Nova Scotia’s Labour Department says a stop-work order at the Donkin coal mine will remain in place until it’s determined the mine is safe, following a rockfall that occurred on July 15.
Jeff Dolan, acting executive director for the safety branch, says repairs carried out by the company will be reviewed by an outside consultant before any decision is made on allowing operations at the Cape Breton underground mine to resume.
Dolan says it’s not known at this point how long the mine will remain shut down.
The latest rockfall followed another temporary closure after inspectors found a “very small amount” of roof material had fallen on the floor of the tunnel on July 9.
In that instance, the mine was given approval to reopen after repair work was completed and inspected.
The mine resumed operations last September after it was shuttered in March 2020 amid slumping coal prices and roof collapses that led to repeated stop-work orders.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2023.
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