TERRACE — Develop-
ment at Gulf Canada’s
open pit coal mine pro-
ject at Mt. Klappan is
going forward with few
significant obstacles. If
the trend continues, con-
struction of a full-scale
facility could begin in the
early months of 1987.

by Michael Kelly
Jerry Childs, senior

advisor on coal develop-

ment for Gulf, was in
Terrace recently to up-
date local businessmen
on the project’s current
progress. He spoke at a
luncheon sponsored by
the Terrace and District
Chamber of Commerce. '

The Mt. Klappan coal
discovery is located on
the Spatzizi plateau ap-
proximately 250° kilo-
metres north of Terrace.
The property is in an en-
vironmentally sensitive
area near the tributary
headwaters of the

Skeena, Nass and Stikine:

rivers, and its eastern
boundary abuts on the
Spatzizi Plateau
Wilderness Park. The
find is distinguished by
rich deposits of the
highest grade coal, an-
thracite, which are near
the surface and easily ac-
cessible. Total area of
the property is about
46,000 hectares.
Childs told the
business group that the
Stage I “conceptual”
report on the mine is
complete, and Stage II
has begun. He said that

Chamber of Commerce president, Doug McLeod (left),

recently welcomed Jerry Childs, Gulf Canada’s sentor coal
development advisor, to Terrace. Childs spoke to the local

Chamber about projected developments at the Mt.Klappan ~

coal mine.

the report had to satisfy
two requirements: to
convince a variety of
agencies and interests

that the mining opera-—

tion will not harm the en-
vironment, and to con-
vince Gulf Canada, Ltd.,
that it will be a profitable
long-term enterprise.
Initial work at the site,
Childs said, consisted of
mapping the area and ex-
ploratory drilling to con-
firm the amount of coal
available for extraction.
The initial study con-
cluded that the mine will
be able to produce 1.5
million tons of an-
thracite per year for the
next 20 years.
Childs stated that Gulf
has been working in con-
junction with the Spat-
zizi Association to deter-
mine wildlife popula-
tions and migratory

Regional district notes

In an effort to obtain
first-hand information
on the issue of inland
commercial fishing in the
Skeena River watershed,
directors of the Regional
District of Kitimat-
Stikine will invite
representatives of groups
involved in the question
to address the board at a

' future meeting.

A successful motion
by director Sheila Ryan,
seconded by director
Alice Maitland, in-
structed the regional
district administration to
investigate arrangements
for the proponents to ap-
pear and present their
viewpoints. The ad-
ministration will be at-
tempting to contact Glen
Williams and Michelle
Good of the Gitksan
Wet’suwet’en Tribal

Council, Paddy Green

representing the marine
commercial fishery, and
Gary Miltenberger of the
Skeena Watershed

Colors Helpful

Bright colors in the infant's
room, clothing, blankets and
toys help insure normal develop-
ment of sensory perception,

Sports Fishermen’s

Coalition.

The B.C. Ministry of
Energy, Mines and
Petroleum Resources has
gone on record as oppos-
ing park designation for
the Seven Sisters peaks
area. In a letter to the
northern regional office
of the Ministry of Lands,
Parks and Housing,
geologist Graham Mc-
Laren states that a park
in the Seven Sisters area
would be in conflict with
a number of existing
mineral claims which the
energy ministry con-
siders to be significant.
McLaren adds that fur-
ther exploration can be
expected in the future,
and concludes by advis-
ing that there are other
areas suitable for parks
in the region which have
fewer mineral use values.

A copy of the letter
appeared in the agenda
of the Kitimat-Stikine
Regional District board
meeting May 24. Direc-
tors voted to receive the
letter for information
purposes and passed
over it without com-
ment.

routes which may be af-
fected by the mining
operation. Dimensions
Planning, Gulf’s. en-
vironmental consultants,
have established water
and air quality monitor-

ing to acquire base data

for use in assessing the
plant’s impact after pro-
cessing begins. Childs
also said that a search
for heritage resources,
such as native artifacts
and historical sites, is be-
ing done in the mine
area. ‘“‘There have been
several significant
discoveries on the pro-
perty,’’ he said, ‘‘and
we'll have to preserve
them.”’ . .

He said that the coal

will be transported by

road from the mine to a

Klappan construction may begin

port facility at Stewart.
The -proposed road will
follow the Bell-Irving
River to join Highway 37
north of Meziadin Junc-
tion. Gulf-is considering
use of the Esso dock in
the Stewart harbor, but
Childs. said one of the
problems with using
Stewart as a port is lack
of dry storage for the
masses of coal, which
cannot be. loaded on
ships if it is wet. He add-
ed that engineering and
environmental approval
will be required for both
road and port construc-
tion.

When completed,
Childs stated, the mine
will use ‘‘circulating
fluidized bed boilers” to

‘process the coal. In these

machines the coal will be
funneled. through an up-
draft of hot air which
will remove light par-
ticles and precipitate
them back through the
boiler. He said that the
coal ore at Klappan has a
high calcium content,
which when combined
with sulphur gases under
heat reacts with the
sulphur to form a
precipitate. Adding
limestone to the boiler
process, he said, will
nearly eliminate all
sulphur compounds
from the stack gases.
‘“‘The emissions from
this plant will be below
any standards we’ve ever
seen,”’ he asserted. He

also said that water in
the tailings pond will be
recycled through. the
plant, reducing water de-
mand and liquid ef-
fluent.

Childs estimates the
world market for his
product at 3,525,000
tons per year, Gulf’s
primary target is solid
fuel home heating, for
which the coal would be
formed into cylindrical
briquettes and burned in
small cast-iron stoves.
Childs said that the price
of anthracite is not
directly connected to
world oil price levels
because anticipated sales
will be to rural areas
where heating options
such as fuel oil and
natural gas are not
available. Lower grades
of coal are unsuitable
due to high ash content.
Tests done on the Klap-
pan coal, he said, show-
ed an. ash content of six
to ten percent.

Childs concluded by

Terrace Review — Wednesday, June 4, 1986 3

next year

estimating the start-up
cost of the mine at $300
million; and he said that
the _ construction phase
will take two years. In
full production - the
operation will employ

about 300 full-time.

workers at the mine site
and an additional 230 in
transportation. ‘‘Any
community in the region

- will have the opportunity

to contribute workers to
this project,’ he said,
and noted that during
the pilot phase when
there were about 100
employees at the mine,
75 percent of those were
local people. ‘‘Local
employment and _ local
purchase of goods and
services whenever possi-
ble are long-standing
policies of Gulf,’’ he
said.

Gulf’s Stage HI report
on the Mt. Klappan coal
development is schedul-

ed for presentation to.

northwest communities
near the end of 1986.

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