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Coal Mine Reclamation – Case Studies

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Coal Mine Reclamation – Case Studies 1 CARING f o r t h e l a n d ALBERTA CHAMBER OF RESOURCES Alberta’s mining industry This is our industry’s land is strongly committed to use and reclamation story— responsible land use and what we’re doing, how we’re reclaiming mined land to create doing it and our aspirations sustainable landscapes. for the future. 2 A reclaimed coal mine at Teck’s Cardinal River Operations, located south of Hinton. To date, over 75 per cent of the land disturbed by coal mining in Alberta has been reclaimed. Contents Creating Sustainable Landscapes.............................................1 Alberta’s.mining.companies.are.fully.committed.to.reclaiming.all.mine.sites.that. are.no.longer.in.active.use.and.restoring.all.of.them.into.sustainable.landscapes.. Key Facts about Mining in Alberta............................................3 From.its.deep.historical.roots.to.the.present.day,.the.mining.industry.plays.a.. major.role.in.the.economic.health.of.Alberta.. Regulating Land Use and Reclamation.....................................4 All.mines.in.Alberta.must.operate.under.approved.plans.and.have.ongoing.. progressive.reclamation. Doing Things Right and Doing the Right Things.......................6 Alberta’s.mining.industry.is.providing.leadership.in.corporate.social.. responsibility,.research.and.development,.and.innovation.. Land Use and Reclamation in Alberta’s Coal Mines...............10 Reclamation.operations.are.carried.out.concurrently.with.coal.mining,.. thereby.returning.the.land.for.other.productive.use.in.only.a.few.years.. Land Use and Reclamation in Alberta’s Oil Sands.................12 The.oil.sands.industry.has.extensive.reclamation.programs.in.place.to.. return.the.land.to.equivalent.capability. Coal Mine Reclamation – Case Studies..................................16 Reports.on.reclamation.initiatives.by.Sherritt.Coal,.Capital.Power,.Teck.. and.TransAlta. Oil Sands Reclamation – Case Studies...................................18 Reports.on.reclamation.initiatives.by.Imperial.Oil,.Shell,.Suncor,.Syncrude,.. Canadian.Natural.and.Total.. On the Cover: upper left – a reclaimed landscape at Sherritt Coal’s Gregg River Mine southwest of Hinton; upper right – Teck’s award-winning Sphinx Lake reclamation project; lower left – Syncrude’s Gateway Hill reclamation project at its Mildred Lake oil sands mine site north of Fort McMurray; lower right – Suncor’s Pond 1 reclamation project near Fort McMurray in June 2010, prior to tree planting. Creating 1 Sustainable Landscapes Mining operations have impacts on the land and, indeed, change the landscape. This is particularly true for open pit mining, while in situ mining techniques create less land disturbance. Alberta’s mining companies are fully committed to reclaiming all mine sites that are no longer in active use and restoring all of them into sustainable landscapes. The industry takes its responsibility for land use and reclamation very seriously throughout the life of a mine—well before shovels are in the ground; during the active life of a mine; throughout the mine site reclamation process; and right through to completing site reclamation and receiving a reclamation certificate from the Alberta government. Alberta’s mining industry already has many reclamation success stories, and we are proactively developing new technology and introducing new reclamation techniques that are putting us in a strong position to accelerate the pace of reclamation. Through this brochure, the Alberta Chamber of Alberta’s mining industry takes Resources aims to inform Albertans about the facts its responsibility for land use and important issues surrounding land use and reclamation by the province’s mining companies. In and reclamation very seriously particular, this brochure focuses on the oil sands and throughout the life of a mine—well coal mining industries, as they account for the largest mining operations in Alberta. before shovels are in the ground; The thousands of people who work in Alberta’s mining during the active life of a mine; industry are proud to present this important story. Together with all Albertans, we share a strong pride in throughout the mine site reclamation our land and our environment. process; and right through to completing site reclamation. About the AlbertA ChAmber of resourCes The Alberta Chamber of Resources (ACR) has tens of billions of dollars worth of economic activity in Alberta championed the orderly and responsible development of every year and employs thousands of Albertans. the province’s natural resources since 1936. The ACR is expanding collaborative efforts within Alberta’s Today, ACR members represent oil sands, coal, forestry, resource industries, offering solutions and seeking mining, minerals, power generation and transmission, oil and balance to ensure the orderly and responsible development gas, pipelines and service companies. The Chamber’s diverse of Canadian resources. For more information about the membership of approximately 200 companies generates ACR and its activities, please visit www.acr-alberta.com. 2 Coal and Oil Sands Deposits