Sukunka Coal Mine
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Sukunka Coal Mine is a cancelled coal mine in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Sukunka Coal Mine | Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada[1] | 55.1964, -121.569 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Project Type | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancelled[2] | Pre-Permit[3] | New[3] | 2022 | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3[1] | – | – | Underground & Surface | Mixed | 80.56 | 60* | 250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | 185 | – | Bituminous | Met[1] | – |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Glencore PLC | Glencore | Switzerland, Japan |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.
Background
The Sukunka Coal Project is a proposal by Glencore to mine 3 million tonnes per annum south of Chetwynd, British Columbia, Canada.
After operations commence, the company intends to expand production to 7.5 million tonnes per annum. In December 2022, the federal government blocked the project citing environmental grounds.[4] As a result, the project is presumed cancelled. Glencore is proposing to construct and operate an open-pit metallurgical coal mine that would produce 3 million tonnes of hard coking coal per year for export to overseas markets. The mine life of the project is expected to exceed 20 years.[5] Yearly production is expected to increase to 7.5 million tons per year once underground mining commences.[6] The Sukunka Project is a joint venture between Glencore (75%) and JX Nippon (25%).[7]
In 2016, emails from ecosystem biologists Kyle Rezansoff and Kerry Harvey expressed their professional concern that because the coal mining project falls within the habitat of the endangered Quintette caribou herd, the project will threaten the herd. The biologists expressed concern that the Sukunka project will threaten the caribou if it is to be built within less than three kilometres of the caribou habitat on the high elevation winter range. Glencore proposed it be built within 500 metres of this habitat.[8]
In 2018 and 2019, Glencore issued several memos regarding contaminant monitoring, bull trout habitat, caribou buffers, and other topics in response to information requests from the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office.[9] The Project is still in the application review phase with the British Columbia provincial government.
In March 2022 and again in May 2022, Glencore requested additional 60-day period suspensions of the Environmental Assessment Office's 180-day period to review the application for an environmental assessment certificate in able to undertake meetings and analysis related to caribou for the Sukunka Coal Mine Project. The BC Environmental Assessment Office granted both requests and will resume the application review phase for Sukunka at the end of the latest suspension period (mid-July 2022).[10]
- Owner: Glencore
- Parent company: Glencore, JX Holdings
- Location: Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
- GPS coordinates: 55.1964,-121.569 (approximate)
- Mine status: Cancelled[4]
- Start year:
- Mineable reserves: 100 million tons[6]
- Coal type: Bituminous (met)
- Mine size: 8,056 ha
- Mine type: Surface and underground
- Production: 3 million tonnes per year
- Additional proposed production: 4.5 million tonnes per annum
- Equipment: Underground and surface (open pit mining and longwall mining)
- Number of employees: 250
- Development costs: $450 million [11]
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 (PDF) https://www.projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/api/public/document/63a36b14106def0022479a89/download/Sukunka_Executive%20Summary_English_FINAL.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.canada.ca/en/impact-assessment-agency/news/2022/12/government-of-canada-releases-final-decision-on-the-sukunka-coal-mine-project.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/80013?culture=en-CA.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Canada blocks Glencore's proposed coal mine project in British Columbia, December 21, 2022
- ↑ Sukunka Coal Mine Project, Government of Canada website, accessed October 2019.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sukunka Project, Mining Data Solutions, accessed October 2019.
- ↑ About us, Gloencore Sukunka Project website, accessed October 2019.
- ↑ Potential coal mine in B.C. menacing endangered caribou, David McKie, March 29, 2017.
- ↑ Sukunka Coal mine Documents, British Columbia EPIC website, accessed October 2019.
- ↑ [https://projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/api/public/document/6283d36246845000220b5cc6/download/389955-White-FINAL.pdf Sukunka Coal Mine Modification of the Application Review Time Limit], British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office, May 16, 2022.
- ↑ Glencore, Sunkunka, Company Website, accessed, September 2021
