing, drilling and geotechnical services, hydrological and environmental solutions, automation and digital monitoring – offer multiple entry points. They can build on existing domestic capabilities and later serve other industries and export markets, reducing dependence on the resource itself.”
The report emphasizes that value-added growth must become knowledge-intensive and be rooted in local problem-solving.
“Natural resources operate under highly specific conditions, and firms that design tailored solutions – such as climate-adapted engineering or high-altitude extraction services – often gain lasting advantage,” it argues. It is this capability-led, knowledge-intensive local specialization that has the potential to support lasting economic and structural transformation.
This place-based development model has proven successful in other parts of the world and was highlighted at last October’s OECD conference in Moncton, where several speakers emphasized the importance of local value chains and investment to drive development.
Structural transformation does not mean abandoning resources; rather, it means changing how value is derived or created from those resources. New Brunswick may perceive itself to be a resource-dependent province, but its success has been based on the transition from resource-led to capability-led growth.
Within that is the opportunity to drive change in the resource sector, specifically as it relates to the issues related to human health and environmental degradation. For instance, New Brunswick’s experience with mining legacy costs explains why trust is brittle. So too do fears of environmental damages, land-use conflicts, community dissent and worries that the public purse may bear costs it cannot afford.
However, these complex and long-standing challenges do not mean mining projects will fail. Instead, these concerns should provide guidance on a structural transformation: how can mining be done differently, how can it build lasting value without repeating the mistakes of the past?
Our forestry, fisheries, and agriculture increasingly generate value through data-driven systems, regulatory and scientific expertise, and downstream processing capabilities that raise productivity and retain economic value locally.
For instance, Fredericton-based technology company Remsoft provides optimization and analytics software, such as data intelligence, AI, and optimization modelling, to help manage forestry resources and infrastructure assets; Cooke Aquaculture specializes in the integration of processing, branding and export logistics; and McCain Foods is a global leader in product development, processing IP and global logistics expertise. All three are proof of how companies thrive in pursuit of knowledge-intensive capabilities.
New Brunswick's natural resources can generate wealth, but long-term resilience relies on using them to build technological capability, innovation, and productivity.
Beyond Extraction
The risk for resource-rich regions is not extraction itself, but dependency. This pattern is commonly described as the “resource curse,” where resources generate revenue but little enduring capability, and ultimately result in slower economic growth and weaker institutional development.
Moving beyond extraction means using resource development to build supplier ecosystems and knowledge-intensive services that deepen local skills and productivity.
New Brunswick’s opportunity lies in two areas: building sophisticated supplier ecosystems around extraction and processing, and developing knowledge-intensive, capability services rooted in local problem-solving.
Much of mining’s value lies in the expertise it generates. Skills in geosciences, environmental engineering, digital systems, regulatory compliance, and health, safety, and risk management can endure long after a mine closes, anchoring long-term productivity.
These specialist services, from drilling and geotechnical work to environmental remediation and mining logistics, can support multiple mines and sectors. They can also be exported nationally and internationally, generating repeat demand and income beyond commodity cycles.
In practice, durable resource economies follow a clear progression: from operational services such as logistics and maintenance, to technical services including environmental engineering, geotechnical analysis, and data systems; and from advanced problem-solving in risk modelling, optimization, and closure innovation, to exportable expertise in consulting, technology platforms, and specialized services.
Getting New Brunswick Ready
New Brunswick already has a strong institutional spine, with universities and community colleges aligned to mining-related research and applied testing. What remains unclear is whether governments have enough experienced regulators, with real authority, to adjust oversight as conditions change, whether public purchasing is being used to build local skills and expertise, and whether there are clear, enforceable plans for how sites will be safely closed, monitored, and managed for decades after operations end.
Is the Government of New Brunswick prepared to strengthen the departments that govern risk, and can the individual departments – including Finance, Environment, Natural Resources, Public Safety and Transportation and Infrastructure, etc. – work in coherent unity to build local capability and ensure value is retained long after production ends?
If New Brunswick gets those conditions right, the benefits would extend beyond a single project. Strong regulatory oversight, local technical and environmental expertise, and a capable supplier base create a platform that future mines can build on. That foundation reduces risk, improves public confidence, and allows the province to capture more value locally, without repeating the legacy costs that weakened trust in the past.
The economic case for mining in the province will not be determined by production volumes or royalty projections alone. Its true value lies in whether it deepens local capability, strengthens institutions, and leaves behind skills, firms, and governance capacity that endure long after extraction ends.
Coming Up Next on Side Walks: The Politics of Mining
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New Brunswick's economic opportunities are directly related to its resource base (farm, forest, fish), and until provincial and regional governments understand this, the province's economy will remain stagnant.