Mining Association of Nova Scotia Profile picture
Mar 21, 2020 22 tweets 40 min read Read on X
In #WWII, #coal was central to the war effort. It not only kept people warm but powered industry, railways and shipping. The war couldn’t be fought with it and it was essential to the #Canadian economy.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining ImageImage
Yet Nova Scotia #coal production declined from a wartime high of nearly 7.4 million tons in 1941 to 5.1 million tons in 1945.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
In the Dominion Coal Company mines, which accounted for close to 60% of the province’s coal production, output fell from 4.3 million tons in 1941 to less than 3 million tons in 1945.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
Declining #coal production in Nova Scotia forced Ontario and Quebec to become almost wholly dependent on US coal during #WWII – US coal imports nearly doubled between 1939-1945.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
If #coal was so important, and #NovaScotia had so much of it, why did our production drop instead of increasing?
The main problem was a lack of skilled labour. More than 1,500 skilled coal miners from Nova Scotia entered the military between 1939 and 1945.
#nspoli #cbpoli Image
The Government of #Canada tried to address the #WWII #coal production problem various ways. It declared coal mining an essential service in 1941. It provided wage subsidies and tax concessions to miners. It ran an ad campaign promoting coal’s importance.
#nspoli #cbpoli Image
It offered training courses. It allowed coal miners to defer military service and to leave the military to return to the mines.
None of these well-intentioned policies helped.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
For example, giving raises to everyone at the mines unintentionally discouraged certified miners from working at the coal face and doing actual mining – they could earn as much working in other areas of the mine that were easier and safer.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton Image
As a result, between 1940 and 1944, #coal face workers declined by almost 29% while the number of other underground workers increased by more than 8%.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
Also, by April 1943, 500 army men had volunteered to return to Nova Scotia’s mines but only 59 had actually been released. The policy of letting military men return to the mines wasn’t being implemented properly.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
Absenteeism was also a major problem during the war. By June 1945, absenteeism had reached a daily average of 30% in the #NovaScotia #coal industry — a rate federal officials saw as a "deliberate and calculated" attempt to produce more overtime work and thus higher pay.
#nspoli Image
The mining companies, governments, miners and unions all bear blame for the situation.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
The British Empire Steel Corporation (Besco) and its successor, the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (Dosco), tried to lower wages and limit miners’ ability to strike during the 1920s and 1930s.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
It also provided terrible working and living conditions for many miners and their families.
The federal and Nova Scotia governments did little to help establish labour peace.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
In fact, in every strike in the 1920s and 30s, the governments intervened on the side of the coal companies, sometimes even using militia and police to suppress coal disturbances.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
The miners themselves were quite militant – with some justification. There were strikes in 1922, 1923 and a two-month strike in 1924 crippled coal production in Nova Scotia.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
A five-month strike in 1925 featured widespread violence and property damage but ended with a pay cut for the miners.
Tensions continued through the 1930s and led to a total of 39 strikes in 1939 and 55 in 1940, many of them illegal.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb Image
The most remarkable stoppage in production occurred when miners in #GlaceBay went on strike in support of a group of waitresses at the Glory Cafe who had been fired and were being denied their pay until they returned their uniforms.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns Image
Local unions determined that cafe owner Yee Yen was "in league with other cafe owners in a move to smash the waitresses’ union.” This made full union support of the waitresses mandatory. Two days were lost in the mines as a result of this job action.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
Fortunately, today’s mining industry is very different. It is the highest-paying resource industry in Nova Scotia with average wages of over $55,000 per year – on par with NS’ financial services sector.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory #mining Image
An entry-level job like haul truck driver pays an average of $25 per hour.
Nova Scotia’s mining/quarrying industry has reduced its injury rate by 90% in the past two decades and is one of the safer industries in NS today.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #cb #ns #nshistory Image
More details on Nova Scotia’s coal mining challenges during WWII can be found in this federal government paper: journals.lib.unb.ca…/acad…/article/view/10783/11553
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More from @MiningNS

Feb 25, 2021
@nsgov announced new rebates for electric vehicles yesterday. Mining makes #greentech like electric cars possible because they are mostly made of minerals and metals.
