Donkin mine exec quits after Nova Scotia voices safety concerns

The man who ran a West Virginia mine that exploded six years ago, killing 29 miners, is no longer involved in plans to reopenDonkinMine.

Nova Scotiaobjectedto Chris Blanchard operating the Cape Breton coal mineafter learning of his connection to the Upper Big Branch mine disaster.

Labour MinisterKelly Regansaid there were eerie similarities between what led to that explosion and theone that killed 26 miners at the Westray Mine inPlymouth, N.S., in 1992.

Those concerns were passed along to Kameron Collieries, which will operate Donkin.

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"We indicated that to them that we weren't comfortable with this individual being involved in the day-to-day management of the mine because of what had happened in West Virginia," she said.

Regan said the company was responsiveto those concerns.

'Valued production over safety'

But a company spokesperson,Tanya Collier, disputed the connection between the province's objectionandBlanchard's decision to quit. She saidhe left the company forpersonal and family reasons.

A U.S. Department of Labour investigationinto the West Virginiamine explosion said "corporate culture was the root cause of the tragedy." That workplace culture "valued production over safety,and broke the law as they endangered the lives of their miners."

The explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine was triggered by a methane ignition and fuelled by coal dust, which is exactly what happened at the WestrayMine. Investigators in both instances found evidence of worker intimidation and advance notice of inspections, as well as the buildup of explosive levels of coal dust.

Regansaid she doesn't wantmistakes of the past repeated.

"There will be no mining taking place at Donkin unless it can be done safely," she said.