Canada nixes Glencore’s proposed open pit coal mine project in BC

Canada has rejected Glencore’s (LSE: GLEN) proposed open-pit Sukunka coal mine project near Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia on environmental grounds.

The coal mine project, 55 km south of Chetwynd and 40 km west of Tumbler Ridge, would have produced three million tonnes of hard coking coal per year.

The metallurgical coal mine would have had a mine life of up to 20 years, and a coal handling and processing plant to produce premium steel-making coal for export to overseas steel manufacturers.

According to Glencore’s website, the project would have involved a “significant capital investment—estimated to be approximately $450 million (CDN),” and would “create significant economic benefits, especially for the people and First Nations of northeastern British Columbia.”