#nspoli @KeithIrvingNS @IainTRankin @NS_Energy_Mines @ns_environment @ChenderMLA @AllanMacMaster @MLAChuckPorter Image
For example, an e-car has 183 pounds of copper wiring in it because copper is used in every major component from the motor to the inverter and the electrical wiring. There is about four times more copper in an e-car than in a car with an internal combustion engine.
There are about 400 electric cars on Nova Scotia roads - a total of over 73,000 pounds of copper!
An electric car uses 25-50 grams of silver, so Nova Scotia’s 400 e-cars contain about 15,000 grams of it.
Read 9 tweets
Sep 23, 2020
The Morris Street Engine House has been declared a municipal heritage property!
#Halifax’s Fire Station #2, as it is also called, was built 1907-08 of reinforced concrete.
Here's the story!
#nspoli @HFXFireHistory @HRMFireNews @hfxfire @HFXFirefighters @hfxgov @MikeSavageHFX
Concrete is a mixture of aggregates and paste. The aggregates are sand and gravel or crushed stone; the paste is water and portland cement. (The terms cement and concrete are often used interchangeably, but cement is actually an ingredient of concrete...
#nspoli
...Cement is the glue that holds concrete together.)
Reinforced concrete means the concrete is poured over a frame, usually steel bars, that give the structure greater strength.
#nspoli
Read 12 tweets
Sep 21, 2020
We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked about sinkholes and whether they are a risk when walking in the woods.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton @oxfordsinkhole ImageImage
The short answer is yes, sinkholes are real but no, they are not a major risk and should not prevent you from enjoying outdoor activities.
Most natural sinkholes are caused by groundwater naturally eroding rocks like gypsum, salt and limestone which are water-soluble.
#nspoli Image
The water erodes the rock, leaving an underground cavern. Eventually, the weight of the rock and earth above the cavern causes the sinkhole to form. Sinkholes can form either gradually (i.e. a small depression appears and perhaps grows larger over time) or by sudden collapse. Image
Read 18 tweets
Sep 20, 2020
We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked about the historic #NewCampbellton coal mine in #VictoriaCounty.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #nshistory
@JaimeBattiste ImageImage
The New Campbellton coal mine was opened in 1862 by Charles J. Campbell, a former Member of Parliament, Member of the Legislative Assembly and executive council member. The community had been named Kelly’s Cove but was changed to New Campbellton in 1862 in honour of Mr. Campbell. Image
A sample of New Campbellton’s coal was sent to the 1865 Dublin Exhibition and “was very favorably noticed by the Judges,” according to a report.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton #nshistory Image
Read 18 tweets
Sep 19, 2020
Mining built #NovaScotia!
#Halifax was founded in 1749 and its first court house is reported to have been built by 1754 on the northeastern corner of Buckingham + Argyle streets. After the building burned in 1789, the courts were temporarily housed in various buildings.
#nspoli ImageImage
In April 1851 a bill to provide Halifax with a county court house was passed. Mr. H.G. Hill, a prominent #Halifax architect, prepared a plan for a wooden building.
However, since the records of the county, wills, deeds and other papers of public office were...
#nspoli #novascotia Image
...to be stored in the court house, it was important that the building be fire-proof. Also, a number of serious fires in #Halifax in 1857 led to the passage of a bylaw that required large buildings be made of stone or brick, so Hill's plans for a wooden building were abandoned. Image
Read 10 tweets
Sep 18, 2020
The Sullivan Creek #coal mine, before and after!
It's one of several mines reclaimed around #AlderPoint #CapeBreton in the late 1900s/early 2000s - examples of how mining makes temporary use of land and then land can be used other ways.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia @JaimeBattiste ImageImage
The first mine in the area was the Scotia Mine, or #NovaScotia Steel & Coal Company No. 4 Colliery, on Toronto Road, which operated on the Sydney Main (Harbour) Seam from 1915 to 1921.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia @JaimeBattiste ImageImage
Coal quality and structural issues (including water inflow) plague the Harbour Seam west of Florence so upon closure of the colliery, production on the Harbour Seam was limited to the Company’s No. 3 Colliery in Florence, which had opened in 1902...
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia ImageImage
Read 19 tweets

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