MACKENZIE — A proposed metallurgical coal mine about halfway between Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge would create up to 400 direct jobs in nearby communities including Mackenzie, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George’s board of directors heard at its Thursday, June 19 meeting.
Presenting remotely on the Rocky Creek metallurgical coal project to directors assembled at the Mackenzie Recreation Centre was Judy Matkaluk, CTI Plus Resources’ manager of regulatory affairs and engagement.
Metallurgical coal, she said, is only used in the steel manufacturing process.
The project is located about 47 kilometres southwest of Chetwynd on Crown land. Most of the roads needed for the project are already built and there will be little new construction.
It was first conceived in 2019, with a feasibility study being launched in 2023.
Because the project would produce more than 250,000 tonnes of rock per year, Matkaluk said it will trigger both the federal and provincial environmental assessment process.
The project’s six proposed open pits in a northwest block and another pit in a separate southeast block are estimated to created three million tonnes of raw coal and two million tonnes of clean coal per year.
“We’re looking at approximately 10 years of mining for the northwest block and approximately one to two years for the southeast block,” Matkaluk said. “The last geology work that was done shows this to be a very high-grade coal.”
Including construction and reclamation, the mine has a project total lifespan of approximately 16 years.
To ship the mined product out, Matkaluk said the mine would be able to access the rail loop near the Enersul Hasler Flats sulphur plant near Chetwynd to transport it to the Port of Prince Rupert.
A presented timeline showed that the company intends to submit its environmental assessment paperwork in the third quarter of 2026, receive certification in the fourth quarter of 2027, receive its mine permit and begin construction in the second quarter of 2028 and start operations in the third quarter of 2030.
Projection created in recent month estimate that the project would create 400 direct jobs in local communities.
Matkaluk said the company has already started collaborating with those communities and Indigenous groups to mitigate potential impacts that could arise. That list of communities includes the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, Mackenzie and McLeod Lake Indian Band.
Two open houses have been held so far in Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge.
“We want to have sustainable economic benefits for all the communities and local employment opportunities,” she said. “We believe in our local talent … you know the area better than we know it.”
Unlike an Enbridge natural gas pipeline expansion discussed at the same meeting that two temporary workforce accommodation sites will be built for if the project goes ahead, Matkaluk said local housing in Mackenzie, Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd would likely be used.
In a meeting with the District of Mackenzie, she said they discussed having a bus transporting workers to the mine site.
“The only infrastructure on the proposed mine site would be the office and the safety and medical office,” Matkaluk said.
