Fording River Operations

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Fording River Operations is an operating coal mine in 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:


Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating[1] – 1972[2] –

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
9[3] 9[4] 2024[4] Surface[5] Open Pit[5] 130[3] 60* 1550[6]

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[7] 2023[7] 2165[7] – Bituminous[8] 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 [100.0%][9] Glencore Canada

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

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
ROM 8.3[10] 8.93[10] 8.15[10] 6.15[11] 9.5[12] 8.2[13] – 9[4] –


Expansion/Extension

Table 7: 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[14][15] Pre-Permit[16] Extension[16] – 0.9[14] –

Reported Methane Emissions Data

Global Energy Monitor collates facility-scale methane emissions data reported by government and company sources collected in a systematic fashion. This mine is associated with the following methane emissions reports:

Table 8: Methane emissions

Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes CO2 equivalent) Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes CH4) Year of Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes) Reference Reference type
– – – ​ –
12.65 1049.95 2024 ​[17] national government data

Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker August 2026 release.

Reported Methane Emissions Data

Global Energy Monitor collates facility-scale methane emissions data reported by government and company sources collected in a systematic fashion. This mine is associated with the following methane emissions reports:

Table 8: Methane emissions

Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes CO2 equivalent) Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes CH4) Year of Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes) Reference Reference type
– – – ​ –
12.65 1049.95 2024 ​[17] national government data

Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2026 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.[18] 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[18]
  • Parent company: Teck Resources[18]
  • Location: Elkford, British Columbia, Canada[18]
  • GPS coordinates:50.19284, -114.86473 (exact)
  • Mine status: Operating[18]
  • Start year: 1971
  • Production: 7.9 million tonnes per annum (2017);[19] 8.4 million tonnes (2021)[20]
  • Mineable reserves: 79 million tonnes[19]
  • Coal type: Met, bituminous
  • Mine size:
  • Mine type: Surface[18]
  • Equipment:
  • Number of employees:1,100[18]

Proposed Extension

In 2020, Teck Coal put forth the Fording River Extension Project, a proposed extension of the existing Fording River steelmaking coal mine.[21] The Project represents an opportunity to extend the lifespan of Fording River from the mid-2020s through to the early 2070s.[22]

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.[23]

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.[24]

Coal Mine Boundaries and Methane Sources

Global Energy Monitor researchers have identified coal mine boundary/boundaries and potential sources of coal mine methane (CMM) for this mine. These research results can be used to drive CMM attribution and mitigation efforts, particularly when combined with remotely sensed methane plume locations and mine ownership data. Explore the results with the embedded map at the top of this page by clicking on the mine boundary polygon or the CMM placemarkers to reveal more details. A detailed description of this research can be found in Coal Mine Boundaries and Methane Sources. This data is also available as a downloadable companion dataset to the Global Coal Mine Tracker and the Global Methane Emitters Tracker.

Table SMP1: Coal mine boundaries and methane sources data

ID Mine feature category Mine feature subcategory Description Coordinates precision Data source date
M0142.B1 mine boundary surface Fording River Operations permit boundary extracted 2022-12-31 00:00:00
M0142.B2 mine boundary surface Fording River Extension (FRX) boundary extracted 2022-12-31 00:00:00
M0142.P1 other preparation plant Coal wash plant at Fording River Operations extracted 2022-12-31 00:00:00

Table SMP2: Coal mine boundaries and methane sources data (continued)

Coal mine boundaries and methane sources were last researched for this mine on Jul 23, 2025
ID Notes
M0142.B1 The boundary was extracted from the Fording permit area shown in Figure 10-1: Drill Collar Location Plan on pg. 10-4 of the NI 43-101 Technical Report on Fording River Coal Operation, https://web.archive.org/web/20240716144338/https://minedocs.com/24/FordingRiver_TR_12312022.pdf, December 31, 2022. It includes a simplified outer boundary and excludes smaller inner boundaries in central and northern portion of the permit area. A portion of the southern permit boundary overlaps with the Greenhills coal mine permit boundary, owned by the same company. The NI 43-101 Technical Report on Greenhills Coal Operation report, https://web.archive.org/web/20240812193327/https://minedocs.com/24/Greenhills_TR_12312022.pdf, December 31, 2022, on page 4-2, states "Fording River Operations currently maintain the overlapping mineral tenure holdings as there is no mechanism within the Coal Act to subdivide the shared mineral tenure holdings,". Therefore, this overlapping area is included in the boundary. The approximate boundary area is 68.3 sq km.
M0142.B2 The boundary of the proposed extension "FRX" to the existing Fording River operations was extracted from Figure 10-1: Drill Collar Location Plan on pg. 10-4 of the NI 43-101 Technical Report on Fording River Coal Operation, https://web.archive.org/web/20240716144338/https://minedocs.com/24/FordingRiver_TR_12312022.pdf, December 31, 2022. The extension proposal was under provincial and federal regulatory review and targeted to start in 2027. The approximate area of this boundary is 15.2 sq km.
M0142.P1 The location of coal wash plant was extracted from Figure 10-1: Drill Collar Location Plan, page 10-4, of NI 43-101 Technical Report on Fording River Coal Operation, Fig. 10-1, pg. 10-4: https://web.archive.org/web/20240716144338/https://minedocs.com/24/FordingRiver_TR_12312022.pdf, Dec 31 2022, and confirmed visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.

