The B.C. Environmental Assessment Office will be hosting an online open house for the public about the proposed Castle Project Extension at Teck’s Fording River Operations.
Two different open houses are being scheduled for the public to partake and attend.
The first will be held on Thursday, May 14th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, while the second will be hosted between 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm on Tuesday, May 19th.
Currently, the proposed Castle Project Extension is in the early engagement phase and going through the beginning stages of the Environmental Assessment Process. Additional details about the open houses will be added to the link below.
More: B.C. Environmental Assessment (Castle Project)
The Castle Project would be an extension of Teck’s Fording River Operations, allowing the company to continue mining in the Elk Valley for decades to come.
Fording River currently accounts for one-third of Teck’s total steelmaking coal production, outputting 8.5 to 9.5 million tonnes annually. In operation since 1972, Teck acquired Fording River in 2008, with the mining site producing over 295 million tonnes of steelmaking coal in its lifetime.
Castle Project would serve as the primary source of coal for Fording River to continue operations, as the current mining rates will only allow ongoing mining at the site into the mid-2020s.
Read: Teck Proposing Extension of Fording River Operations (February 10, 2020)
Both Dean McKerracher, Mayor of Elkford and David Wilks, Mayor of Sparwood are supportive of continued mining practices in the Elk Valley, as Fording River employs about 1,400 employees.
However, the Mayors want to ensure Teck remains environmentally responsible and continue their work through the Environmental Assessment Process
Read: Elk Valley Mayors React to Teck’s Castle Project (February 11, 2020)
The two online open houses will be held on Thursday, May 14th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and from 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm on Tuesday, May 19th.