Open pit coal project draws ranchers' ire

By Stephen Braverman
Vancouver Sun
11-Jan-2006

QUESNEL -- Northern Clean Fuels, a subsidiary of West Hawk Development,
is seeking to build an open pit coal mine and gasification plant in the
Quesnel area.

The development, if approved, would produce 1.6 million tonnes of coal
per year, and 8,600 barrels per day of clean diesel and 1,600 barrels of
naphtha per day from the plant.

The 100-acre mine would be built on part of the historic Australian
Ranch, 32 km south of Quesnel in the northern Cariboo region. The
massive Australian Creek coal reserves are large enough to sustain
operations for at least 30 years.

The proposed mine is causing concern among ranchers and farmers in the
area. In fact, organizers of a public information meeting on the mine
were forced to change venues at the last minute Monday night due to an
unexpected 300 people who showed up with questions about the project.

Some of the ranchers and farmers oppose the mine because they say the
dust and noise emanating from the mining operation will be detrimental
to their agricultural operations.

Bob Yorston, a rancher who owns land adjacent to the proposed coal mine
site, said the mining company has offered financial compensation for a
piece of his land that will be affected by the mine, but he refuses to
accept it.

"It's a fourth generation ranch, it's a personal thing, and I want the
ranch to thrive," Yorston said. "No amount of money at this point will
buy it. The land is more important to us than the money and the coal is
not going anywhere."

Richard Burke, chairman of NCF, said only five landowners at the most
will be affected by the mining operation and they will be offered fair
compensation.

"We're trying to work hard to develop a program to mitigate the impact
on these people because we don't want to see them hurt badly," he said.

Burke said the coal mine will help diversify the economy of a
forestry-dependent region that won't be able to rely on logging in a few
years as a result of the mountain pine beetle infestation.

The plant will create nearly 200 jobs while the mine will employ up to
80 people, he said.

Not only are mining jobs high paying, but each one will create up to 500
indirect jobs, Burke added.

"There are the jobs and a huge amount of supplies and services which
will be supplied in part by the community," he said. "There will be new
business opportunities and it will be a big economic driver of the region."

The plant will produce steam which could be used for a greenhouse
operation, Burke said, and wood waste from local sawmills can be burned
for fuel in the gasification plant.

Yorston said he's gathering the signatures of landowners for a petition
opposing the mining project. The petition will be presented to B.C.'s
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources to prevent the project
from getting mining permits.

Fellow rancher David Moffat said he's worried about losing his home in
addition to the ranch his family has owned since the 1800s.

"I don't think I could live there," Moffat said. "I wouldn't want to
live next to a coal mine."

David Zirnhelt, a former NDP MLA and Minister of Agriculture for B.C.,
was hired by NCF as a community relations consultant.

Zirnhelt said he hasn't found a reason to block the project and thinks
it's a good way to diversify the Cariboo's economy.

"The world market for energy is good right now as well as the long-term
prognosis," Zirnhelt said.

As for the concerns of the ranchers, Zirnhelt said, "There are places in
the world where mining and agriculture co-exist and that will be
addressed in the environmental assessment."

Bob Simpson, the NDP MLA for the Cariboo North, said he was surprised by
the huge turnout at the meeting, but high interest in the project was
understandable.

"The rancher grapevine," he said. "It went from a local landowner issue
to all of the cattlemen in the region. It suggests a heightened emotion
and interest in the development opportunity.

"The predominant view in the room was not in my backyard, but I heard
from people who came up to me afterward and said they would like to see
the mine go ahead because of the potential jobs."

West Hawk Development Corporation owns two coal licenses and has two
applications pending for the Australian Creek Project.

A drilling program is scheduled to start in the early part of this year
to more accurately delineate the boundaries and measure the quantity and
quality of the reserves.

The Mining Act requires mining companies to fully restore any land
affected by drilling, however some landowners say they'll refuse the
company access to their property for drilling purposes.

NCF is aiming to draft a project application for submission to the
appropriate agencies by the end of October 2006. The company's best case
scenario is to obtain approvals and licenses in early 2008 in order for
project construction to begin in September 2010.

Australian Creek gets its name from a group of Europeans who started a
ranch after arriving in the Cariboo from the gold rush in Australia.

Vancouver Sun