Mine Located in Camp Breton Looks to Hire Alberta Workers ~January 2016~
C amp Breton, the location of the Donkin coal mine, is not where the mining company, Kameron Coal, will be searching for workers as it gears up to open the giant mine as early as late spring. Instead, Kameron Coal, the Halifax‐based subsidiary of Cline Group which is headquartered in the United States, is headed to Alberta. It is on the lookout for workers who have experience in pillar and room mining. Grande Cache, Alberta is the site where a mine was shuttered in December of last year. The Donkin project has been eight years in the works as Kameron Coal officials worked closely to with the government of Nova Scotia to obtain permission to ready the site for mining. Government officials granted permission to do so and Kameron Coal has been working on the site for almost a year. Donkin is located fewer than 30 meters from Sydney, a deep water port. During the 1980s, tunnels were dug at Donkin, but the project was later abandoned before coal was ever mined when the industry faced a reduction of coal prices. After 2001, the government allowed the mine's tunnels to fill with ocean water in order to save on costs. Since obtaining permission to do so, however, Kameron Group has made rapid progress in getting the mine site up to specifications. It has pumped out the ocean water and made the necessary improvements to its machinery and infrastructure. Nova Scotia Power will be the first recipient of coal mined from the Donkin site. This trial agreement includes testing of the coal to determine whether it will meet the power plant's requirements as well as several different elements that are factors in the agreement. Pending the results of this trial, Nova Scotia Power
could once again obtain the coal it needs locally rather than having to import it from the United States or Columbia.