DONKIN, N.S. — The Donkin Mine is shut down indefinitely as the Department of Labour investigates a rock fall in an area of the mine that hadn’t previously experienced a similar failure.
Scott Nauss, the senior director of inspections and compliance with the Department of Labour, said the rock fall was discovered by mine personnel and reported to the department early Monday, after the mine had been on a week-long vacation shutdown. It had been due to resume production Monday.
The department wrapped up its initial inspection early Monday afternoon.
“The rock fall happened on Tunnel B, which is the main access and egress for the mine,” Nauss said. “The other rock falls had occurred on the production side, on the other side, so this was kind of a first.”
Nauss said it was too early to say what caused the rock fall at the coal mine, adding the department was still gathering information.
In an emailed statement, Donkin vice-president Shannon Campbell wrote that an area of roof in the intake tunnel of the mine “potted out” and fell on Sunday.
“This mine tunnel was first driven in 1984 and had not had any issues since then,” Campbell wrote. “The area was jointly inspected by Department of Labour officials and Kameron Management. Production was voluntarily suspended until remediation is complete. The area and nature of this event is unrelated to the stress-related issues experienced in the last half of 2018.”
Nauss said the company agreed to keep the mine shut down until the inspection was completed. He added it was too early to say how long that may take.
“Once we gather enough information, we may take some more enforcement action,” he said.
He added all rock falls are treated seriously by the department and work is normally stopped until it is determined why the safeguards that are in place did not prevent the event from happening.
During the shutdown, a skeleton crew was conducting monitoring and minor maintenance to keep the mine operational, Nauss said.
In June, a stop work order was issued for the north panel at the mine following an incident where methane ignited, but it was lifted soon after.
The mine had been in limited production for months. The operation of the mine, owned by Kameron Coal, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Cline Mining Corp., was suspended by the labour department following a roof fall on Dec. 28, 2018. The coal mine was on a holiday shutdown and no one was injured. It was the sixth roof fall at the coal mine between July 2018 and December 2018.
In May, a revised ground control plan for the coal mine was approved by the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education and Campbell said the mine resumed full operations.
On Jan. 25, the labour department granted permission for the mine to conduct limited mining of 1,600 feet in a low risk area of the mine with strict ground control conditions.
Following the December roof fall, the labour department brought in experts with the Mine Safety and Health Association of America, the group that regulates coal mining in the United States.
Since the mine opened in February 2017, the labour department has conducted 50 inspections and has issued 70 compliance orders for various reasons. All have since been resolved.
In most cases Kameron Coal is not notified when an inspection is going to take place.
In February 2018, the mine celebrated its first coal production. The mine currently employs about 120 people.
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