Earlier this year, Conuma released its third-annual sustainability report, which looks at the company’s financial and environmental sustainability in 2023.
The company is the second largest mining operator in BC, with over 1000 employees. In 2023, the three mines that make up Conuma—Brule, Willow Creek and the now-defunct Wolverine Mine—exported over five million tonnes of steelmaking coal.
The mine also supports about 3000 indirect jobs in BC and across Canada, including working with 20 Indigenous and 150 regional vendors.
CAO Brian Sullivan says 2023 was the best year ever for the company. “We achieved record annual production and sales of steelmaking coal at 5.1 and 5.2 million tonnes, respectively,” says Sullivan. “At the same time, we had an outstanding safety performance, as measured by our Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR), which was less than one-third of the mining industry average for BC.”
He says that in the eight years that Conuma has been active, it has produces over 27 million tonnes of steelmaking coal. Not only that, but the company has “contributed over six billion dollars in foreign currency earnings for BC and Canada.”
Safety, he says, is core to everything we do at Conuma. “We are delighted to highlight a remarkable decrease of almost 60 percent in the rate of work injuries from 2022 to 2023. In a triumph of safety excellence, our Willow Creek and Brule operations closed out 2023 with an outstanding achievement – zero lost time injuries (LTIs) for all employees and onsite contractors. This milestone represents an impressive cumulative effort of nearly two million hours worked without a single LTI at these two operations. Our unwavering commitment persists: to elevate the well- being of those working with us, cultivating a community of healthy, engaged, and fulfilled individuals who actively contribute to building more resilient communities.”
Conuma’s injury rates are well below the BC provincial industry average, according to the report. “As per the rates tracked by the Mining Association of BC (MABC), Conuma ended 2023 with a total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR) that was one-half of the MABC rate. Further, Conuma’s lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) was below one-third of the MABC industry average for 2023.”
Injury rates were cut in half compared to the previous year. “This was achieved through the concerted efforts of all teams at our sites and with the support of our senior management team.”
Tellingly, says the report, the decline in incidents was consistent with an upward trend in total overburden and coal production, which increased by over 10 percent in 2023.
According to the report, Conuma has coal reserves exceeding 285 million tonnes. At about five million tonnes per year, that means the company has 57 years worth of coal.
“We aim to become Canada’s premier low-cost, sustainable steelmaking coal exporter,” says the report. “‘Premier’ to us signifies safe and profitable steelmaking coal operations that produce low-carbon-intensity products our customers want, while creating tangible, lasting value for our employees, business partners, Indigenous Nations and local communities.”
It also means implementing mining, processing, water and wildlife management, and “progressive reclamation that minimize environmental impacts and restore the environment for current and future generations. We aim to conduct our operations on as small a footprint as reasonably possible, and to continue efforts to mine in areas that have already been disturbed.”
The company aims to bring “significant value” to their sustainability efforts, especially in the local communities. “Given the importance of our role in Northeast BC, we continue to ensure that our decision-making process encompasses a comprehensive range of values.
This past year, our engagement efforts with local Indigenous Nations and municipalities reached a new threshold with over 700 engagement activities relating to our operations, projects and business. We also participated in and supported more than 40 community events.”
Sustainable resource development, says the report, provides meaningful benefits to Indigenous Nations and local communities. “Our regional spending in 2023 exceeded $170 million; we also substantially increased our spending with indigenous-owned or affiliated businesses, reaching $78 million in 2023, more than double our expenditures in 2022. This significant growth is a testament to our purposeful efforts to expand the local economic benefit of our operations to Treaty 8 Nations and contribute to local Indigenous Nations’ commercial capacity. This signifies our current success and promises a bright future for enduring, mutually beneficial partnerships.”
Sustainability is important to the company. “Sustainability shapes our strategic direction as a premier supplier of steelmaking coal that contributes to the low-carbon economy and global energy evolution. The steel made using our products is essential for worldwide development, including the construction and distribution of renewable power. In operating and growing our business, we focus on responsible production. We seek to generate lasting value for the communities in which we operate, providing opportunities to employees, Indigenous Nations and communities. Equally important is our commitment to responsible environmental stewardship.”
