EDMONTON – Grande Cache Coal Corp. (TSX: GCE) has received approval for a $180-million expansion that includes a new surface mine.
Work will begin immediately on the new mine, and production will increase at the existing sites to take it from the current 1.7 million tonnes a year to three million tonnes in three years, CEO Bob Stan said Wednesday.
The first metallurgical coal is expected to come out of the new mine as early as April.
Equipment, manpower and contractors have been mobilized over the last few months in anticipation of the new mine approval, Stan said.
He called it “an important milestone in the ongoing development of our company.”
“It will provide us with over 10 years of good-quality surface mining resources and long-term certainty for our employees, customers and the town of Grande Cache.”Â
The government approval is the result of exhaustive technical and environmental design, local consultation, and regulatory review, Stan said.
The company already has a significant portion of the plant and equipment needed to increase production, Stan said.
“We are excited about the opportunity to increase production at a time when demand for seaborne coking coal is strengthening and new markets are emerging.
“We believe our company is well positioned to grow our existing operations in a fiscally-disciplined manner and capitalize on the international demand for metallurgical coal.”Â
The company holds leases covering more than 22,000 hectares in the Smoky River Coalfield, 20 kilometres north of Grande Cache.
Last month, Maxim Power Corp. received the go-ahead for a new coal mine near Grande Cache, the first one approved in the province in a decade.
It could be producing steel-grade coal from underground caverns by 2011 for export and possible use at its nearby H.R. Milner generation plant.
dfinlayson@thejournal.canwest.com
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