Nova Scotia needs to mine coal while there's still a market, says minister

A provincial cabinet minister from Cape Breton admits the day is coming when the world won't need coal — but right now it does and he's celebrating the rebirth of mining it on the island.

The Donkin mine began production earlier this week, marking the return of coal mining more than 15 years after Prince Colliery in Point Aconi shut down, ending 280 years of underground mining in Cape Breton.

"Obviously there is a need for coal in the international markets. We need it for energy, we need it for steelmaking," said Geoff MacLellan, who represents Glace Bay in the provincial legislature.

"Until the world doesn't need it — and I think that day is coming, quite frankly, the Donkin mine officials know that that day is coming — we're going to produce it for as long as we can."

Kameron Coal Management Ltd., a subsidiary of U.S. mining giant Cline Group, said 64 employees and contractors are now working at the mine. As production slowly ramps up, the total workforce is expected to climb to 140.

One environmental advocate said while it's true that economically depressed Cape Breton could use the jobs, the fact is that Nova Scotia's green economy is producing far more jobs than the coal industry and selling coal doesn't make sense.

"It represents a huge step backward for the direction that Nova Scotia is headed in," said Stephen Thomas, energy campaign co-ordinator for the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre.

Thomas said France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland have all committed to phasing out coal plants — and China recently announced it will cancel construction of 100 plants.

"They see the writing on the wall," he said.

Doesn't tarnish green reputation, says minister

MacLellan said Nova Scotia is one of the national leaders on climate change and reduction of emissions, and he doesn't believe coal mining tarnishes the green reputation the province is trying to create.

Ontario made headlines in 2014 when it became one of the first jurisdictions in North America to eliminate coal as a source of electricity generation.

Even energy-rich Alberta has announced plans to gradually phase out its coal-fired power plants, though not until the federal target of 2030.

Nova Scotia's Liberal government has said coal will likely play a role in the province's electricity system until at least 2042, having recently won an exemption from the federal government. Nova Scotia is exempted from federal timelines to close coal-fired electricity plants, provided the province hits targets of a 25 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020 and a 55 per cent reduction by 2030.

'Odds don't look so good'

The province's privately owned electric utility, Nova Scotia Power, has three coal-fired generating plants — two of them in Cape Breton.

The utility, a subsidiary of Halifax-based Emera Inc., issued a statement Wednesday saying it will be working with Donkin's management to find a way to use the coal, but testing will take some time.

Thomas said it's unlikely Donkin coal will ever be used in the province's generating plants because of its high sulphur content.

"There's been no coal in Nova Scotia that has met their standards for the past 25 years," he said. "The odds don't look so good."

The utility said the fuel must meet emissions requirements, comply with federal-provincial agreements on carbon reduction and be cost effective.

Local coal benefits local economy

"Using reliable and economic sources of domestic coal is beneficial to the local economy and to our customers," the utility said. "Purchasing local coal displaces foreign coal and keeps fuel dollars in the Nova Scotia economy."

Nova Scotia Power said it has reduced its use of coal by 31 per cent since 2005, and it plans to continue using less coal and more renewable energy.

"While we continue to reduce our use of coal, we need to continue to use our coal-fired plants to back up intermittent wind energy and ensure stable electricity supply to Nova Scotians," the company said. "From there we will develop a plan with the owners for introducing the coal to our Lingan generating facility."