Sisson mine named ‘nation‑building’ project as Wolastoqey leaders seek answers

A long‑delayed tungsten mine on Wolastoqey homeland in New Brunswick has been pushed back to centre stage after Ottawa added it to a shortlist of “nation‑building” projects.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in November that Northcliff Resources’ proposed Sisson open‑pit mine, about 60 kilometres north‑west of Fredericton, would be referred to the federal Major Projects Office. The move positions the project for a possible “national interest” designation, which could speed approvals and exempt it from some federal environmental laws.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt has embraced the project, calling tungsten a critical mineral that could support Canada’s economic security, defence industry and clean‑energy transition. Provincial estimates suggest the mine could generate roughly 500 construction jobs, 300 ongoing positions and several hundred million dollars in royalties and tax revenue over nearly three decades of operation.

For Wolastoqey communities, the announcement reopens a file many hoped was fading. The project already holds provincial and federal environmental approvals, subject to more than 40 conditions; those approvals were granted in 2015 and 2017 and have since been extended to 2030 despite construction never starting. The Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick (WNNB), which provides technical advice to six First Nations along the Wolastoq (St John River), notes that it is “still unclear” what the new Major Projects Office referral means for existing accommodation agreements.

Interest in Sisson has revived as tungsten and molybdenum were added to Canada’s critical minerals list and global supply concerns grew. In 2025 the company disclosed roughly US$20 million in United States Defence Production Act funding for engineering work and a refreshed feasibility study, with a final investment decision now pencilled in for around 2027.

At the same time, local opposition has hardened. The mine would disturb nearly 2,000 hectares of Crown land used by Wolastoqey people for hunting, fishing, gathering and ceremony, and require a large tailings dam in the headwaters of the Nashwaak River, which flows into the Wolastoq. To create the tailings impoundment, the company has sought permission to use water bodies frequented by fish under federal Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations, a process Environment and Climate Change Canada acknowledges causes permanent fish‑habitat loss.

WNNB stresses that chiefs will keep pressing both governments to uphold Wolastoqey rights and ensure every environmental condition is met before any construction begins. For now, the Sisson project sits in a familiar limbo: elevated by Ottawa as a strategic asset, yet shadowed by unresolved questions about water, climate and what genuine consent looks like when a mine is branded “nation‑building” from afar.