Ball bearing cited as a cause of Donkin Mine fire in Cape Breton

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SYDNEY, N.S. — An overheated ball bearing on a conveyor belt is being singled out as the cause of a fire April 30 at the Donkin Mine.

Gary O’Toole, senior executive director of Labour, Skills and Immigration for the province, said Wednesday an investigation by the department has determined that the bearing came into contact with a piece of the conveyor belt and began to smoulder.

"It was more of a smouldering than a full-fledged fire. It smouldered throughout the day," said O’Toole.

It is believed that the fire began shortly after the last shift ended early Sunday morning. There were no other shifts scheduled for the day.

The conveyor involved in the fire is part of a large conveyor system that takes the coal from the underground to the surface.

O’Toole said a sprinkler system at the mine did activate but it was a human fire crew that did extinguish the fire.

There was no one in the mine at the time and no injuries were reported.

UPDATED: No injuries reported after fire at Cape Breton's Donkin Mine Sunday

Coalition group to meet on coal transport, other Donkin Mine-related concerns

Production resumed May 11 after the department lifted a stop-work order issued in response to the fire.

O’Toole noted Wednesday that the Donkin operation is Nova Scotia's most heavily visited worksite in the province and that monitoring will increase.

He said the department is preparing to use a third-party monitoring system in a bid to keep tabs on the operation adding that details of such monitoring are still being developed.

O’Toole said no additional compliance orders have been issued and that the company has met all health and safety requirements.

"This is a unique operation and it's one that the department would like additional expertise that complements our existing efforts and that supports the department's safety work in this environment and particularly our work around enforcement," said O’Toole, in a prior interview in which the topic of third-party monitoring was discussed.

He said the department is also using unannounced inspections as part of its safety inspection regime noting inspectors were last on-site Tuesday for an unannounced inspection.

The mine reopened last September and in January, the operation was hit with 14 warnings, 19 compliance orders and eight administrative penalties.

The department became aware of the fire around 7 p.m. on April 30, some 90 minutes after smoke was detected in the mine.