The article coincides with the start of the strong increases in...

The article coincides with the start of the strong increases in volume....

Great headlines : "population boom, 28 year life, underground mining, lower costs than Australia, "...
Granted this was only in the local edmundton journal, however we are finally getting the momentum in the press..... Local Canadian funds surely should be getting on for the ride....

With 2,200 increase in population in the area, the local govt's will make this work... Including to help lower rail and port costs if the coal price stays where it is or around the $90's....

The reporter states:
The firm is currently in discussion with several parties over investment or contract arrangements


Major coal mine proposed for Hinton area could spur population boom


BY DAVE COOPER, EDMONTON JOURNAL OCTOBER 9, 2012

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STORYPHOTOS ( 1 )



The proposed Coalspur coal mine lies near Hinton, Alberta.
Photograph by: Supplied, Coalspur , Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - A major mine being proposed for the Hinton area had its beginnings four years ago when Australian geologists were scouring the world for thermal coal deposits.

When they found what they wanted in Alberta, they began to buy up existing leases. The result is a proposed $1.5 billion project that will create 500 permanent jobs and is being reviewed by the Energy Resources Conservation Board, with construction targeted to start this spring.

“The geologists acquired some leases and kept adding to them, then listed a new company — Coalspur Mines — in Australia and later Canada. The company now has 55,000 hectares of coal lease land,” president and chief executive officer Gill Winckler said in an interview.

“With several owners before, they could never have stepped up with something viable. But putting them all together, you ended up with a resource — our first Vista Coal Project area — that is large with simple geology and an attractive quality of coal,” she added.

While the leases had been drilled to collect information over the years, Coalspur has done much more and added to the project’s scope with an expansion and underground phases that could extend the mine’s life from 20 to 28 years.

At the centre of the project is the flagship Vista mine, which will produce five million tonnes (MT) of coal for export in its first phase.

“Once we have Phase 1 approved, we will apply for Phase 2, which is for an additional seven MT,” Winckler said.

Bob Curran of the ERCB said the decision on whether to hold a public hearing will be made once all the material submitted by Coalspur and all other parties has been assessed. The deadline for public submissions was in September.

“That process is still underway,” he said.

Winckler said her firm is expecting requests for supplemental information shortly, and will respond.

“Our expectation is that the questions will be answered,” without the need for a public hearing.

Winckler said Coalspur has been speaking with Hinton and Edson officials for some time, “talking about how we can work together to get the communities ready for this development.”

It could boost the local population by 2,200 residents.

To visualize the Coalspur project, head a couple of kilometres east of Hinton. By the the CN main line there will be a siding for coal loading. A conveyor system will bring the coal a distance of seven kilometres to the siding from the plant where it will be sized and cleaned.

The mine pit will slowly descend over many kilometres, going deeper at a six-degree angle following the coal seam. As the coal is removed and the pit face advances, the area behind it will be slowly filled in and reclaimed. Eventually, the surface strip mine will end at the side of hill — a 300-metre deep point — and continue underground.

Australia is a major exporter of thermal or steam coal, but Canada is not. What attracted the Australian geologists to Alberta was good coal that could be easily transported to Prince Rupert.

Coal is expensive to move, and while the price of thermal coal loaded on ships at the Ridley terminal in Prince Rupert will be $61 per tonne, rising to $67 a tonne in later years, about half of that cost is rail shipment.

“At $61, we are well positioned against all the other new coal projects which are coming in at close to $100 a tonne,” said Winckler.

The world price is now about $90 but forecast to rise to $110 by 2015.

“There are no new projects near tidewater in Australia and all involve expensive new rail and port facilities,” she added.

And northern Japan is actually closer to B.C. than Australia, while Chinese ports are about the same distance. Coalspur’s buyers will be Asian coal-fired power generators. The firm is currently in discussion with several parties over investment or contract arrangements.

“Our objective is to have something concluded in this calendar year to meet our timeline of construction starting in the first half of the year,” she said. “We need to have our funding secured so we can start mobilizing contractors and start things like forest clearing.”

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