LETTER TO THE EDITOR — Devco mines deserve support

Patrick Whiteway’s letter about Devco (“Devco deposits not exactly mines,” T.N.M., Feb. 15-21/99) prompts me to add several comments of my own.

I beg to differ with his somewhat tongue-in-cheek statement that Cape Breton Development Corp.’s collieries are not mines because they do not have profitable orebodies. A mine is a mine whether profitable or not, even if it has been cynically defined as “a hole in the ground with a liar on top.” It is ironic that CBDC was created in the late 1960s to close down the mines and develop other sustainable activities to employ laid-off miners — sheep farming, forestry, tourism and Fortress Louisbourg come to mind. The fact that the mines are operating 30 years later testifies to the dedication and hard work of management and miners alike, as well as to governmental support designed to compete with world prices.

“King Coal” was the slogan in 1980 when Devco commissioned feasibility studies of the Donkin-Morien mine and a new colliery to gain access to the seams beyond the No. 26 Colliery workings.

In working on the latter study, I came to know and appreciate the beauty of the island, and the friendliness and hospitality of Cape Bretoners. It was a sad day when, some years later, No. 26 caught fire and had to be abandoned.

By then, the price of coal could no longer justify the tremendous expense of gaining access to those seams downdip from the faces that were then allowed to flood.

Though the writing has been on the wall for many years, I, for one, would like to see the mines and miners of Cape Breton continue well into the new millennium with whatever changes are need to make them viable.

Piers Ebsworth, P.Eng.

Pointe Claire, Que.