Last Cape Breton Coal Mine Will Close
DEVCO Closes the Prince Mine
Dateline: 05/16/01
Cape Breton's last coal mine will close in the fall, federal Natural Resources minister Ralph Goodale announced in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The recommendation to close the Prince mine came from the Cape Breton Development Corporation (DEVCO), a federal Crown corporation, after attempts to sell the mine to a U.S. company fell through.
The Prince mine produces nearly a million tons of coal annually, which is sold to Nova Scotia Power.
Closure of the Prince mine means 440 workers will lose their jobs, about 150 of them immediately. That's in addition to the 1100 workers who have been retired or laid off from DEVCO in the past year.
DEVCO and its employee representatives have been asked to develop an "appropriate human resources strategy" to assist the workers affected. Two job centres that were opened after the Phalen mine closed in 1999 will provide support.
The federal government will put another $28 million towards the Cape Breton economy to help it adjust to the closing of the mine. About $18 million will go to the Cape Breton Growth Fund (CBGF) and $10 million to the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation to be invested in the communities affected the most.
The closing of the Prince mine marks the end of an era. The first commercial coal mine in Cape Breton opened in 1720 at Cow Bay, and exports were recorded as early as 1724. The industry was never terribly profitable though, and over the years required many federal and provincial government subsidies and bailouts. A Royal Commission in 1966 recommended that planning be based on "the assumption that the Sydney mines will not operate beyond 1981."
In 1967, the Canadian federal government formed DEVCO to manage the mines and develop other employment opportunities. It has invested $1.8 billion in its coal operations since then. DEVCO was supposed to become financially independent, but by 1999 it was clear that the company would not reach commercial viability and that the productivity of its mining operations was well below industry standards. At that time the government announced plans to sell DEVCO's assets in an attempt to maintain its mining operations and the jobs that went with them. The plan failed.
Related Resources
Mining Industry in Canada
Canadian Provincial Mining Departments
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