Opposition to Coalspur development ramps up

First Nations recently announced they will be undertaking a campaign in opposition to Coalspur’s Vista project southeast of Hinton, which could become the largest thermal coal mine in Canada. Whitefish Lake First Nation, the Foothills Ojibway, the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, and the Ermineskin Cree Nation will start an “international awareness campaign” in both Canada and Australia, where Coalspur is based, followed by “intensive government lobbying” to “slow Coalspur’s progress to a halt.” The First Nations contend the project would have a damaging impact on the wildlife that they depend on for sustenance, and would negatively affect Alberta’s environmental reputation. The application for the mine is currently being assessed by the Alberta Energy Regulator. The company has delayed its construction of the Vista project, which was to get underway this month. However, CEO Gill Winckler said in a news release that Coalspur expects to achieve first production in mid-2015 as scheduled. Coalspur claims the area would be impacted over a 20-year time span and that the Environmental Impact Assessment concluded that potential impacts of the mine development would be minimized because of effective waste management and land reclamation. A quasi-judicial hearing could be set by the AER for later this year to address concerns.