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Proposed Donkin coal mine gets environmental endorsement

A proposed underground coal mine in Cape Breton was approved Thursday, passing an environmental assessment. In this file photo workers repair the road leading to the Donkin coal mine in Donkin, N.S., on Monday Dec. 13, 2004. CP/Andrew Vaughan

SYDNEY, N.S. – An environmental assessment of a proposed underground coal mine in Cape Breton concludes the project would not cause significant harm to the environment.

It took the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency two years to complete its review of the $500-million Donkin development.

In April 2012, Xstrata Coal Donkin Management Ltd. announced it wanted to sell its 75 per cent interest in the mine.

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Xstrata officials recently confirmed they were talking to Morien Resources Corp., which owns a 25 per cent stake.

Xstrata says its original plan was to extract about 3.6-million tonnes of coal per year over 30 years, but the company later said it wanted to concentrate on other, larger projects.

The environmental report says Xstrata planned to provide compensation for affected wetland and fish habitat.

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Hugh Kennedy, chairman of the Donkin Xstrata community liaison committee, says the assessment could help attract a buyer, but the study requires final approval from the federal environment minister.

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