Shipping views Before Albert Barbusci (remember him?) entered our lives, I hadn’t thought much about container ships. I remember that one of the few times they impinged on my consciousness was when I saw a short film about one at a film festival — I was foggy on the detailsRead...

We created Morien Resources to be a vehicle of prosperity for Nova Scotians. Its two primary assets, the Donkin Mine and the Black Point Aggregates Project, are located in communities with high unemployment. Many members of these communities have to choose between low paying seasonal jobs or travelling to otherRead More

I began my mining career in 1977 and have been an eye witness to the Donkin saga since the day Pierre Elliot Trudeau announced his National Energy Program (NEP) in the 1980s. The NEP earmarked $2 billion dollars for expansion of the Cape Breton coal industry and Donkin Mine wasRead More

Adding to the general feeling that the world as we know it is coming to an end — and that that’s not necessarily a bad thing — the owners of the Donkin Mine announced on Tuesday they were ending production permanently and putting the mine on “care and maintenance” dueRead More

Steve Drake’s informative piece on March 18th was revealing — an excellent explanation of why the roof-falls are continuing and of what might be the only ‘fix’ possible. It appears that supporting the roof at these depths is best done with the steel arches. It would be quite something ifRead More

Donkin The Donkin Mine saga took an unexpected turn last week with the sudden death of coal baron (and Kameron Collieries owner) Chris Cline in a helicopter crash. Weirdly, this was followed almost immediately by (yet another) rock fall in the mine itself. Fortunately — yet again — nobody wasRead More

I’m writing on Wednesday morning and the front page of the Cape Breton Post (print edition) features a story about the management of the Donkin coal mine failing to report a “massive roof cave-in,” in contravention of provincial regulations. To be completely factual: the front page of the Post features aRead More

Spin Class I like following the CBC’s Jean Laroche on Twitter precisely for moments like these, where he captures something about the way our political system works that you don’t get to see unless you happen to hang out in the halls of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly: ThisRead More

Ben Eoin Update A spectator (as I’ve come to think of my readers) alerted me to the sale price of The Birches at Ben Eoin Country Inn — it sold for $675,000 early in 2018. I’ve updated this week’s Ben Eoin story to add this piece of information and toRead More

Berth of a Boondoggle? “As for why it’s 18 months after the funding announcement and the supposed shovel-ready project still hasn’t proceeded, [CBRM Mayor Cecil] Clarke said it may have been in the addition of extra features in the design process, but admitted “I don’t have an answer.” People mayRead More