Cape Breton's Donkin Coal Mine fined for safety violations after fall re-opening

An underground coal mine near Donkin, N.S., has been cited for a series of safety violations since reopening four months ago.

The Cape Breton mine's operator, Kameron Coal Management Ltd., has received 14 warnings, 19 compliance orders, and eight administrative penalties or fines, since reopening in mid-September.

Fred Jeffers is executive director of the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration's safety division, which oversees routine inspections at the mine.

Jeffers said inspectors reported that none of the violations posed an imminent risk or hazard to workers.

"The fact that the underground mine is just a very large and complicated workplace with a lot of things on the go, is something to obviously take into consideration," Jeffers said. 

"These are these corrective actions that have to be taken when officers discover deficiencies in their inspections."

Jeffers said when immediate dangers are present, inspectors have other tools to ensure safety, such as ordering a work stoppage. 

This is not the first time Donkin has been subject to such safety violations. And some former workers have described the mine as a disaster in waiting, as employees were subjected to dangerous conditions, including ceiling cave-ins, a lack of safety equipment and lax safety practices.

In March 2020, Kameron Coal announced a shutdown due to geological conditions in the mine, which has been plagued by roof collapses for more than a year.

The Nova Scotia government later renewed an industrial license for Donkin in December 2022, allowing it to continue operating for another seven years. The Donkin mine is the only operating subsea coal mine in the world, according to the provincial government, and the only underground coal mine still operating in Nova Scotia. 

On Monday afternoon, seven members of a community group known as the Cow Bay Coalition gathered in the rain outside the gates of the Donkin Mine for a rally to voice their concerns about Kameron Coal's trucking along rural roads. They've also complained of noise from a ventilation fan at the mine and mine safety. 

Calvin Thomas lives on Long Beach Road, about three kilometres from the mine. He said his biggest concern is the number of heavy trucks rolling off the site onto public roads where he and others walk. 

"It's a nice country road right by the ocean, it's a dangerous road to walk on now because the shoulder is so narrow and the trucks are so big [and] at the speed that they're going."

Catherine Fergusson, who also lives in the area, said there should be other ways to transport coal mined there.