Centermount Coal Ltd
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Centermount Coal Ltd. Bingay Main Coal Project Project Description 20 November 2012 Submitted to: BC Environmental Assessment Office 1St Floor 836 Yates Street PO Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9V1 Pursuant to: BC Environmental Assessment Act and Submitted to: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 22nd Floor, Place Bell 160 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Pursuant to: Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (2012) Submitted by: Centermount Coal Ltd. Suite 1385-1095 W. Pender St. Vancouver BC V6E 2M6 Bingay Main Coal Project Description EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Centermount Coal Ltd (Centermount) proposes to develop a coal mine, with a maximum capacity of 2 million clean tonnes per year (Mt/year), the Bingay Main Coal Project, in the Elk River valley, approximately 21 km north of Elkford, in the East Kootenay portion of the Rocky Mountain coal field of southeastern British Columbia. The project is located within the coal “Enhanced Resource Development Zone” (ERDZ) as defined in the Kootenay/Boundary Land Use Plan and Southern Rocky Mountain Land Use Plan, and would produce high quality metallurgical (coking) coal for the steel industry. The Rocky Mountain coalfield currently supports five large coal mines and is serviced by major infrastructure such as railroads, provincial highways, natural gas, water, numerous hydro-power lines, communications and four resource coal mining towns. Large-scale underground and open pit coal mining has been ongoing since 1911, and the area currently produces 23 Mt/year of coal, primarily coking coal for the steel industry. The centre of the coal deposit is located 193 road kilometres northeast of the City of Cranbrook, which is a major industrial centre for mining and forestry, and is also a railway centre for the Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific railways. Centermount holds coal licenses (“Bingay Main”) totalling 1,157 ha near the confluence of Bingay Creek and the Elk River. Coal within the licence area is concentrated in Bingay Hill, a small knoll rising 50 m above the surrounding terraces. The coal deposit is within the Bingay syncline, a steeply dipping bedrock fold which dips to the northeast beneath the Elk River. At least 32 coal beds are present, ranging in thickness from 0.3 to 16.2 metres. Of these coal beds, 24 are typically at least 1 metre thick, inclusive of contained bands of rock. Cumulative thickness of these coal beds is 62.6 metres, within an overall coal- bearing rock thickness of 460 metres. Major components of the Project include an open pit and underground mine, coal processing facilities, temporary and permanent waste rock dumps, a 27 km rail line, and a rail load out. The majority of the mine components will be located on Crown Land within coal licence areas held by Centermount, or by its majority shareholder, Centerpoint Resources, on the west side of the Elk River. The rail line will be located on Crown Land on the east side of the Elk River. Access to the mine is via the Elk River Forest Service Road (FSR) along the west side of the Elk River. A FSR and transmission line also parallel the east side of the Elk River. Three types of metallurgical coal similar to that produced in adjacent coal mines would be generated by the Project. Coal would be processed on site using a combination of heavy media cyclones, water only cyclones, spirals and classifying cyclones, and froth flotation depending on the size of the coal. Coal dewatering will be done mechanically using screenscroll centrifuges, screenbowl centrifuges and hyperbaric filters, rather than thermal dryers. Coal produced at the mine would be transported to shipping terminals near Vancouver via CP Rail. Waste rock will be stored in several areas identified within the property. These areas are on gently sloping terrain, have limited surface water features, and most have been previously logged. Waste rock Centermount Coal Ltd. i 20 November 2012 Bingay Main Coal Project Description will be sorted based on potential for metal/selenium leaching. Waste rock with a high risk of leaching would be stored separately and used to backfill the pit after mine closure. Water management will be an integral part of the mine plan. Diversion ditches will reduce surface water runoff on to the site, and drainage ditches will collect surface runoff from disturbed areas for treatment. Metal leaching and acid rock drainage studies are ongoing to assess impacts of the project on water quality. Centermount is currently continuing mine planning, consultation, and engineering and environmental studies for the Project. These will continue through the pre-application phase of the Environmental Assessment process. Centermount Coal Ltd. ii 20 November 2012 Bingay Main Coal Project Description TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... v List of Appendices ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ vii 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Proponent Information ....................................................................................................... 1 2 Property Description and Location ............................................................................................... 2 2.1 Project History................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Type and Size of Project ..................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Project Purpose and Rationale ............................................................................................ 6 2.4 Capital Cost....................................................................................................................... 7 2.5 Employment ...................................................................................................................... 7 3 Project Description .................................................................................................................... 7 3.1 Project Components ........................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Mining .............................................................................................................................. 8 3.2.1 Open Pit Mining ............................................................................................................. 8 3.2.2 Underground Mining ..................................................................................................... 10 3.3 Coal Processing ............................................................................................................... 10 3.4 Waste Dumps .................................................................................................................. 11 3.5 Infrastructure .................................................................................................................. 13 3.5.1 Onsite Infrastructure Development ................................................................................ 14 3.5.2 Offsite Infrastructure Development ................................................................................ 16 3.6 Alternatives ..................................................................................................................... 17 3.7 Emissions, Discharges and Waste ...................................................................................... 18 3.7.1 Airborne Emissions ....................................................................................................... 18 3.7.2 Liquid Wastes .............................................................................................................. 18 3.7.3 Solid Wastes ................................................................................................................ 18 4 Project Setting ........................................................................................................................ 19 4.1 Geology .......................................................................................................................... 19 4.2 Geochemistry .................................................................................................................. 20 4.2.1 Acid Rock Drainage ...................................................................................................... 21 4.2.2 Metal Leaching ............................................................................................................ 21 4.3 Climate ........................................................................................................................... 22 4.4 Aquatic Resources ..........................................................................................................