Coalspur announces Alberta Energy Regulator approval of Vista project

Highlights: The Alberta Energy Regulator announced today that it has granted approval of Coalspur’s Vista project The AER approval is a signifi

Highlights:

  • The Alberta Energy Regulator announced today that it has granted approval of Coalspur’s Vista project
  • The AER approval is a significant milestone in the regulatory process for the approval of Vista, and places Coalspur in a position to finalize its detailed permits and licences
  • Coalspur continues with discussions to secure the balance of development funding for Vista

Vancouver-based Coalspur Mines Limited (“Coalspur” or “Company”) (ASX: CPL, TSX: CPT) recently announced that the Alberta Energy Regulator (“AER”) has approved Coalspur’s Vista coal project (“Vista”). In its decision, the AER panel stated that Vista “will result in a significant socioeconomic net benefit to both the local region and the province”.

The AER approval is a significant milestone in the regulatory process for the approval of Vista and places Coalspur in a position to work with the regulators to finalize detailed licences and permits over the coming months.

“This is an exciting landmark in the development of Vista and we are very pleased to have received approval from the AER”, said Gill Winckler, Coalspur President and CEO. “Receipt of this approval represents an important step in Coalspur’s vision to be a leading export thermal coal producer. The certainty that the decision provides, positions the Company well as it works to finalize the remaining funding for Vista over the coming months.“ “Coalspur has engaged with various regulatory bodies and stakeholders over the past two years and this decision reflects our ongoing commitment to engagement, sustainability and corporate citizenship. We thank the AER for its diligent work on its review of Coalspur’s applications, and will continue to work with regulators and stakeholders as we develop this important energy resource for the benefit of communities close to Vista and Alberta as a whole.”

The AER approval includes various requirements or conditions relating to Vista’s coal processing plant, mine plan and end-pit lake, geotechnical investigations, fines management, surface water quality, wetlands, wildlife and noise mitigation. Coalspur is confident of its ability to abide by the requirements and conditions of the AER's approval.

About Coalspur

Coalspur is a coal development company with approximately 55,000 hectares of coal leases located within the Hinton region of Alberta, Canada. Coalspur’s flagship project is Vista, which covers approximately 10,000 hectares and provides a large scale, surface mineable, thermal coal development. Vista is located adjacent to CN Rail’s main line, which is suitable for the transport of coal to deepwater ports on Canada’s west coast. Coalspur has secured a port allocation agreement with Ridley Terminals Inc., which is essential to the logistics supply chain necessary to export coal from Vista to the growing demand from the Asia Pacific countries.