Global Courant 2023-05-01 21:19:13
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HALIFAX — A precautionary work halt is in effect at the Donkin coal mine, in Cape Breton, following a fire over the weekend.
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The Nova Scotia Department of Labor issued a tweet on Sunday evening confirming the order, following the incident at the underground mining operation. The department released few details, but said there were no injuries and no workers underground at the time of the blaze.
Cape Breton councilor James Edwards, who represents the municipal district where the mine is located, says he was notified of the blaze by mine officials.
“They came back to me and said there was a problem with one of the (mine) belts and they were following all protocols to address it,” Edwards, who is also on the mine’s contact committee, said in an interview Monday.
He said he did not know what specific device was involved in the fire.
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“Later the mine (officials) said the situation was under control. I asked for confirmation that the fire was out and they came back to me saying ‘yes the fire is out’.’
Neither the mine’s owner, Kameron Coal Management Ltd., nor representatives from the Department of Labor were immediately available for comment Monday.
The mine resumed operations in mid-September after being closed in March 2020 amid falling coal prices and collapsing roofs leading to repeated government shutdowns.
In January it was revealed that Kameron Coal had been cited for a long list of security violations since the operation resumed. Violations included an unqualified worker doing electrical work, using an unapproved ventilation control device, and improperly storing gas cylinders.
While Edwards couldn’t speak to the severity of the fire, he said he was immediately concerned when it was first brought to his attention.
“When I heard smoke coming out of the mine, everything stopped, that’s for sure, until we made sure everything was under control,” he said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 1, 2023.
