Centermount Coal Ltd., a B.C.-owned company, is entering the pre-feasibility stage for a mining development near Elkford, B.C.
An experienced project team is currently preparing pre-feasibility screening for the Bingay coal project near Elkford, and the team anticipates that the report will be completed by February 2012. Fifty-five per cent of the equity shares is owned by Centerpoint Resources Inc., and 45 per cent is held by Chinese investors, but the company’s head office is located in Vancouver.
The Ktunaxa First Nation and the provincial government are in the process of having consultations related to the financial aspects of the Bingay coal project.
The next step of the project includes conducting research on the project site, initiating communication with stakeholders and beginning environmental assessments this year. It’s estimated that the environmental assessment will take less than two years and the construction of the mine will begin by 2014. Mining production is scheduled to begin by 2016.
According to consultants, the Bingay coal project contains approximately 170 million tonnes of total resources and 39 million tonnes of clean coal product. The American Society for Testing Materials stated that the coal located in the Bingay site has ranked between medium and high volatile A bituminous metallurgical coal.