Executive Summary Michel Creek Coking Coal Project Loop Ridge Mine
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Google 2015 Project Description - Executive Summary Michel Creek Coking Coal Project Loop Ridge Mine August 2015 Project Description – Executive Summary Michel Creek Coking Coal Project Loop Ridge Mine Submitted to: BC Environmental Assessment Office 1st Floor 836 Yates Street PO Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC, V8W 9V1 And Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 410-701 West Georgia Street Vancouver, BC, T7Y 1C6 Submitted by: CanAus Coal Limited August 2015 Project Description Michel Creek Coking Coal Project Loop Ridge Mine 5000, Highway 43 Sparwood, B.C. Canada V0B 2G1 Contacts John Pumphrey Chief Operations Officer +1.778.518.0775 [email protected] Mark Vendrig Project Lead, Environmental Assessment and Permitting +1.604.657.2727 [email protected] August 2015 Page i Table of Contents 1 General Project Information ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Proponent ................................................................................................................... 3 2 The Proposed Project .................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Mining Overview ................................................................................................................ 5 2.2 Project Schedule ............................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Proposed Physical Works .................................................................................................. 8 2.4 Project Activities .............................................................................................................. 10 2.5 Regulatory Framework .................................................................................................... 11 2.5.1 Provincial Regulatory Context ................................................................................................. 11 2.5.2 Federal Regulatory Context .................................................................................................... 11 2.5.2.1 Explosives Act ......................................................................................................................... 11 2.5.2.2 Fisheries Act ............................................................................................................................ 11 2.5.2.3 Navigable Waters Protection Act ............................................................................................. 12 2.5.2.4 Canada Transportation Act ...................................................................................................... 12 2.5.2.5 Migratory Birds Conservation Act ............................................................................................ 12 2.5.2.6 Species at Risk Act .................................................................................................................. 12 2.5.2.7 Governmental Financial Support ............................................................................................. 12 2.5.2.8 Indian Act ................................................................................................................................. 12 2.5.2.9 Regional Studies ...................................................................................................................... 12 3 Physical and Biological Setting ................................................................................ 13 3.1 Preliminary Assessment of Effects .................................................................................. 14 3.2 Water Quality................................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Fish and Aquatic Habitats ................................................................................................ 16 3.4 Migratory and Nesting Birds ............................................................................................ 17 3.5 Species at Risk ................................................................................................................ 17 3.6 Federal Lands ................................................................................................................. 17 3.7 Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... 18 3.8 Aboriginal Peoples .......................................................................................................... 18 4 Consultation and Engagement Activities ................................................................ 19 4.1 Engagement and Consultation Plan ................................................................................ 19 4.2 Aboriginal Consultation .................................................................................................... 20 4.3 Key Comments and Concerns Expressed To Date .......................................................... 21 4.3.1 General Themes ..................................................................................................................... 22 4.3.2 Environmental Concerns ......................................................................................................... 22 4.3.3 Socio-Economic Concerns ...................................................................................................... 22 List of Figures Figure A: CanAus Michel Creek Coal License Areas and Project Location ..................................... 2 Figure B: Licence Areas and Loop Ridge Mine ............................................................................... 7 Figure C: Conceptual Site Plan ...................................................................................................... 9 MV/DGH CanAus Michel Creek Coking Coal Project Loop Ridge Mine PD Executive Summary English rev0 final.docx, Sep. 1, 15, 1:19 PM August 2015 Page 1 1 General Project Information 1.1 Introduction CanAus Coal Limited (CanAus) is a Canadian resource company based in Sparwood, British Columbia and a wholly owned subsidiary of CoalMont Pty. Ltd. (CoalMont), a private Australian resource development company. CanAus is focused on the exploration and development of the proposed Michel Creek Coking Coal Project (MCCCP or Project), located in the Crowsnest Coalfield, British Columbia (BC), Canada. CanAus holds the rights to the Michel Creek coal license areas, which host significant coking coal resources primarily referred to as the Loop Ridge, Michel Head and Tent Mountain deposits. The licensed properties are located approximately 15 km southeast of Sparwood, B.C. (Figure A). CanAus believes that excellence in workplace safety, environmental performance and stewardship is essential to our business success. To that end, we believe that our project planning and development must be based on a thorough assessment of the effects of our activities. In order to meet these principles, CanAus believes that it must undertake a thorough environmental and social impact assessment of the proposed Michel Creek Coking Coal Project in order to systematically evaluate the ecological, socio-economic and cultural aspects of the activity. CanAus is committed to conducting the assessment in an open and transparent manner, which will include an appropriate level of community, local government, regulatory, Aboriginal, and public input and review. This Project Description – Michel Creek Coking Coal Project (Project Description or PD) document has been prepared and is being submitted by CanAus in order to initiate the processes required to secure and obtain all the necessary environmental assessment approvals, permits and licenses required to undertake the development of the Loop Ridge coal deposit located within our MCCCP properties. It is our intention to mine and process coking coal from our Loop Ridge deposit, and transport that coal to port for export sale. In so doing, we intend to effectively manage any and all resulting waste and, finally, decommission and reclaim the entire site to allow for previously existing land uses. 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NAD 1983 UTM Zone 11N Document Path: D:\Projects\Consult_5\CanAus\MXD\Loop_Ridge\Project_Description\Revised_Maps\September_2015\Executive_Summary\Figure_A_Overview_map.mxd Project No.: Project: Client: Figure: A Michel Creek Location of CanAus Loop Date: September, 2015 Coking Coal Project Ridge Property Drawn