The chairman of Donkin Xstrata Coal says he's looking forward to the next phase of the project now that the Canadian Environmental Agency has announced a comprehensive study of the mine.
Hugh Kennedy said Monday the study is another step toward the opening of the Donkin mine in Cape Breton.
"The company has agreed to meet all the obligations set under the environmental process," he said.
The Canadian Environmental Agency announced Monday a comprehensive study of Donkin that is expected to take more than a year to complete.
Kennedy said both a provincial and federal review are underway at the same time.
"That can slow the process up but that is an absolute necessity for projects like this," he said. "Whenever either the federal or provincial environment departments identify an issue they want to hear a response on, Xstrata will reply to that."
Celine Legault, communications adviser for the environmental agency, said there will be three public comment periods during the process, followed by guidelines forwarded to the proponent.
She said they hope to get feedback from people who live in the area of the mine site, as well as experts.
"Some people that live in the area have information that we might not and that the proponent might not," she said.
The first public comment period ends Dec. 29.
The public can view the guidelines at www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca.
In August, Xstrata filed its draft environmental assessment with the federal and provincial governments to export coal from the Donkin mine.
Donkin's subsea tunnels were sealed and flooded about 20 years ago before ever producing coal. The mine would have a lifespan of 30-plus years and extract approximately 3.6 million tonnes of coal per year.
