Northback Holdings Corp., owned by Australian mining giant Hancock Prospecting, is preparing to submit another proposal to the Alberta Energy Regulator for a coal mine on Grassy Mountain.
In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Northback CEO Mike Young pitched a new and improved plan. He said it would include a “multi-tier” water treatment system to try to avoid selenium contamination. Water use would be reduced, and waste rock would be dumped into the mine pit instead of a nearby creek. The mine would be 40 per cent smaller than the original proposal.
Northback’s new proposal comes after the UCP government lifted the moratorium on new coal applications in January. The province has not yet completed its Coal Industry Modernization Initiative, which will outline environmental protections needed for future mining projects.
It’s likely no coincidence that Northback is submitting its proposal before these new rules are put in place.
Red flags
Hancock Prospecting, which banked $5 billion in profits in 2023, has been trying for several years to open a new coal mine on Grassy Mountain. Benga Mining, another Hancock shell company, submitted a coal mine plan that was full of holes and in 2021, a joint review panel of the federal government and the AER rejected it.
“In our capacity as a panel of AER hearing commissioners, we find that the project’s significant adverse environmental effects on surface water quality and westslope cutthroat trout and habitat outweigh the low to moderate positive economic impacts of the project. Therefore, we find that the project is not in the public interest,” wrote the panel in its decision.
The idea of renewed coal mining on Grassy Mountain should have died on the cutting room floor with these findings.
No easy fix for selenium
Selenium is one of the major toxins released by coal mining. In high quantities, it poses a public health risk and harms aquatic life. There is currently no cost-effective way to stop selenium exposed by coal mining from leaching into watersheds, nor to remove it once it’s in the water.
Sixty years after mines were abandoned, previous coal mining activities in Grassy Mountain are still affecting downstream water quality. Alberta government scientists recently discovered selenium levels in Crowsnest Lake so high that the province issued a warning not to eat fish from the lake. The report concluded that “any further coal mine development may well push the Crowsnest fishery beyond sustainability.”
Decades of coal mining in BC’s Elk Valley have also caused a toxic selenium mess that could top $6 billion to clean up, according to a report published last year.
Northback’s plan to “try” to stop selenium from entering streams and lakes simply isn’t good enough.
Suing and seeking project approval at the same time
Northback is currently suing the provincial government over its regulatory process at the same time as it’s seeking the greenlight for its Grassy Mountain project.
Premier Smith and Energy Minister Brian Jean have made it clear that they’re behind the Grassy Mountain coal mine. They often cite a vote held in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, showing more than 70 percent of residents in support of the project, to explain why they want to revive coal mining in the area. It’s worth noting that prior to the referendum, Northback heavily lobbied the town, hosting wine and cheese nights and writing cheques to the local ATV club. The proposed mine is also not within Crowsnest Pass boundaries. It’s in the M.D. of Ranchland, whose citizens downstream of Grassy Mountain are against the mine.
The UCP will likely apply political pressure on the AER to approve the proposal and try to make Northback’s lawsuit go away. They’ve used this argument before. As Premier Danielle Smith said in January, her government’s decision to lift the coal mining moratorium was made to spare the public the cost of court settlements with five coal mining companies, including Northback.
Chequebook diplomacy
Northback argues that a new coal mine will grow the region’s economy and will create hundreds of jobs. Northback CEO of Projects, Sanjiv Manchanda, told the Globe and Mail that the company has injected millions into the community.
“We don’t even have a project built, and we’ve spent between $155- and $170-million on local contractors, vendors, staff, payroll and everything else,” he said.
Investing in a depressed community to buy support for a project that has already been deemed bad for the environment and public interest is a troublesome strategy at best.
Get the coal house in order
Hancock, through its subsidiary Northback, has deep enough pockets to play the long game for a short-term fortune on the Eastern Slopes. Alberta doesn’t have that luxury with these essential watersheds.
The provincial government needs to get its coal mining policy in order. That means taking the recommendations of the 2021 Coal Policy Committee and incorporating them into the Coal Industry Modernization Initiative. Getting its marching orders from coal industry opportunists who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer is the worst way to go.
Albertans deserve so much better.
