The Little Narrows Quarry, which has been shuttered since 2016, is aiming to reopen in 2026, according to owners CGC Inc. IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POST.Here’s what to watch with tropical storm Franklin this weekend, next week | SaltWireLITTLE NARROWS, N.S. — Kevin Henick would love to be back in Cape Breton, so when postings for a job fair by the company reopening the Little Narrows gypsum mine surfaced, his interest was piqued.
“The pay rate no doubt will be high for a project like this. And very advantageous to many of the unemployed down on the island. And such it would attract many ex-Capers to return back home. But to what end if they could not find a place to buy or to rent? That would exceed their income.”'I THINK THERE'S AVAILABILITY'
“These first jobs would start December to January kickoff so folks understand the methodology behind our safety culture,” Hinze said. Little Narrows is more than an hour from Sydney and Henick, who would be seeking a custodial-type job, said he’d want to be within a half hour of the worksite. He said people making the long commute — turnaround jobs away — while living in the area are attracted to the potential of working home.The company, MacNeil said, is good at keeping local people informed.“I can see it being a concern in the future with 100 good-paying jobs coming up. There are quite a few places for sale throughout the area … the real estate market is kind of high throughout the area,” MacNeil said.
CGC acquired the quarry in 1954 from the former Victoria Gypsum Co. which began gypsum production in Little Narrows in 1935. By 1987, more than 21.4 million tonnes of gypsum and 1.4 million of anhydrite were being produced at the quarry, according to a former provincial mines and energy department report from 1988. By 2015, net sales coming out of the operation were around $6 million.