Articles
30th March 2010
Danny Zanbilowicz
Environmentally concerned citizens of the Comox Valley are starting to pay a lot of attention to a piece of land near Fanny Bay, where Compliance Coal Corporation is planning to open an underground mine at its Raven coal site.
The very idea of a new coal mine in our midst sends shivers down some spines, and so the company is going out of its way to include local citizens in the planning process, and calm fears.
About twenty kilometres south of Courtenay, not far from the Inland Highway near Fanny Bay Compliance has purchased the mineral rights to 3,100 hectares of mostly private land- owned by Timberwest and Island Timberland, with rights to access the surface for construction of a mine. The plan is to extract 44 million tonnes of coal over a 20-year period.
The coal, which lies up to three hundred to six hundred meters below the surface, has been categorized as mostly high grade metallurgical, or coking coal - which means that it can be used in the production of steel, intended for markets in Asia.
This accounts for 80% of the total. The remaining 20% contains too much rock material (maximum 10%) and needs to be used for something else. Compliance CEO John Tapics believes it is “irresponsible” to just leave this coal sitting on the surface, and that it makes better economic and environmental sense to sell as thermal coal, which gets burned in industrial applications or to produce energy. Steel-making coal fetches $180 ton, while thermal coal goes for $70.
Make no mistake about it- this will be a large -cale industrial complex, covering an area of 200 hectares with a coal wash plant, administration and maintenance buildings, power supply and distribution system, service facilities, sewage treatment, concrete foundations, tank farm, piles for earth and ponds for water management. Putting all this together is expected to cost around $100 million.
How to get the coal off the site has not yet been resolved. The company looked at the rail option, but there were difficulties in finding a suitable site for a spur line. Although rail is still a possibility, the company is favouring trucking the coal out to one of three ports with large ship capacity - Campbell River, Duke Point and Port Alberni, using trucks which are covered with a mesh which prevents coal dust from escaping.
The mine site is adjacent to one of the most productive aquaculture areas in the world, and there is understandable concern on the mine's effect. Also, nearby residents are worried how an underground mine will affect the quality of their water, from surface or underground sources, and possible noise pollution.
Tapics admits that water is one of the still unknown elements. The mine will certainly need water for its operation, and they are looking at nearby Cowie Creek, or underground sources as options. Tapics says that water is recirculated, and only needs to be replenished from evaporation. The industrial process is “physical rather than chemical”- meaning water is used to remove suspended solids, and rock materials, so there should not be a problem with chemical pollution. At the same time, there is the possibility of acid-leaching rock on the site. Studies to identify and eliminate impacts are ongoing, and a report is targeted for the “end of the second quarter of next year”.
Coal in our region is notorious for high levels of methane gas, which has proved enticing for companies interested in extracting it, but also has caused terrible explosions and loss of life during Cumberland's active coal era. Tapics says methane levels are being tested and assessed, and that the gas is being considered as a way to provide power or heat for the operation. A report for Compliance from AMEC, an environmental consulting firm says that other options will be assessed, including burning excess methane in the atmosphere, capturing the gas or simply releasing it.
Corporate
The project is 60% owned by Compliance Coal Corporation, and 20% by I-Comox Coal Inc, and 20% by LG International Investments (Canada) which are owned by two huge Asian companies- Itochu Corporation of Japan, and LG International from Korea, which provided the start-up capital and will be in charge of the Asian markets. Together they comprise the Comox Joint Venture.
Compliance Coal is owned by Compliance Energy Corporation, based in Vancouver, of which John Tapics is the CEO.
The publicly traded company was formed in 2002 with the purpose of exploiting mineral resources in British Columbia. It owns an open pit surface mine in BC's interior which is not currently operating. CCC manages 31.000 hectares of coal rights in the Comox Coal basin, including the Raven and Bear deposits.
Of course Compliance is fully aware of local concerns, and trying to fashion a project which will meet everyone's expectations for environmental safety and stewardship.
