Community reacts to lift of stop-work order at Donkin Coal Mine

Around five and a half months after the Donkin Mine was shut down following a pair of roof falls back in July, a stop-work order at the facility has finally been lifted.

Nova Scotia's Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration says the mine's operator, Kameron Coal, has met the Phase 1 safety requirements from its most recent compliance order and that the company can resume production if it chooses to do so.

Though for now, they can only mine during January and February, when humidity levels are lower.

"Well, it's a positive step for sure,” said James Edwards, a Cape Breton Regional Municipality councilor who is also a member of the mine’s community liaison committee. "There's a Phase 2 requirement that has to be completed by the end of February, so whether or not the mine will mobilize the work force for a couple of weeks' work in January without Phase 2 being completed, that's a real question."

Some, however, are more skeptical about the mine’s future.

Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak says concerns should remain about recurring safety issues at the site, along with what he calls political and public pressure to reopen the mine.

"There are absolutely no corners that can be cut here,” Urbaniak said. "The public servants have been doing their due diligence. They have been resisting a lot of pressure that's been coming from advocates for the company."

CTV Atlantic wasn’t able to reach Kameron Coal for comment, but a spokesperson for a company that is a stakeholder in the mine said he's optimistic Phase 2 requirements can be completed by the end of February.

"What we're looking forward to now is for all involved parties to continue working on the regulatory processes to reopen this mine,” said Dawson Brisco, CEO of Morien Resources, Inc.

Meanwhile, Edwards says some miners he's spoken with have moved out of the province and on to other jobs.

"Remobilizing the workforce is going to take some time, and I think we'd be naive to think we're going to get all of the miners back,” he said.

The Nova Scotia government says Phase 2 requires the company to hire an independent third-party engineer to review the mine's ground control plan before February 29.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.