Australian coal company Montem Resources is planning to withdraw its plan to develop a coal mine at the Tent Mountain site in Alberta, Canada, reported the Canadian Press via Global News.
Montem Resources CEO Peter Doyle was quoted by the news agency as saying: “The coal mine, in our minds, is a no-go.”
The company had proposed to restart and expand mining operations at the Tent Mountain Mine, an open-pit coal mine that stopped operating in 1983.
Located 16km west of Coleman, Alberta, the redevelopment project aimed to expand the original mine pits to enable the production of 4,925 tonnes per day of steelmaking coal over 14 years.
However, Montem Resources requested in a filed letter that the Alberta Energy Regulator suspend the proposal’s environmental impact assessment.
The letter reads: “Montem Resources Alberta Operations Ltd. will not be carrying out the resumption of mining activities at the project.”
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By GlobalDataThe latest decision ends Alberta’s coal mining revival, which began in 2020 after the United Conservative government scrapped a long-standing regulation that prohibited open-pit coal miners on the Rockies’ eastern slopes.
The development of the summits and foothills in the area triggered severe and widespread opposition, from urban environmentalists to small-town mayors.
Subsequently, a committee was appointed by the government to poll Albertans on the matter.
Based on these findings, Alberta’s former Energy Minister Sonya Savage banned coal mining in the region and restored the previous policy’s protections.
Savage’s ministerial order, however, exempted four projects, including the Tent Mountain coal mine.
Doyle said the company now plans to build a renewable energy facility at the Tent Mountain site.
Montem is planning to announce the final investment decision on the proposed renewable project in 2025.