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. The satellite data provider creates 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. The following table lists methane plumes which are associated with the energy asset or facility based on distance and manual review. (A full description of the analysis process is available in the Global Methane Emitters Tracker methodology wiki page.)

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
2022-09-02T19:35:54+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-A 50.19166, -114.872[25] 796.8551 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 2
2022-09-02T19:35:54+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-B 50.19398, -114.875[25] 932.1607 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 3
2022-09-02T19:35:54+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-C 50.19426, -114.877[25] 589.1484 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 4
2022-09-02T19:35:54+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-D 50.19531, -114.871[25] 459.0118 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 5
2022-09-02T19:35:54+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-E 50.18857, -114.903[25] 971.2712 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 6
2022-09-02T19:35:54+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-I 50.20462, -114.899[25] 372.929 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 7
2022-09-02T19:35:54+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t193554-F 50.18307, -114.9[25] 905.3893 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 8
2022-09-02T19:42:01+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220902t194201-A 50.19199, -114.837[25] 579.5202 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-02, 9
2022-09-03T18:43:12+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t184312-B 50.19306, -114.877[25] 151.1156 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 9
2022-09-03T18:43:12+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t184312-C 50.19265, -114.887[25] 33.58391 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 10
2022-09-03T18:43:12+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t184312-F 50.18401, -114.897[25] 1057.282 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 13
2022-09-03T18:43:12+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t184312-E 50.18876, -114.901[25] 857.8019 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 14
2022-09-03T18:43:12+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t184312-D 50.20895, -114.897[25] 386.487 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 15
2022-09-03T18:53:20+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t185320-A 50.19346, -114.87[25] 164.0158 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 11
2022-09-03T18:53:20+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t185320-C 50.19426, -114.846[25] 183.3534 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 12
2022-09-03T18:53:20+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t185320-B 50.19186, -114.835[25] 510.184 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 16
2022-09-03T19:04:13+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-C 50.18847, -114.902[25] 1242.406 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 1
2022-09-03T19:04:13+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-B 50.18306, -114.9[25] 588.7213 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 2
2022-09-03T19:04:13+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-E 50.19347, -114.876[25] 236.6916 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 4
2022-09-03T19:04:13+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-D 50.19251, -114.887[25] 94.0938 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 5
2022-09-03T19:04:13+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t190413-F 50.20925, -114.892[25] 338.1128 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 17
2022-09-03T19:10:32+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t191032-D 50.19333, -114.877[25] 129.9879 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 7
2022-09-03T19:10:32+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t191032-E 50.21009, -114.892[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 18
2022-09-03T19:10:32+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t191032-C 50.18835, -114.902[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 19
2022-09-03T19:10:32+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220903t191032-B 50.18295, -114.9[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-03, 20
2022-09-06T19:20:17+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t192017-F 50.18793, -114.897[25] 972.8588 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 1
2022-09-06T19:20:17+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t192017-E 50.19319, -114.892[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 8
2022-09-06T19:20:17+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t192017-D 50.19038, -114.904[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 9
2022-09-06T19:20:17+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t192017-C 50.18345, -114.898[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 10
2022-09-06T19:20:17+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t192017-B 50.20906, -114.892[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 11
2022-09-06T19:26:44+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t192644-A 50.19238, -114.838[25] 619.9089 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 2
2022-09-06T20:59:37+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t205937-G 50.20977, -114.892[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 12