With two mines reaching end-of-life this year, they are focused on bringing those mines to a close. “Our reclamation standards focus on achieving the end land use goals of: re-establishing the land capability to pre-disturbance conditions; fostering the return of appropriate self-sustaining forested ecosystems, typical in the pre-disturbance local landscape, provides a habitat capable of supporting local wildlife; and incorporating traditional knowledge about land use and restoration from our Indigenous Nation partners into land planning.”
Sustainability for the company includes securing, permitting, and efficiently operating cost-effective reserves for the long term. “With the permitted Wolverine and Brule mine reserves depleting in 2024, the Quintette property, with more than 40 million tonnes of permitted reserves sustains operations and benefits.”
In 2023, the company saw 41 percent higher production, with a drop of 27 percent in carbon intensity. They also saw a seven percent improvement in fuel efficiency and a five percent increase in employee productivity. They planted 103,000 trees, treated 6,000 cubic metres of water that came in contact with their mining operations every day, and held 600 external engagement sessions on their operations and projects.
Conuma paid $70 million for work completed by local indigenous-owned businesses, supported 40 different community events and seeded 26 hectares of reclaimed areas.
The mine also worked with its suppliers to reduce carbon intensity, to expand health and safety programs (including a focus on mental health and overall wellness); to identify electrification and energy efficiency opportunities; to supporting successful partnerships with Indigenous Nations and their businesses and affiliates; to Refine waste management practices, including expanded recycling; to share learning and to increase diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Engagement with vendors and customers will continue through 2024 and beyond,” says the report.
In September 2023, the company implemented a new Safety Leadership Training program. “More than 170 frontline supervisors and managers attended the training, ensuring our operations leaders have the knowledge and skills to drive our values of safety excellence and zero harm.”
In mid-2023, Conuma expanded its emergency response program and crisis management capabilities. “Our separate site-specific Mine Emergency Response plans were updated and consolidated into a single plan for consistency across the Company. Using the Emergency Response Plan as our guide, scenario training was conducted at all sites to prepare key personnel to respond to a crisis. The advancement of our crisis management capabilities will continue in the future, with several important initiatives that will further expand the program. First and foremost, all our key leadership personnel – from frontline site supervisors up to our senior executives – will be trained in the Incident Command System (ICS). This standardized crisis response system will significantly improve our ability to handle incidents of all types effectively, whether at the site level or company-wide.”
Conuma invested heavily in improving fire protection capacity in 2023, including procuring dedicated fire trucks for each operation. “These have been outfitted with ancillary equipment geared to in the unique environment of our mines. The fire trucks are an essential complement to our existing mine rescue vehicles. Furthermore, we have deployed specialized units for fighting wildfires at all sites, further enhancing our capacity in this critical function.”
In response to the 2023 Tumbler Ridge wildfire, Conuma completed a thorough review of emergency response plans, taking what they learned from the wildfire and integrating that into even more robust emergency response plans.
Last year saw the company hire a new Mine Rescue and Emergency Response Manager. “Since then, our training program has been greatly expanded, as has the complement of vital equipment available for our personnel to respond to critical incidents. Furthermore, our roster of qualified, trained, and motivated mine rescue team members almost tripled since the introduction of this new role.” They even sent a team to compete in the provincial mine rescue competition, held in Williams Lake, BC. “The competition was in mid-June 2023, immediately after the Tumber Ridge wildfire threat receded. Our team decided to go ahead and compete, despite not yet fully recovering from fighting the wildfire. While our team did not win the event, we were recognized for our dedication by being presented with the Resilience Award, a new prize created to justifiably recognize the spirit of the team.”
Last year, the company launched an updated industrial hygiene monitoring program to quantify and identify root causes of employee exposure to silica, coal dust and noise in high-exposure work roles. “This program will continue to expand in 2024, emphasizing putting permanent controls in place where elevated risk is found.”
