Alberta Energy Regulator approval of coal exploration at Grassy Mountain brings potential approval to reopen an old mine on the site one step closer to reality.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
The Alberta Energy Regulator this week approved applications for coal exploration, drilling and water diversion at a site called Grassy Mountain in the south of the province – a decision some opponents vow to fight.
Thursday’s ruling by the AER is the latest development in a long-running battle over reviving the defunct metallurgical coal mining industry in the Crowsnest Pass, which has pitted neighbours and communities against one another. While approval to reopen an old mine on the site remains a long way off, this decision brings it one step closer.
The lead proponent is Northback Holdings Corp., which owns a huge swath of land that was, until the 1960s, teeming with coal mines above and under the ground. It is one of the many companies owned by Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd., which is run by Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart – the country’s richest person.
None of the approved applications are for a mine proper, but for the kind of exploratory activity required to develop a detailed plan to reach the veins of metal-making coal that run deep and plentiful in the region.
“We need high-quality metallurgical coal, like we have in our area,” Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter said in an interview Friday.
“I’m happy for Northback that they’ve got their approval. It should have come months and months and months ago.”
On Nov. 25, more than half of the residents of the Crowsnest Pass municipality turned out to vote in a non-binding referendum on whether they supported a project to mine steelmaking coal on Grassy Mountain. Close to 72 per cent of them voted “yes.”
“It’s always been our intent to support the project and to work with the government or lobby the government to move this project forward,” Mr. Painter said.
While the community overwhelmingly supported the mine in the vote, there are plenty of voices opposed to redeveloping Grassy Mountain. One of those is Laura Laing, a Southern Alberta rancher.
Ms. Laing said Friday she was “disappointed but, unfortunately, not really surprised” about the AER’s decision.
One of the many sticking points for Ms. Laing is that a joint federal-provincial review panel rejected a proposal for a coal mine for Grassy Mountain in 2021. Citing worries about coal load-out, water, fish, air and noise, the panel declared that the mine would not be in the public interest.
“The big thing for me is that this Northback exploration approval, it’s completely inconsistent with the panel decision that coal exploration and development wasn’t in the public interest on Grassy Mountain. I believe it wasn’t then, and I strongly feel, along with many Albertans, that it isn’t now,” she said.
Ms. Laing said she and several other landowners are considering appealing the AER decision.
“We’ll pass through coal executives and decision makers and politicians, but we’ll still be here, advocating that this is not the legacy we want to leave for the next generation,” she said.
In its decision, the AER noted that Northback’s applications are not for a coal mine, so the case would focus only on the exploration program, “and not any issues related to the development, operation, or impacts of a future coal mine at Grassy Mountain.”
Kennedy Halvorson, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, said Friday that the exploratory applications had worrying environmental implications, including the effect on grizzly bears and Westslope cutthroat trout - two key species at risk in the area.
Ms. Halvorson said it is also clear Northback’s intent is to put forth another coal-mining application.
“While the AER was only going to decide on these applications in their own limited scope and not consider like a full mine, we know that this is a precursor to eventually trying to mine the site,” she said.
In an e-mail Thursday evening, Northback thanked the AER for the decision.
“With this outcome, Northback continues our commitment to bring benefits to Albertans while adhering to the highest environmental standards,” the company said.