2022-09-06T20:59:37+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t205937-F 50.19727, -114.897[25] 3131.973 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 13
2022-09-06T20:59:37+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t205937-E 50.19131, -114.896[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 14
2022-09-06T20:59:37+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t205937-D 50.1878, -114.897[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 15
2022-09-06T20:59:37+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t205937-C 50.19047, -114.904[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 16
2022-09-06T20:59:37+00 CarbonMapper, ang20220906t205937-B 50.18349, -114.898[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2022-09-06, 17
2024-08-11T17:32:05+00 CarbonMapper, emi20240811t173205p12004-A 50.18297, -114.898[25] 3621.856 kg/hr[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2024-08-11, 2
2025-02-15T18:58:37+00 CarbonMapper, tan20250215t185837c00s4001-B 50.19194, -114.9[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2025-02-15, 1
2025-02-15T18:58:37+00 CarbonMapper, tan20250215t185837c00s4001-A 50.19954, -114.845[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2025-02-15, 2
2025-04-28T19:21:14+00 CarbonMapper, tan20250428t192114c00s4001-A 50.17584, -114.895[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2025-04-28, 1
2025-05-10T19:09:38+00 CarbonMapper, tan20250510t190938c00s4001-B 50.18572, -114.878[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2025-05-10, 1
2025-05-10T19:09:38+00 CarbonMapper, tan20250510t190938c00s4001-A 50.17531, -114.895[25] –[25] British Columbia Province Methane Observation 2025-05-10, 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 1.2 https://www.teck.com/operations/canada/operations/fording-river/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "autoref_0" defined multiple times with different content
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 (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) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "autoref_1" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 (PDF) https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/publicationcatalogue/InformationCircular/BCGS_IC2025-01-05.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 (PDF) https://www.glencore.com/.rest/api/v1/documents/static/a17cc44b-7947-4169-9b6b-b882403fb42b/GLENCORE-Resources-and-Reserves-report-2025.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 (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)
  6. ↑ (PDF) https://www.glencore.com/.rest/api/v1/documents/static/67667885-bc3e-482d-afe6-8e2ccdd48fd0/GLEN+EVR+Site+Visit+Presentation+-+3+EVR+Overview.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 (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)
  8. ↑ (PDF) https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/publicationcatalogue/InformationCircular/BCGS_IC2024-01-05.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ https://www.glencore.ca/en/evr/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 https://minfile.gov.bc.ca/report.aspx?f=PDF&r=Production_Detail.rpt&minfilno=082JSE012. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ (PDF) https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/publicationcatalogue/InformationCircular/BCGS_IC2021-02.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ (PDF) https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/PublicationCatalogue/InformationCircular/BCGS_IC2022-01.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ (PDF) https://cmscontent.nrs.gov.bc.ca/geoscience/PublicationCatalogue/InformationCircular/BCGS_IC2023-01.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20260626203650/https://www.projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/p/5e31dc4462cdea0021d974b4/project-details. Archived from the original on 26 June 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20260120152815/https://www.banktrack.org/download/glencores_coal_expansion_plans/glencores_coal_expansion_plans_1_2.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 https://www.glencore.ca/en/evr/fording-river-extension. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 https://climate-change.canada.ca/facility-emissions/?GoCTemplateCulture=en-CA. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 British Columbia,Fording River Operations, BC Mine Information, accessed August 2020
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Mingin Data Solutions, Fording River Mine, accessed August 2020
  20. ↑ Canada: Five Largest Surface Coal Mines in 2021, accessed December 2022
  21. ↑ "Operations - Fording River Extension", Teck Resources website, accessed June 21, 2022.
  22. ↑ Fording River Extension Project Detailed Project Description, Teck Coal Limited, accessed June 22, 2022.
  23. ↑ "About the Fording River Extension Project", Teck Resources website, accessed June 21, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Fording River gets Green light", Elk Valley Coal News, 11 Sept 2021.
  25. ↑ 25.00 25.01 25.02 25.03 25.04 25.05 25.06 25.07 25.08 25.09 25.10 25.11 25.12 25.13 25.14 25.15 25.16 25.17 25.18 25.19 25.20 25.21 25.22 25.23 25.24 25.25 25.26 25.27 25.28 25.29 25.30 25.31 25.32 25.33 25.34 25.35 25.36 25.37 25.38 25.39 25.40 25.41 25.42 25.43 25.44 25.45 25.46 25.47 25.48 25.49 25.50 25.51 25.52 25.53 25.54 25.55 25.56 25.57 25.58 25.59 25.60 25.61 25.62 25.63 25.64 25.65 25.66 25.67 25.68 25.69 25.70 25.71 25.72 25.73 25.74 25.75 25.76 25.77 25.78 25.79 25.80 25.81 25.82 25.83 25.84 25.85 url=https://data.carbonmapper.org/
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