CANSO — A federal filing to build a marine terminal on Chedabucto Bay may be the clearest sign yet that the long-anticipated Black Point Quarry project is stirring back to life.
According to documents submitted to Transport Canada on May 13, Vulcan Materials Company has initiated a public notification process under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act (CNWA) for a proposed large marine terminal approximately four kilometres east of Fox Island near Canso.
The application – titled Black Point Marine Terminal and posted on the federal Common Project Search site as Registry Number 9935 – outlines plans to construct a “rubble mound” wharf supported by stone breakwaters, caissons, mooring dolphins and conveyor systems to facilitate loading directly onto ships.
Construction is expected to begin on Jan. 1, 2027, according to the filing.
Several of the documents mention the Black Point Quarry by name, but do not provide new details about extraction volumes or operations. The scale and design of the proposed marine infrastructure, however, align with what has been approved through the Black Point Quarry environmental assessment. That plan, reviewed jointly by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and Nova Scotia Environment and approved in 2016, includes a deepwater loading facility to serve export markets.
The marine terminal described in the Transport Canada application would extend into water depths of up to 22 metres, and would not require dredging for ship access. Site preparation would involve pile driving to bedrock, with the use of silt curtains and acoustic blankets considered as needed.
The proposed works would span two land types: upland parcels owned by the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG), which will be leased to the proponent, and submerged Crown land described in the application as subject to a “submerged land crown lease.” The civic address listed for the project is 3500 Highway 16.
The submission also confirms that the project is designated under the Impact Assessment Act and identifies several federal departments as participating regulators, including the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Resources Canada and the Major Projects Management Office.
Public comments on the application are being accepted until Oct. 3, 2025, via Transport Canada’s common project search portal.
The CNWA notification – a step required for federal approval of in-water infrastructure – comes nearly two years after Vulcan Materials, the largest producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel in the United States, announced it would restart the Black Point aggregate quarry project near Canso following a five-year pause. At the time, Atisthan Roach, manager of community and government relations for the company, confirmed the aim was to begin site preparations by mid-2025, though she cautioned that “much work needs to be done before we can put the first shovel in the ground.”
Registered for environmental assessment in 2015 and approved in 2016, the project has received several provincial extensions over the years. According to the most recent update published by the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change, the minister authorized a new extension effective March 12, 2024, and expiring April 26, 2026. Vulcan must commence work on or before that date unless granted another written extension.
According to the Black Point Quarry website, the project envisions processed aggregate being “off-loaded onto Panamax-size bulk carriers and transported to ports along the Eastern and Gulf Coast of the United States and potentially to markets in Canada and the Caribbean.” The sheltered, deepwater site – adjacent to Chedabucto Bay – is ideally suited for marine export, with no dredging required.
That website also says the quarry is expected to cost between $80 million and $110 million, operate for 50 or more years, employ between 120-150 people during the construction phase and approximately 50 once operational. The proposed marine terminal would extend 200 metres into the bay.
At MODG’s regular council meeting on Nov. 6, 2024, Sean O’Connor – the municipality’s director of economic and community development – said the project remained promising, particularly given strong U.S. infrastructure demand.
“It is an export project, obviously, to the eastern seaboard of the U.S., and as long as they’re building things, there will be demand there,” he said. “They did lose two of their quarries in Mexico. One of those was a 10-million-plus tonne-a-year quarry, so there’s a major gap there in their production overall.”
While he acknowledged that it’s “hard to say what the implications” of the U.S. political climate might be, he added: “Pending anything crazy happening south of the border, I think we’ll see the demand stay high.”
Vulcan has not commented on the most recent filing. The Journal reached out to Roach last week but did not receive a response before press time.
