Vista Coal Mine

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Vista Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Hinton, Alberta, Canada.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Vista Coal Mine	Hinton, Alberta, Canada	53.3961117, -117.6478052 (exact)

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

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Project Phase	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	Phase I	2019	–

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
–	6.95	2022	Surface	Open Pit	99.84	60*	510

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
–	–	1322	Obed Mountain	Bituminous	Thermal	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Coalspur Mines Ltd	Bighorn Mining	Canada

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
ROM	–	–	1.4	4.8	4.65	5.7	5.64

Expansion/Extension

Table 6: Project status

* Added capacity of a coal mine refers to the enhancement in the mine's production capabilities beyond its initial production capacity.

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Project Phase	Added Capacity (Mtpa)*	Start Year
Proposed	Pre-Permit	Expansion	Phase II	–	–
Proposed	Pre-Permit	Expansion	Phase II	4.2	–

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

Background

Vista coal mine is an open-pit mine operated by Coalspur Mines Limited, near Hinton, Alberta, Canada. The Vista Coal Mine is now owned by Bighorn Mining Ltd.

The Alberta Energy Regulator granted approval for the project in February 2014 paving the way for finalizing the detailed regulatory permits and licenses in 2014. However, this timing coincided with a downturn in global thermal coal prices.

The Vista Coal Mine began operations in 2019 with its coal mined via the truck-and-shovel method. However, two years later, as the result of a series of unfortunate events (including the death of Chris Cline, a billionaire behind the project, who was killed in a helicopter crash), the mine was put on "care and maintenance" and found itself on the brink of bankruptcy. The mine was forced to enter creditor protection in 2021. But as a result of creditor protection proceedings and striking a deal to pay most creditors 75 percent of what they were owed, the mine resumed operation.

The mine is scheduled to be developed through open pit methods in two phases. The capacity is expandable up to 12 million tons per year in Phase II. The second phase is planned to be funded through the cash flows generated from the first phase.

Proposed Expansion

In 2020, Coalspur proposed to expand the existing Vista Coal Mine. The proposal includes two expansions: a westward expansion of the Phase I mine pits (Vista Mine Phase II Expansion) that will expand the mine's current coal production by an additional 4.2 million tonnes per annum, and a small "test" underground coal mine that will determine whether the a larger underground mine would be feasible (Vista Coal Underground Mine). Both expansions would use existing Phase I mine infrastructure, such as coal processing facilities, raw and clean coal conveyors, primary access corridor, and a coal load-out facility.

At the G7 meeting in June 2021, Canada's then-Environment Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that the government would "no longer approve thermal-coal mining projects because of their contribution to the climate crisis." As a result, the expansion project appeared to be cancelled. However, in October 2021, the project continued with an impact assessment.

Expansion Controversy

In December 2023, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) made the highly controversial decision that Vista Coal mine's expansions in west-central Alberta would not be subject to a federal impact assessment.

In response, a number of environmental organizations, including Ecojustice, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, and others, requested that the IAAC reconsider its decision not to "designate" the project under the Impact Assessment Act, citing potential adverse impacts to several endangered species as well as to over 40 Indigenous groups. However, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change ruled that he could not "designate" the projects because physical development of the projects had substantially begun.

The Vista Mine is already the largest thermal coal mine in Canada; these expansions will make it the largest thermal coal mine in North America.

What's more, this expansion will put the federal government past its target to end thermal coal exports by 2030, since the expansion is planned to operate for 11 years (until at least 2036).

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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.