Francis Plourde

For Bill Roberts, the men and women who plied their trade in Kimberley's Sullivan Mine were the best in the world. Toiling in the wet and the heat, the Sullivan miners dug over 160 million tons of ore out the mountain site in over 90 years of operation, building along the way a reputation as hard, safe producers of iron and zinc.

So when four people died on the site last May, five years after the deposits ran dry, Roberts was shocked. "It [Teck Cominco, the mine's owner] has been one of the safest companies to work for," the former miner said. "If there was an accident or a complaint about a safety issue, it would be fixed."

A coroner's inquest into the four deaths has captivated the small town of about 7,000, which sits in the Kootenay Mountains five hours southwest of Calgary, since it began on Monday. For while the mine closed in 2001, even today it's hard to find someone in Kimberley who didn't either work for Sullivan, or know someone who did.

For a town that has made a rapid and successful transition from resource to tourism, the deaths served as a harsh reminder of the industry that made them what they are. And for this week at least, Kimberley, with its lush green golf courses and picturesque Bavarian buildings, is once again a mining town.

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