Conuma is aiming to reduce carbon intensity by 15 percent per tonne of steelmaking coal produced by 2030 (compared with the base year 2019). “Our key focus is reducing fossil fuel usage, but we continue to explore several energy supply and demand fronts to inform the best path forward.”
One of the key focus areas in 2023 was reducing the unnecessary idling of mining equipment.” To achieve this, we implemented a new idling policy, which requires, among other things, equipment not to be idled when the ambient temperature is above 10°C. We also worked with our operational, maintenance and technology teams and our major vendors to produce real-time idling reports and create consumption visibility, accountability, and responsibility for reducing idling. Finally, we worked on a communications plan, including posters to encourage operators to think about fuel consumption and turn off equipment when not being used.”
While this is partially driven by environmental concerns, it is also driven by financial concerns as taxes have pushed the cost of diesel up $0.40/litre. “We understand and support a carbon tax system that is implemented in a manner focused on actual emissions reduction and more efficient production levels. This system should simultaneously ensure BC businesses remain cost-competitive with other global producers. The dialogue between the BC Government and industry on carbon tax has been intensive and constructive and it has been encouraging to see reason prevail in 2023 when implementing carbon legislation. Broad- scale electrification and delivery of mobile mining equipment that meets our required capacity are still many years in the future. Electrically powered large excavation and drilling equipment are currently available.”
However, says the report, the bulk of the diesel consumed in surface mines is by large haul trucks, with the first production-ready battery-powered electric trucks are only expected in 2028. And, since haul trucks have a life span of ten years, and companies need a few years to spin up production, it is likely that widespread adoption of fully electric haul trucks in mining will not occur until the mid-2030s. “Additionally, to meet the high power demands of these vehicles, a significant increase in electricity generation and distribution to operations will be required. The best short-term opportunity to reduce greenhouse gases is sourcing and using renewable diesel, technically referred to as hydrogenated derived renewable diesel (HDRD). HDRD is a biogenic fuel produced by integrating hydrogen with organic materials such as vegetable oils and animal fats, resulting in a high-quality, lower-emission alternative to traditional petroleum diesel.” The company says it will work with suppliers and equipment manufacturers to address the significant challenges with HDRD, which include “supply, functionality at frigid temperatures, and procurement costs.”
The company expects to be start using HDRD in “material volumes” starting this summer. “Subject to the operability of using and commercials of sourcing HDRD, this significant change will be the largest contributor to ensuring Conuma meets and exceeds its target of reducing its carbon intensity by 15 percent by 2030. The renewable fuel and carbon taxation landscapes are rapidly evolving in North America, and given our annual procurement of 80 to 90 million litres of diesel a year, the future of lower carbon fuel sourcing remains both a significant risk and opportunity, and one we will carefully navigate to reduce our carbon intensity.”
At Quintette, the company is building a new overland conveyor to transport coal from the mining pits to the processing plant. The conveyor will result in at least five fewer large haul trucks being required for the mine, says the report, thereby reducing emissions. “We also installed a belt filter press system in the Quintette processing plant to remove excess water from processed coal. This system replaces the thermal dryer previously used at the handling and processing plant onsite, further reducing emissions from the operation. Additionally, the belt filter press has the benefit of requiring less electrical energy to operate than the thermal dryer.”
The company has an agreement with BC Hydro for 32 MW of power at Quintette, which allows the company to consider the introduction of electric shovels and production drills to the mine in the future. “This has the potential to both reduce emissions and lower operating costs. The Governments of Canada and BC, as well as BC Hydro, have several incentive programs to support emissions reduction and energy efficiency projects by industry. In partnership with Governments, these programs will be used for future energy reduction initiatives.”
Currently, diesel fuel is Conuma’s primary fuel source and is used in mining and transporting overburden and steelmaking coal. “Total diesel consumption makes up around two-thirds of our CO2 emissions.”
Meanwhile, most of the electricity is used in processing plants and maintenance workshops. “As reported by BC Hydro, over 98 percent of the electricity supplied to our operations is generated from renewable sources, meaning that our Scope 2 emissions are near zero.”
For more information and to read the full report, go to conumaresources.com.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
