Operator of Cape Breton coal mine will not face sanctions after conveyor caught fire

No penalties or compliance measures will be imposed on the operator of a Cape Breton coal mine where an underground fire broke out last month, a provincial official said Wednesday.

Gary O’Toole, executive director of the Labour Department’s safety branch, said investigators determined the fire was caused by an overheated ball bearing in a conveyor system used to extract coal from the Donkin mine.

No one was in the mine when the fire broke out on April 30, which was a Sunday, a day off for the mine’s staff.

O’Toole said investigators believe the hot bearing was touching the conveyor’s belt, but the resulting fire caused little damage because the belt is required to be fire-resistant. He said the fire probably started some time after the Saturday shift ended its work early Sunday and the conveyor was switched off.

“It was more a smouldering fire than a full-on, open flame fire,” O’Toole said. “This (fire-resistant) requirement likely prevented a more serious event.”

When asked why no penalties were imposed, O’Toole said such a move wasn’t necessary. “We look very broadly at all of the systems that are in play here,” he said, pointing to requirements for carbon-monoxide monitoring, fire suppression, safety training, coal dust monitoring and equipment maintenance.

“We’re confident at this point that all of those requirements are being complied with.”

He said smoke from the fire activated a sprinkler system, but it was a crew of workers who extinguished the flames.

Last week, O’Toole said there would be increased inspections at the mine, which resumed operations this month after a stop-work order prompted by the fire was lifted. As well, he said the department planned to bring in a third party to conduct a safety review, though he did not provide details.

The mine had resumed operations in mid-September after it was shuttered in March 2020 amid slumping coal prices and roof collapses that led to repeated stop-work orders.

Operated by Kameron Coal Management Ltd., it has received 23 warnings, 28 compliance orders and 11 administrative penalties or fines since it reopened. O’Toole has said the number of citations isn’t surprising given the frequency of inspections and the complexities of underground mining.

On Wednesday, he said none of the previous orders had anything to do with the conveyor system.

The only underground mine in Nova Scotia, Donkin’s twin tunnels extend three kilometres under the Atlantic Ocean. When it started production in February 2017, it was the first underground coal mine to operate in Nova Scotia since 2001. The Labour Department says the mine is believed to be the world’s only operating undersea coal mine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2023.