Cheviot Mine

The Cheviot Mine was first proposed in 1996 and reviewed by federal-provincial hearings in 1997 and 2000, but was not developed due its poor economics and public opposition. In 1997, Ottawa papers reported that the federal government had delayed their decision on Cheviot while they "worked on a strategy to sell the controversial project to the public." Canada Mining Watch are concerned that the mine would irreparably harm a World Heritage Site, silence springs at Mountain Park, and destroy prime grizzly bear habitat in Alberta. Despite the parent companies' April 2003 announcement that they wouldn't be going ahead with Cheviot, they later proceeded with plans for a different mine project. Rather than the self-contained mine that was previously reviewed by a federal-provincial panel, they are pushing ahead with developing Cheviot as a satellite of their Luscar Mine located 22 kms to the north.

Despite opposition, the Cheviot coal mine opened in 2005, next to Jasper National Park. Owner Teck Coal digs up an estimated 3 million tonnes of coal per year for about 20 years. Coal is trucked to the Luscar mine site where it is cleaned and loaded onto railway cars for export to Asian steel mills, using Westshore Terminals in British Columbia.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Fortune Minerals

External resources
"Coal phase out," Wikipedia