Fording River Operations

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Fording River Operations is an operating coal mine in Elkford, British Columbia, Canada.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Fording River Operations Elkford, British Columbia, Canada[1][2] 50.19284, -114.86473 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating – 1971 –

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.
Capacity (Mtpa) Production (Mtpa) Year of Production Mine Type Mining Method Mine Size (km2) Mine Depth (m) Workforce Size
5.3[3] 8.5[4] 2023[4] Surface[3] Open Pit[3] 198.0[3] 60.0* 1100[5]

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt) Year of Total Reserves Recorded Total Resources (Mt) Coalfield Coal Type Coal Grade Primary Consumer/ Destination
345.0[6] 2023[6] 2165.0[6] – Bituminous Met[1] –

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Note: To access more comprehensive data on energy ownership, please visit the Global Energy Ownership Tracker.
Owner Parent Company Headquarters
Elk Valley Resources [100%][7] Teck Resources Ltd [100.0%] Canada

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
ROM 8.3[8] 8.93[8] 8.15[8] 6.15[9] 9.5[10] 8.2[11] –

Expansion/Extension

Table 6: Project status

* Added capacity of a coal mine refers to the enhancement in the mine's production capabilities beyond its initial production capacity.
Status Status Detail Project Type Project Phase Added Capacity (Mtpa)* Start Year
Proposed[12][13] Pre-Permit[14] Extension[14] – 0.9[12] –

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2025 release.

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Background

Fording River Operations is a coal mine near Elkford, British Columbia, Canada.[15] Originally designed as a 3Mt/y operation, Fording River began production in 1971 and made its first shipment of metallurgical coal in April 1972.

  • Owner: Teck Coal[15]
  • Parent company: Teck Resources[15]
  • Location: Elkford, British Columbia, Canada[15]
  • GPS coordinates:50.19284, -114.86473 (exact)
  • Mine status: Operating[15]
  • Start year: 1971
  • Production: 7.9 million tonnes per annum (2017);[16] 8.4 million tonnes (2021)[17]
  • Mineable reserves: 79 million tonnes[16]
  • Coal type: Met, bituminous
  • Mine size:
  • Mine type: Surface[15]
  • Equipment:
  • Number of employees:1,100[15]

Proposed Extension

In 2020, Teck Coal put forth the Fording River Extension Project, a proposed extension of the existing Fording River steelmaking coal mine.[18] The Project represents an opportunity to extend the lifespan of Fording River from the mid-2020s through to the early 2070s.[19]

Teck submitted the Detailed Project Description to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office in July 2021 and anticipates final provincial and federal assessment decisions would be released late-2023, and, if positive decisions are received, permitting decisions in 2024. This would be followed by construction of the project with target for operations in 2027. Mining operations would then continue for several decades. By the early 2030s, all steelmaking coal for Fording River Operations would come from the project.[20]

In September 2021, Teck received the green light from the B.C. Environmental Assessment office to expand its Fording River coal mine near the Alberta border.[21]

Methane Plumes Detected Nearby

Global Energy Monitor researchers analyze satellite-detected methane plumes in order to determine whether they have been observed at or near the site of GEM energy assets. CarbonMapper provides satellite imagery of individual methane plumes and estimates their emission rates at the time of observation. GEM has reviewed many of these plume detections against Google Earth imagery and GEM’s own energy infrastructure tracker data. (A full description of the analysis process is available in the Global Methane Emitters Tracker methodology wiki page.) The following table lists methane plumes which were observed within the footprint of the energy asset or facility (or, in the case of oil and gas extraction areas, within 10 meters of a well).

