Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources minister says he didn’t make the decision lightly to allow a gold-mining company to expropriate land from a family-owned Christmas tree farm.

The province has decided it will allow DDV Gold Ltd. to expropriate seven acres of land from Higgins Family Christmas Trees, in the Moose River area, for an open-pit gold mine.

Minister of Natural Resources Charlie Parker announced the vesting order on Friday, but said it is a one-time event and not a precedent other farmers should be worried about.

“This is a measure of last resort. The mining company would have liked to have made an arrangement with the land owner,” Parker told News 95.7 Monday. “This is a very rare occurrence. It’s only the second time in the history of our province that this act has been used.”  

The Higgins family had previously refused to sell the land for $300,000 and is now seeking a judicial review of the minister’s decision this week in order to block the expropriation.

“It was a very difficult decision for me. I had to weigh a lot of factors,” said Parker. “I met personally with the family and with Christmas tree owners and woodlot owners. It put me in a position I didn’t really want to be in, but under the Act the company has a right to ask for this.”

The project is expected to create about 300 jobs during the construction phase and 150 jobs for the duration of the five-to seven-year project.

It’s expected about $700-million dollars in gold will be extracted from the mine, or approximately 90,000 ounces per year.

DDV Gold is a subsidiary of Australian-based Atlantic Gold, with nearly half of its shares held locally.