Comprehensive Minerals Strategy

New Brunswick’s vision is to build a modern mineral sector that drives sustained economic growth, supports high‑quality jobs, and strengthens regional economies through ongoing exploration, development and supply‑chain activity—all while upholding environmental stewardship.

New Brunswick’s mission is to be open for business in a way that supports investment, accelerates responsible exploration and development, and ensures that growth is inclusive, sustainable and aligned with provincial and national objectives.

New Brunswick has organized this Strategy around five strategic priorities. Together, these priorities form the framework that will guide progress towards long-term sustainable mineral development. Each priority plays a critical role in shaping a modern, competitive, and responsible mineral sector:

• Increasing efficiency in regulatory and permitting processes: The Department of Natural Resources will enhance and modernize the regulatory framework for mineral development by improving process coordination, increasing clarity through comprehensive guidelines, implementing integrated approval mechanisms, and harnessing digital technologies.
• Meaningful Indigenous participation: The province commits to foster respectful and effective engagement with Indigenous communities by establishing robust guidelines for engagement and promoting awareness on government’s duty to consult obligations and process. Actions under the strategy will prioritize inclusive and meaningful engagement, collaboration, and cultural understanding, and will create opportunities for Indigenous participation in economic development, workforce advancement, and supplier networks.
• Enhancing the investment environment: The province will increase attractiveness to investment by strengthening fiscal policies and infrastructure planning. This involves reviewing the fiscal environment, encouraging partnerships and accessing external resources, facilitating investment opportunities, and ensuring that infrastructure planning supports overall development goals.
• Planning for local benefits: The province will ensure that mineral development delivers tangible benefits to local communities. This priority focuses on community impact planning, initiatives to develop and retain a skilled local workforce, measures to strengthen the local supplier base, and actions to address legacy mine-site liabilities, thereby safeguarding communities and facilitating land restoration.
• Promoting awareness: The province will raise the profile of New Brunswick’s mineral sector through targeted marketing and public awareness campaigns, increased investment in geoscience, and expanded visibility in industry forums. These activities aim to promote supplier development and public understanding of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of mineral development.

Collectively, these priorities provide the framework for establishing a resilient and investment-ready minerals ecosystem that delivers enduring benefits to First Nations and local communities and supports national strategic objectives.

A core element of this strategy is the establishment of genuine collaboration with Indigenous communities, to support meaningful Indigenous participation in mineral development, acknowledge and uphold Aboriginal and treaty rights, and ensure that resource management reflects shared commitments to environmental stewardship and responsible development.

Transparency and trust are foundational to the envisioned future. New Brunswick aims to maintain consistent engagement practices and open communication with First Nations, industry, stakeholders, and the public, ensuring informed participation and strong relationships throughout the sector.

This strategy represents the start of New Brunswick’s journey to fully develop its mineral potential. The successful implementation of this Strategy will depend on sustained collaboration, an ongoing commitment to transparency and improvement, as well as continuous learning.

While the actions outlined in the strategy provide a clear roadmap for strengthening New Brunswick’s mineral sector, the work does not end with its publication. The strategy is designed to guide long-term, structural change by modernizing regulatory systems, enhancing competitiveness, supporting First Nations and local communities, and positioning the province within emerging national and global mineral supply chains.

To achieve these outcomes, the province will continue to adapt its efforts and ensure the Strategy remains responsive to emerging geopolitical, technology and market developments, while maintaining its inclusive nature, and its alignment with long-term provincial priorities.