Name of the Project
Tenas coal project.

Location
British Columbia, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Allegiance Coal.

Project Description
A definitive feasibility study has reinforced the potential of the Telkwa metallurgical coal complex, with excellent results from the Tenas project highlighting an extremely robust project.

Run-of-mine (RoM) coal production from Tenas is estimated at 22-million tonnes.

The project envisages an operation producing 750 000 t/y of saleable coal over a 22-year mine life by extracting just 15% of the entire Telkwa resource.

The project will comprise:

• a single openpit mine;
• typical openpit mine operations equipment, including 91 t dump trucks, excavators and dozers;
• waste-rock dumps outside the pit and back-fill dumps during mining within the pit;
• diversion ditches to divert ‘contact’ water into the water management ponds;
• water management ponds to submerge potentially acid leaching waste rock under water during mining;
• a sedimentation pond;
•  
• a dedicated pipeline from the sedimentation pond to a water course for discharge;
• RoM coal haul roads from pit operations to the coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP);
• a CHPP and associated infrastructure;
• mine infrastructure;
• a 3 km powerline;
• a dedicated 16 km private clean coal haul road from the CHPP to the rail loadout;
• several small bridges along the clean coal haul road; and
• a rail loop and loadout facility adjacent to Canadian National Railway’s main line to Ridley terminals.

Potential Job Creation
At full production, the mine will average 95 mineworkers and 29 mine maintenance workers, along with technical support and supervisory staff.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of A$407.3-million and an internal rate of return of 56.9%, with a capital payback after the start of production of 2.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
Start-up capital expenditure is estimated at $54.3-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Allegiance plans to secure permits to mine over the next 18 months to bring the Tenas project into production.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
SRK Consulting (geotechnical engineering, geochemistry, coal reserves and mining, water management and hydrogeology); Sedgman (coal processing and quality); MCA Engineering and BV Electric (power); independent geologist – Ron Parent (geology and resources); Hooper Engineering and Morch Engineering (rail loop); DWB Engineering (mine access road and bridges); and Kobie Koornhof & Associates (coal analysis and marketing).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Allegiance Coal, tel +61 2 9233 5579 or email info@allegiancecoal.com.au.