Does Alberta Need More Coal Mines?
An article in the Medicine Hat News describes the benefits they’ll see by having Highway 3 upgraded. The upgrade will carry through to Lethbridge. It’s said these repairs are crucial to the “Hat” and there is some discussion about twinning the highway. The Globe and Mail says, “Alberta is adding $1 billion to its budget to repair more roads, schools, bridges and potholes as a way to create jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.” No doubt, a lot of people will be thrilled.
Some upgrades being discussed are:
• Security building;
• Highway 3 intersection;
• Access road from Highway3 to the mine infrastructure area (approximately seven kilometres);
• Access road system from the mine infrastructure area to the pit operations (currently in the preliminary planning phase);
• Service road system from the mine infrastructure area to the CHPP infrastructure and train loadout area
• Water management structures including raw water wells for groundwater, CHPP reservoir, storage tanks, distribution pipe network;and
• Site-wide drainage civil works.
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has a report, ‘Environmental hazard assessment of Benga Mining’s proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project’ written by A. Dennis Lemly. He states, “A scientific analysis of environmental hazards of the project reveals numerous flaws in both the projected environmental performance of the mine and its regulatory control. From both environmental and economic perspectives, the proposed mine will do far more damage than can be reasonably justified on any level.
Is it worth sacrificing people's health and contributing to global warming for the sake of a job?
Both Coal Valley and Coalspur, which are mined from the same seam, ship all of their coal by rail to ports on the west coast of British Columbia for deliveries to power plants overseas.
According to AER data, over 2.2 million mt of bituminous thermal was exported from Alberta in the first five months of 2020, doubling the 1.12 million mt exported in the same period a year ago.
South Korea and Japan have imported 633,022 mt and 436,819 mt of thermal coal from Alberta, compared with zero and 520,159 mt, respectively, in the same period a year earlier. Alberta has also exported 351,497 mt to Singapore and 326,753 mt to Egypt, compared with 250,986 mt and zero, respectively, last year.
Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting Pty took over the firm that owned Grassy Mountain last year. But there could be trouble brewing for the company.
According to industry research company IBISWorld, the Chinese economy’s two decades of rapid growth are coming to an end. IBIS world says:
“New projects under consideration by major iron ore miners, such as Rio Tinto, BHP and Hancock Prospecting, will likely be threatened if Chinese demand declines. However, Australian iron ore producers may perform well relative to their foreign competitors over the long term. Australian firms operate with costs of about $30 per tonne, while the average Chinese firm operates at twice that cost,” said Mr Aravanis.
The Alberta UCP government won't be welcoming this news. They are counting on these coal projects for added revenue, but times are changing. Diversifying from Oil & gas to coal doesn't seem that smart now.
COVID-triggered closure of troubled Grande Cache mine leaves workers in limbo
The open pit and underground mine, 430 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, was shut down in May, as fears of the virus sent the economy into lockdown and triggered a decline in demand that sent global coal prices plunging.
The closure was described by the current owners, CST Group Ltd., as temporary. But as the months pass, workers are growing increasingly wary about the prospect of a permanent shutdown as the virus and the recession linger.
"A lot of people packed up and left," he said. "They didn't live here. They just came out here and worked."
He doesn't expect the mine will reopen until the price of coal stabilizes. He remains hopeful, however. Unlike the previous closure in 2015, when the equipment was left to rust, maintenance work is still being done, he said. [Read more]