Westray Mine - Mine Opens

Mine Opens

On September 11, 1991, the mine was opened to great local fanfare, but immediately problems began to surface, when multiple roof collapses occurred within the first few months. Two months prior to the opening, MLA Bernie Boudreau wrote to Nova Scotia Labour Minister Leroy Legere asking why the mine was using potentially dangerous mining methods not approved for coal mining. The Labour Ministry gave Currough Inc. a special permit to use these methods to tunnel until they reached the coal seam, but not actually mine coal. Legere was not aware that the company continued to use these methods, three months after the mine opened. Accusations were made by mine workers of company cutbacks in safety training and equipment and of negligent and outright criminal behaviour toward safety inspections. Miners complained about working in deep coal dust. In November 1991, coal miner Carl Guptill made safety complaints to Labour Ministry inspectors, but they were not investigated, and he was fired in January 1992 for making his claims.