Table M1: Plume Details

For additional details on this individual plume identification and others, see the Global Methane Emitters Tracker.
Observation date Satellite data provider Location of plume origin Methane emissions rate Additional plume information
2022-09-02 19:35:54 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-A 50.191659, -114.871544[22] 796.8551226 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 1
2022-09-02 19:35:54 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-B 50.193976, -114.874531[22] 932.1606729 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 2
2022-09-02 19:35:54 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-C 50.194256, -114.876864[22] 589.148365 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 3
2022-09-02 19:35:54 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-D 50.195308, -114.87122[22] 459.0117719 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 4
2022-09-03 18:43:12 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t184312-B 50.193056, -114.876831[22] 151.1155967 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 9
2022-09-03 18:43:12 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t184312-C 50.19265, -114.886642[22] 33.58391477 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 10
2022-09-03 18:53:20 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t185320-A 50.193462, -114.869844[22] 164.0158451 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 11
2022-09-03 18:53:20 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t185320-C 50.19426, -114.845726[22] 183.3533714 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 12
2022-09-03 19:04:13 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-C 50.188469, -114.902438[22] 1242.406411 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 1
2022-09-03 19:04:13 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-B 50.183056, -114.900063[22] 588.7212798 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 2
2022-09-03 19:04:13 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-A 50.156122, -114.902228[22] 346.691015 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 3
2022-09-03 19:04:13 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-E 50.193467, -114.876416[22] 236.6916075 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 4
2022-09-03 19:04:13 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-D 50.192513, -114.886718[22] 94.09379601 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 5
2022-09-03 19:10:32 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t191032-A 50.155753, -114.90269[22] 205.8173165 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 6
2022-09-03 19:10:32 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t191032-D 50.193334, -114.876846[22] 129.9879304 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 7
2022-09-06 19:20:17 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t192017-F 50.187932, -114.897206[22] 972.8587562 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 1
2022-09-06 19:26:44 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t192644-A 50.192378, -114.837619[22] 619.9088638 kg/hr[22] British Columbia Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 2

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.teck.com/operations/canada/operations/fording-river/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240121032219/https://www.teck.com/media/2021-2022-Elk-Valley-Access-Maps.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125054415/https://www.teck.com/media/2023-AIF.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-25. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20241003072128/https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/mineral-exploration-mining/documents/reports/annual_report_of_the_chief_inspector_of_mines_2022-2023.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 03 October 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240328172657/https://mines.nrs.gov.bc.ca/assets/images/google_circle.svg. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240606043042/https://www.teck.com/media/2024-AIF.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-06-06. Retrieved 2024-06-05. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ https://www.glencore.ca/en/evr/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 https://minfile.gov.bc.ca/report.aspx?f=PDF&r=Production_Detail.rpt&minfilno=082JSE012. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ (PDF) https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/publicationcatalogue/InformationCircular/BCGS_IC2021-02.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ (PDF) https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/PublicationCatalogue/InformationCircular/BCGS_IC2022-01.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ (PDF) https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/PublicationCatalogue/InformationCircular/BCGS_IC2023-01.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240307011225/https://www.projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/p/5e31dc4462cdea0021d974b4/project-details. Archived from the original on 07 March 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ (PDF) https://www.banktrack.org/download/glencores_coal_expansion_plans/glencores_coal_expansion_plans_1_2.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 https://www.glencore.ca/en/evr/fording-river-extension. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 British Columbia,Fording River Operations, BC Mine Information, accessed August 2020
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Mingin Data Solutions, Fording River Mine, accessed August 2020
  17. ↑ Canada: Five Largest Surface Coal Mines in 2021, accessed December 2022
  18. ↑ "Operations - Fording River Extension", Teck Resources website, accessed June 21, 2022.
  19. ↑ Fording River Extension Project Detailed Project Description, Teck Coal Limited, accessed June 22, 2022.
  20. ↑ "About the Fording River Extension Project", Teck Resources website, accessed June 21, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Fording River gets Green light", Elk Valley Coal News, 11 Sept 2021.
  22. ↑ 22.00 22.01 22.02 22.03 22.04 22.05 22.06 22.07 22.08 22.09 22.10 22.11 22.12 22.13 22.14 22.15 22.16 22.17 22.18 22.19 22.20 22.21 22.22 22.23 22.24 22.25 22.26 22.27 22.28 22.29 22.30 22.31 22.32 22.33 url=https://data.carbonmapper.org/
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