Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/428696
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 85 COAL Mining operations, coal production and expansion plans con- tinued at the five mines in the Elk Valley operated by Teck Coal Ltd. The main product is metallurgical coal (85 per cent), with some thermal and pulverized coal injection (PCI) coal (15 per cent combined). The region accounts for approximately 70 per cent of Canada's annual coal exports. Production from the Elk Valley in 2013 was 25.6 megatonnes of clean coal; similar vol- umes are expected for 2014. At Elkview Operations, the Baldy Ridge Extension entered pre-application of environmental assessment in June. Exploration drilling in the current mine boundary was directed at planning for the next phases of mining in the Baldy and Natal pits. At Fording River Operations, exploration drilling was conducted in active pits, with plans for highwall pushback in Eagle and Turnbull pits. The Swift project continued working toward requirements in the pre-application stages of environ- mental assessment. At Greenhills Operations, drilling focused on the active Cougar pit, and Teck received approvals for the West Spoil Expansion. Baseline work is being done for pre-application of the Cougar Pit Extension project. Line Creek Phase II received conditional approval in 2013. It will add approximately 52 megatonnes of clean coal, extend- ing the mine life of the Line Creek Operations by 18 years. In June 2014, the Burnt Ridge Extension project also entered pre-application of environmental assessment. The project will connect the current Phase I operating area at Line Creek Operations to the recently approved Phase II area by extend- ing the current Burnt Ridge South pit to the north. It will add 8.3 megatonnes of clean coal to the mine. Exploration drilling at Coal Mountain focused mainly on active pits, with one exploration hole drilled between 37-pit and 6-pit to help extend modelling. In addition to the producing mine, the Elk Valley and Crowsnest coalfields host several advanced-stage projects. Teck Coal's Coal Mountain Phase II (Marten Wheeler) project entered pre-application stages in September. The mine will use the infrastructure at the company's Coal Mountain Operations, and produce 76.5 megatonnes of clean coal over an estimated 34-year mine life. In 2014, Teck focused on envi- ronmental baseline and geotechnical work. Jameson Resources Limited completed a pre-feasibility study in August, estimating a 16-year mine life for the Crown Mountain project. It is preparing for pre-application of envi- ronmental assessment. CanAus Coal Ltd. continued drilling at Loop Ridge and Michel Head as part of its Michel Creek project. The Coal Creek (CrowsNest Pass Coal Mining), and the Bingay Main (Centremount Coal Ltd.) projects remain on hold.