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July 13, 2005 A company that wants to strip-mine coal from Boularderie Island in Cape Breton is confident it can give strip mining a good name. Coastal Construction owns land on Boularderie Island near Sydney and is negotiating with the Nova Scotia government for the permits it needs to begin strip mining it. People living close to the proposed mine site have been urging the government to block the mine. They're worried the mine will spoil land that could be used for recreation or for farming. But Coastal Construction spokesman Judd MacLeod says he is confident his company will win the residents over. "There are some bad examples in the area, and I understand why people are upset: they don't want land to go unreclaimed in their neighbourhood. But [this land] will be reclaimed, either for recreation or farming, after we're finished," MacLeod says. It won't be easy for MacLeod to win people over, though. Two hundred and fifty people jammed a lecture theatre in nearby Sydney Mines Tuesday night to voice their opposition to strip mining to Nova Scotia Energy Minister Cecil Clarke. "The driving force behind this initiative in my humble opinion seems to be the buck, the dollar," said one of the audience members, Albert Marshall of Eskasoni. His comment was greeted by loud applause. A spokesman for the provincial Natural Resources Department, Don Jones, says it's wrong to suggest surface mining would ruin the existing industries. He says they could flourish (Note: During the information workshops Don Jones said the coal in Coastal Construction's resource block was high in suphur, very high in ash, and "the biggest challenge is to find a viable buyer".) See also: June 15, 2005 The province has completed its review of three applications for surface coal exploration and mining in the Sydney coalfield, and its review of three proposals to develop the Donkin subsea coal resource. June 7, 2005 A North Sydney company has received approval to conduct preliminary and conditional exploration for coal on a parcel of land adjacent to the Prince Mine Road (Route 162) in Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Coastal Construction will receive a special licence to explore within a specified area, subject to landowner consent. This exploration work will allow the company to determine the size of the coal resource and evaluate its economic viability. |