While the current moratorium will cause some disruption to industries like Forestry, how will the moratorium affect the local mines?
Short answer: it won’t. At least, not in the short term. As evidenced by the map attached to this post, prepared specifically for Tumbler Ridgelines, all the current mines under development—including Sukunka, Flatbed and Huguenot—are not in the moratorium area. In addition there are plenty coal licence areas that lie outside the moratorium area as well.
“During the negotiation of the Draft Caribou Recovery Partnership Agreement, government engaged with industry to identify any existing or planned operations and mines,” says a spokesperson for the government. “The interim moratorium will allow existing mines and operations to continue.”
The mining industry has been proactive in negotiating around this issue, and all the mines currently underway or in development—including Conuma’s proposed Hermann Mine—will not be affected by the moratorium.
The future, however, is not so clear. While large sections of the Peace River Coalfield have been zoned A1—Sustainable Resource Activity Area—not all of it has been. Areas zoned A1 won’t be affected by either the current moratoriums or the proposed Partnership Agreement.
But what happens in 15 or 20 years if mining companies are hoping to open up new areas that fall outside of these areas? That remains to be seen. Fortunately, the industry does have time to figure it out.
