The company said February 12 that owner/operator and Cline subsidiary Kameron Collieries has been making progress at the planned Cape Breton complex, including the completion of a 69-kV electrical line from Glace Bay to a new on-site electrical substation.
Additionally, one continuous miner (CM), two roof bolters and three personnel carriers have been assembled at Donkin, with a second CM expected to arrive by midyear. Tunnel refurbishment is almost complete, and additional underground assessment drilling has been finished.
Bulk sampling of the target coal seam by utility Nova Scotia Power is projected to commence within the next 60 days.
Morien, which has a gross production royalty interest in all coal sales from Donkin, said coal sales from the mine will begin after construction of a coal handling, preparation and processing plant. Design work and site preparation for that facility is currently under way, and the erection of a new warehouse/washhouse/office is to be completed by the end of the current quarter.
Kameron now holds 100% ownership in the operation after purchasing Morien’s 25% position in February 2015. Under that deal, which also includes cash consideration, Morien will receive a production royalty of 2% on the first 500,000 metric tons (mt) of coal sales per calendar quarter, excluding the initial 10,000 mt, and 4% of any coal sales from quarterly tonnage above 500,000 mt.
When operational, Donkin — which already has a key operations team and a staff of 36, with additional recruitments to come — will be a room-and-pillar operation with four CMs. It has an expected mine life of more than 25 years.