To this end , they have entered into an open process of consultation with local groups, including the Comox Valley Water Watch Coalition, Fanny Bay Salmonid Enhancement Society, shellfish growers, many aboriginal groups, local governments and community advisory groups- around twenty-five entities get to sit around the table.
According to Compliance's Tapics, these are still early days in the process, and.much work needs to be done in assessing the project's feasibility, including in-depth analysis from provincial and environmental agencies.
If the project goes ahead, it is expected to be in operation in 2012. Potential employment levels during construction are still unknown, however there will be employment for two to three hundred on a full-time basis (including transportation) when it is operating.
Meanwhile critics say that coal mining of any kind in this area, no matter how many safeguards, is just a bad idea.
For more information, see the centrefold insert in this paper, a letter on page 2, and the following:
http://www.theravenproject.ca/
http://www.coalwatch.ca/
http://www.complianceenergy.com/
http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/epic/documents/p351/1250101234662_067793eb3891ab678f34f2237aeb3fe8083ebab679d1eaa8371bd9aab8dc5fed.pdf
Sidebar:
The method of extracting the coal from Raven will be the “room and pillar”, described below:
In room and pillar mining, the most common type of underground coal mining, coal seams are mined by a "continuous miner" that cuts a network of "rooms" into the seam. As the rooms are cut, the continuous miner simultaneously loads the coal onto a shuttle or ram car where it will eventually be placed on a conveyor belt that will move it to the surface. "Pillars" composed of coal are left behind to support the roof of the mine. Each "room" alternates with a "pillar" of greater width for support. Using this mining method normally results in a reduction in recovery of as much as 60 percent because of coal being left in the ground as pillars. As mining continues, roof bolts are placed in the ceiling to avoid ceiling collapse. Under special circumstances, pillars may sometimes be removed or "pulled" toward the end of mining in a process called "retreat mining." Removing support during retreat mining can lead to roof falls, so the pillars are removed in the opposite direction from which the mine advanced: hence the term "retreat mining."
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coal_mining.htm
The process of removing the large “pillars” of coal and letting the roof collapse is potentially dangerous. The last pillar has a nickname- the “suicide pillar”.
The very idea of a new coal mine in our midst sends shivers down some spines, and so the company is going out of its way to include local citizens in the planning process, and calm fears.
About twenty kilometres south of Courtenay, not far from the Inland Highway near Fanny Bay Compliance has purchased the mineral rights to 3,100 hectares of mostly private land- owned by Timberwest and Island Timberland, with rights to access the surface for construction of a mine. The plan is to extract 44 million tonnes of coal over a 20-year period.
The coal, which lies up to three hundred to six hundred meters below the surface, has been categorized as mostly high grade metallurgical, or coking coal - which means that it can be used in the production of steel, intended for markets in Asia.
This accounts for 80% of the total. The remaining 20% contains too much rock material (maximum 10%) and needs to be used for something else. Compliance CEO John Tapics believes it is “irresponsible” to just leave this coal sitting on the surface, and that it makes better economic and environmental sense to sell as thermal coal, which gets burned in industrial applications or to produce energy. Steel-making coal fetches $180 ton, while thermal coal goes for $70.
Make no mistake about it- this will be a large -cale industrial complex, covering an area of 200 hectares with a coal wash plant, administration and maintenance buildings, power supply and distribution system, service facilities, sewage treatment, concrete foundations, tank farm, piles for earth and ponds for water management. Putting all this together is expected to cost around $100 million.
How to get the coal off the site has not yet been resolved. The company looked at the rail option, but there were difficulties in finding a suitable site for a spur line. Although rail is still a possibility, the company is favouring trucking the coal out to one of three ports with large ship capacity - Campbell River, Duke Point and Port Alberni, using trucks which are covered with a mesh which prevents coal dust from escaping.
The mine site is adjacent to one of the most productive aquaculture areas in the world, and there is understandable concern on the mine's effect. Also, nearby residents are worried how an underground mine will affect the quality of their water, from surface or underground sources, and possible noise pollution.
