Sukunka Coal Mine

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Sukunka Coal Mine is a cancelled coal mine in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Sukunka Coal Mine	Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada	55.1964, -121.569 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Opening Year	Closing Year
Cancelled	Pre-Permit	New	2022	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
3	–	–	Underground & Surface	Mixed	80.56	60*	250

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt)	Year of Total Reserves Recorded	Total Resources (Mt)	Coalfield	Coal Type	Coal Grade	Primary Consumer/ Destination
–	–	185	–	Bituminous	Met	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Glencore PLC	Glencore PLC [100%]	Switzerland, Japan

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.

Background

The Sukunka Coal Project is a proposal by Glencore to mine 3 million tonnes per annum south of Chetwynd, British Columbia, Canada.

After operations commence, the company intends to expand production to 7.5 million tonnes per annum. In December 2022, the federal government blocked the project citing environmental grounds. As a result, the project is presumed cancelled. Glencore is proposing to construct and operate an open-pit metallurgical coal mine that would produce 3 million tonnes of hard coking coal per year for export to overseas markets. The mine life of the project is expected to exceed 20 years. Yearly production is expected to increase to 7.5 million tons per year once underground mining commences. The Sukunka Project is a joint venture between Glencore (75%) and JX Nippon (25%).

In 2016, emails from ecosystem biologists Kyle Rezansoff and Kerry Harvey expressed their professional concern that because the coal mining project falls within the habitat of the endangered Quintette caribou herd, the project will threaten the herd. The biologists expressed concern that the Sukunka project will threaten the caribou if it is to be built within less than three kilometres of the caribou habitat on the high elevation winter range. Glencore proposed it be built within 500 metres of this habitat.

In 2018 and 2019, Glencore issued several memos regarding contaminant monitoring, bull trout habitat, caribou buffers, and other topics in response to information requests from the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office. The Project is still in the application review phase with the British Columbia provincial government.

In March 2022 and again in May 2022, Glencore requested additional 60-day period suspensions of the Environmental Assessment Office's 180-day period to review the application for an environmental assessment certificate in able to undertake meetings and analysis related to caribou for the Sukunka Coal Mine Project. The BC Environmental Assessment Office granted both requests and will resume the application review phase for Sukunka at the end of the latest suspension period (mid-July 2022).

• Owner: Glencore
• Parent company: Glencore, JX Holdings
• Location: Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
• GPS coordinates: 55.1964,-121.569 (approximate)
• Mine status: Cancelled
• Start year:
• Mineable reserves: 100 million tons
• Coal type: Bituminous (met)
• Mine size: 8,056 ha
• Mine type: Surface and underground
• Production: 3 million tonnes per year
• Additional proposed production: 4.5 million tonnes per annum
• Equipment: Underground and surface (open pit mining and longwall mining)
• Number of employees: 250
• Development costs: $450 million

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Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.