Cheviot Mine
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The Cheviot Mine (Cardinal River) was a surface metallurgical coal mine that was wholly-owned by Teck Resources and located south of Hinton, Alberta, British Columbia, Canada.[1]
In June 2020, the mine permanently closed due to its short remaining mine life and a reduction in short-term steelmaking coal prices, which made the mine uneconomic.[2]
Location
The satellite image below shows the location of the now-closed mine in Mountain Park, Alberta, Canada.
Background
The Cardinal River mine was first proposed in 1996 and reviewed by federal-provincial hearings in 1997 and 2000, but was not developed due to its poor economics and public opposition. In 1997, Ottawa papers reported that the federal government had delayed their decision on Cheviot while they "worked on a strategy to sell the controversial project to the public." Canada Mining Watch are concerned that the mine would irreparably harm a World Heritage Site, silence springs at Mountain Park, and destroy prime grizzly bear habitat in Alberta. Despite the parent companies' April 2003 announcement that they wouldn't be going ahead with Cheviot, they later proceeded with plans for a different mine project. Rather than the self-contained mine that was previously reviewed by a federal-provincial panel, they are pushing ahead with developing Cheviot as a satellite of their Luscar Mine located 22 kms to the north.[3]
Despite opposition, the Cheviot coal mine opened in 2005, next to Jasper National Park. Owner Teck Coal will be digging up an estimated 3 million tonnes of coal per year for about 20 years. Coal is trucked to the Luscar mine site where it is cleaned and loaded onto railway cars for export to Asian steel mills, using Westshore Terminals in British Columbia.[4][5]
Mine Expansion
Teck Resources Ltd. planned to expand its Cheviot Mine over the Cardinal Divide — a wide alpine ridge separating two major watersheds — to Redcap Mountain, just east of Jasper National Park, Alta. The expansion threatened the drinking water supply of the Mountain Cree-Smallboy Camp, where about 140 Indigenous people have been practicing and maintaining their traditional spirituality, language and culture for the past half-century. Expanding across this divide also extended the risks of selenium and nitrate contamination to the headwaters of the Cardinal River, a glacier-fed tributary to the Brazeau and North Saskatchewan Rivers.
The company’s proposal for the expansion is currently under review by the Alberta Energy Regulator. In May 2018, Teck applied for permits to create five new open pits and three external mine dumps within the Cheviot area. These permits are currently under review by the Alberta Energy Regulator. Teck plans to start mining later in 2019 if the permits are approved.[6] The expansion has the potential for 1.8 million tonnes of steelmaking coal production per year and has the potential to extend Cardinal River Operations for approximately eight years beyond the planned closure in 2020.[7]
Project Details
- Operator: Teck Resources Ltd
- Owner: Teck Resources Ltd
- Location: Mountain Park, Alberta, Canada
- GPS Coordinates 55.0608535,-121.2530692 (exact)
- Status: Retired
- Start Year: 2004
- Closed Year: 2020[1]
- Total Resource:
- Mineable Reserves: 16,700 tons[7]
- Coal Type: Bituminous (Metallurgical)
- Mine Size:
- Mine Type: Surface, open pit
- Production: 2 million tons per year
- Source of Financing:
Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Cardinal River", Teck Resources website, Accessed August 2023.
- ↑ 2019 Annual Report, Teck Resources, Accessed August 2023.
- ↑ "BACKGROUNDER: Cheviot Mine" MiningWatch Canada, April 14, 2004.
- ↑ "Cheviot coal mine" Wikimapia, accessed May 2011.
- ↑ "Westshore Terminals: The Mines" Westshore Terminals Website, accessed April 2011.
- ↑ Just outside Jasper National Park, a coal mine threatens an Indigenous community’s water supply, The Narwhal, Mar 1, 2019.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 (metallurgical coal), Altius, accessed October 2019.
Related GEM.wiki articles
External resources
"Coal phase out," Wikipedia
