Province Provides Special Exploratory Licence

A North Sydney company has received approval to conduct preliminary and conditional exploration for coal on a parcel of land adjacent to the Prince Mine Road (Route 162) in Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Coastal Construction will receive a special licence to explore within a specified area, subject to landowner consent. This exploration work will allow the company to determine the size of the coal resource and evaluate its economic viability.

Before proceeding with the development of a coal mine in this area, Coastal Construction will first have to apply for and receive a special mining lease from the Department of Natural Resources. The company will need environmental assessment approval and industrial approval from the Department of Environment and Labour.

"The department's activities in this area are in support of using our local coal in an environmentally and a fiscally responsible manner," said Richard Hurlburt, Minister of Natural Resources.

The exploration licence is a result of a call for proposals for exploration/development/reclamation in four surface coal resource areas of the Sydney coalfield. The call for proposals was issued by the Department of Natural Resources in December 2003.

The Coastal Construction submission was accepted by government in May 2004. Subsequently, the company applied for a special exploration license under the Mineral Resources Act. The area covered by Coastal Construction's exploration represents only 25 per cent of the resource block previously outlined in the department's call for proposals. It is situated on the eastern portion of the initial block.