Western Coal Corp. marked Friday the re-opening of its Willow Creek mine in northern B.C. two months ahead of schedule.
The company had announced last September it was going to restart the mine, where operations were suspended at the end of 2008 because of global economic uncertainty.
The company also announced Friday the life of the mine will also be extended because of an 88 per cent increase in its estimated coal reserves.
The expanded mine is now expected to produce 1.7 million tonnes of coal a year over a 13-year mine life.
At full capacity, more than 300 people will be employed at the mine. At the end of 2008, when the mine was temporarily closed, 85 jobs were lost.
See The Citizen for more
