NDACT Information PageOn January, 2009 a public meeting was held in Honeywood which drew an overflow crowd of local residents and concerned citizens. The attendees at that meeting enthusiastically supported the formation of a concerned citizens group now known as the North Dufferin Agricultural & Community Taskforce.
September 2011 Newsletter
June July 2011 Newsletter
May 2011 Newsletter
The Highland Companies, owned by a US based Hedge fund operation with offices in Boston, has advised they will file for an aggregate licence imminently upon their completion of technical studies. The application will be for a quarry with extraction approximately 200 feet below the water table. The Highland Companies has indicated that their initial application will be for an extraction license covering some 2,400 acres, which would make this one of, if not the, largest below the water table mining operation in Canada.
The Highland Companies has amassed landholdings in Melancthon and Mulmur Townships, in the County of Dufferin, of over 7,000 acres of prime agricultural land. When amassing their land holdings, they had previously stated that they wanted to be the biggest potato farming operation in Ontario. However, evidence of significant core sampling, well testing, tree cutting, archaeological and other studies that have been conducted on the lands have all been consistent with pre-testing for aggregate/limestone extraction. The Highland Companies is presently clearing the land on a daily basis, burning and removing homes and barns that have been in place for generations. The Highland Companies have demolished and/or have permits to demolish structures on 28 properties and the total assessment on these properties is $6,951,751.00 million. The landscape is truly altering already.
The repercussions of this mine could seriously and adversely affect the water, the landscape, the community, surrounding agriculture land use, and with the potential to cause disastrous environmental scenarios for decades. The effect on deer, wild turkeys, migratory birds and other native wildlife will be irreversible. This open pit mine will take some of the best agriculture land in Ontario out of production and is in a location that is recognized as one of the primary sources for water recharge feeding the Nottawasaga and Grand Rivers.
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