in Alberta Fort MCMuRRAy PEACE RIVER GRANDE PRAIRIE EDMONTON CALGARy Bituminous coal MEDICINE HAT Sub-bituminous coal Oil sands recoverable using in situ techniques Oil sands mineable area Coal oil SandS Alberta’s sedimentary basins contain an estimated Alberta’s oil sands lie beneath 142,200 square 70 per cent of Canada’s coal reserves and produce kilometres of land, and deposits that are suitable for about half of the coal currently mined in the country surface mining are contained within 4,802 square each year. The coal mined in Alberta is primarily kilometres or about three per cent of the total area. bituminous or sub-bituminous. The remaining reserves that underlie 97 per cent of the oil sands surface area are recoverable using in situ methods, which create very little surface land disturbance. First, some 3 key facts about mining in Alberta From its deep historical roots... Mining has played a significant role in Alberta since the earliest days of the province. Coal was discovered in Alberta in 1792 and was first mined to supply domestic heating needs and later to fuel steam-powered locomotives. Coal mining began near the future site of Lethbridge in the 1860s and the first coal mine in Edmonton was established in 1883. Some of the earliest mining was carried out within what is now Banff National Park but developers later moved east, establishing a mine near Canmore in 1887. Railways drove coal mine development in both the Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta and an area known as the Coal Branch in west-central Alberta south of Hinton. The towns of Nordegg and Grande Cache were also developed for the purpose of coal mining. In 1967, Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor Energy Inc.) started mining oil sands to produce crude bitumen, when Fort McMurray was still a small trading post. ...to the present day... Today, a wide range of commodities are mined in Alberta, including oil sands, coal, limestone, salt, shale, dimension stone, ammonite shell, sandstone, sand and gravel. Seven major coal mines currently operate in Alberta, primarily in the central plains region. They produce between 30 and 35 million tonnes of coal annually, used mainly to generate electricity. According to the Government of Alberta, there were 91 active oil sands projects in Alberta as of August 2010. Of these, four are mining projects and the rest use various in situ recovery methods. There are five major industrial mineral quarries in Alberta. Many Alberta communities depend on mining for their livelihood, including Fort McMurray, Hinton, Edson, Forestburg, Hanna and Grande Cache. ...the mining industry plays a major role in the economic health of Alberta. The oil sands industry currently affects the jobs of 144,000 Canadians—directly, indirectly and induced—and will generate $1.7 trillion in economic activity across Canada over the next 25 years. In 2009, Alberta’s coal industry directly employed over 2,500 people and indirectly benefited over 7,000 others. Regulating 4 Land Use and Reclamation The Alberta government has taken multiple steps to reduce negative environmental impacts from mining. In 1993, the province consolidated all of its environmental legislation into one comprehensive statute—the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA). This strict legislation obliges mining companies to reclaim Alberta’s land to a productive state. Under the legislation: • all mines must operate under approved plans and have ongoing reclamation; Above: A Sherritt Coal surface mine • cumulative environmental impact assessments must be conducted that has been returned to productive for all major mine proposals; agricultural land use. • reclamation approvals are issued for up to 10 years, after which a renewal is required, which entails a whole new process of public notification, review, appeal and approval; and • reclamation certificates for lands disturbed by mining must be issued by the Alberta government before a company is relieved of responsibility for the site. The full text of the EPEA is available at www.environment.alberta.ca. Who owns the Resource? Coal the oil sands existing within the specified lease area. The land must be reclaimed and returned to the Crown at the The majority of the coal in Alberta is owned by the Alberta end of operations. Crown. However, there is also freehold ownership of coal—by private individuals and companies, the federal Metallic and industrial minerals government in national parks, and First Nations. In a typical Metallic and industrial minerals include: diamonds and other year, 50 to 60 per cent of Alberta’s mined coal is extracted precious stones; gold, iron and other precious and base from Crown leases and the rest from privately owned leases. metals; limestone and other stone; and salt. Most mineral Oil sands deposits in Alberta are Crown owned. There is also a minor amount of freehold ownership. The Alberta Crown holds the oil sands mineral rights. A lease gives an operator the right to extract bitumen from 5 Reclaimed land at TransAlta’s Highvale surface coal mine west of Edmonton supports a variety of land uses—agriculture, woodlands, wildlife habitat, recreation and wetlands.
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