Tapics admits that water is one of the still unknown elements. The mine will certainly need water for its operation, and they are looking at nearby Cowie Creek, or underground sources as options. Tapics says that water is recirculated, and only needs to be replenished from evaporation. The industrial process is “physical rather than chemical”- meaning water is used to remove suspended solids, and rock materials, so there should not be a problem with chemical pollution. At the same time, there is the possibility of acid-leaching rock on the site. Studies to identify and eliminate impacts are ongoing, and a report is targeted for the “end of the second quarter of next year”.
Coal in our region is notorious for high levels of methane gas, which has proved enticing for companies interested in extracting it, but also has caused terrible explosions and loss of life during Cumberland's active coal era. Tapics says methane levels are being tested and assessed, and that the gas is being considered as a way to provide power or heat for the operation. A report for Compliance from AMEC, an environmental consulting firm says that other options will be assessed, including burning excess methane in the atmosphere, capturing the gas or simply releasing it.
Corporate
The project is 60% owned by Compliance Coal Corporation, and 20% by I-Comox Coal Inc, and 20% by LG International Investments (Canada) which are owned by two huge Asian companies- Itochu Corporation of Japan, and LG International from Korea, which provided the start-up capital and will be in charge of the Asian markets. Together they comprise the Comox Joint Venture.
Compliance Coal is owned by Compliance Energy Corporation, based in Vancouver, of which John Tapics is the CEO.
The publicly traded company was formed in 2002 with the purpose of exploiting mineral resources in British Columbia. It owns an open pit surface mine in BC's interior which is not currently operating. CCC manages 31.000 hectares of coal rights in the Comox Coal basin, including the Raven and Bear deposits.
Of course Compliance is fully aware of local concerns, and trying to fashion a project which will meet everyone's expectations for environmental safety and stewardship.
To this end , they have entered into an open process of consultation with local groups, including the Comox Valley Water Watch Coalition, Fanny Bay Salmonid Enhancement Society, shellfish growers, many aboriginal groups, local governments and community advisory groups- around twenty-five entities get to sit around the table.
According to Compliance's Tapics, these are still early days in the process, and.much work needs to be done in assessing the project's feasibility, including in-depth analysis from provincial and environmental agencies.
If the project goes ahead, it is expected to be in operation in 2012. Potential employment levels during construction are still unknown, however there will be employment for two to three hundred on a full-time basis (including transportation) when it is operating.
Meanwhile critics say that coal mining of any kind in this area, no matter how many safeguards, is just a bad idea.
For more information, see the centrefold insert in this paper, a letter on page 2, and the following:
http://www.theravenproject.ca/
http://www.coalwatch.ca/
http://www.complianceenergy.com/
http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/epic/documents/p351/1250101234662_067793eb3891ab678f34f2237aeb3fe8083ebab679d1eaa8371bd9aab8dc5fed.pdf
Sidebar:
The method of extracting the coal from Raven will be the “room and pillar”, described below:
In room and pillar mining, the most common type of underground coal mining, coal seams are mined by a "continuous miner" that cuts a network of "rooms" into the seam. As the rooms are cut, the continuous miner simultaneously loads the coal onto a shuttle or ram car where it will eventually be placed on a conveyor belt that will move it to the surface. "Pillars" composed of coal are left behind to support the roof of the mine. Each "room" alternates with a "pillar" of greater width for support. Using this mining method normally results in a reduction in recovery of as much as 60 percent because of coal being left in the ground as pillars. As mining continues, roof bolts are placed in the ceiling to avoid ceiling collapse. Under special circumstances, pillars may sometimes be removed or "pulled" toward the end of mining in a process called "retreat mining." Removing support during retreat mining can lead to roof falls, so the pillars are removed in the opposite direction from which the mine advanced: hence the term "retreat mining."
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coal_mining.htm
The process of removing the large “pillars” of coal and letting the roof collapse is potentially dangerous. The last pillar has a nickname- the “suicide pillar”.