Donkin mine under scrutiny
Fresh questions about reboot of underground Cape Breton coal mine
At the rugged eastern edge of Cape Breton, the twin tunnels of the Donkin mine extend three kilometres under the Atlantic Ocean. At the end of those shafts is a massive coal deposit left untouched for more than three decades – until this year.
The rebirth of underground mining in Cape Breton was initially seen as a godsend for an economically depressed region desperate for well-paying jobs.
But the February revival of the 300-year-old industry ran into turbulence last month with news that 49 workers at the mine – about a third of its workforce – had been let go with eight weeks pay.
Today, some industry observers are wondering what went wrong. And at least one environmental critic is complaining the Nova Scotia government was wrong to approve the mine at a time when much of the world is turning its back on coal – the dirtiest of all fossil fuels.
“The economic prospects and the moral case for a coal mine in 2017 are both very weak,” says Stephen Thomas, energy campaign co-ordinator for the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre.
“In this climate crisis ... we know that coal is the dirtiest form of fossil fuel, so opening new mines for this type of fuel is certainly a step backward.”
The operator of the mine, Kameron Collieries ULC, said it had to cut jobs to keep the mine viable after workers encountered challenging conditions underground, hindering production.
“This transition was necessary to revise our operational mine plan and mining equipment to better suit the complex geological nature of this mine deposit,” company spokesman Shannon Campbell said in an emailed statement.
However, miners have come forward to complain about potentially unsafe working conditions and what they say is a heavy-handed management style.
Gary Taje, international staff representative for the United Mine Workers of America, says the company – a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Cline Group – fired the miners for complaining about how the mine is being run.
“They did that for one reason: to show everybody else that anybody can be fired at any time,” says Taje, whose union is hoping to eventually organize the nonunionized mine.
One of the miners who lost his job says he believes he and other experienced miners were fired because they spoke out about mining practices.
The miner, who asked to remain anonymous to ensure he is not blacklisted from other jobs, says the company has chosen to stick with inexperienced miners to quell dissent.
“They have a lot of the younger guys who are not going to say no to management,” says the miner, who has 30 years of experience and notes he doesn’t think the mine is itself unsafe.
Campbell, the company’s vicepresident of external affairs, says safety “will always be the number one priority at the Donkin mine.”
As for the suggestion there are too few experienced miners on the job, Campbell said: “We based our decision on ensuring the remaining workforce was skilled and efficient in their roles to ensure the operation continues to be safe and economically viable.”
Nova Scotia Energy Minister Geoff MacLellan says the terminations are not an indication that the mine is in trouble.
“It’s a short-term glitch,” he said in an interview from Glace Bay, part of his district and just west of the mine. “We’ve been assured that when the timing is right, they’ll retool and add capacity.”
As well, he stressed that the miners who lost their jobs were not penalized for speaking out.
“This wasn’t a targeting in any sense,” says MacLellan, whose father was a coal miner for 40 years. “Safety is the number one priority here. I’ve had discussions with Donkin mine officials on many occasions and they have reiterated that as well.”
The mine started producing coal Feb. 27 — 15 years after underground coal mining was declared officially dead in Nova Scotia. Some of the miners working there left jobs in the West to return home to Cape Breton.