Name of the Project
Elan hard coking coal project.

Location
Southern Alberta, in Canada.

Project Owner/s
Coal developer Atrum Coal.

Project Description
An updated scoping study has incorporated the recent Isolation South resource upgrade into an enlarged and enhanced mine schedule for the Elan project, which also displaces all Elan South mining to drive project simplification, permitting efficiency and development fast-tracking.

However, there is potential for Elan South to be permitted and mined in the future as an expansion development and/or mine life extension for the Elan project.

Total  project resources are currently 486-million tonnes comprising measured resources of seven-million tonnes, indicated resources of 228-million tonnes and inferred resources of 252-million tonnes.

The updated scoping study envisages a nameplate mining and processing capacity of ten-million tonnes a year run-of-mine (RoM) for six-million tonnes a year of hard coking coal product.

Total RoM coal has increased from 126-million tonnes to 187-million tonnes.

Initial life-of-mine has increased from 15 years in the April 2020 scoping study to 21 years in the updated November 2020 scoping study.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project’s after-tax net present value has increased from $860-million, at a 9% discount rate, in the scoping study to $1.4-billion in the updated scoping study.

The internal rate of return has also increased from 25% in the April 2020 scoping study to 28.8% in the November 2020 updated scoping study. The payback period has decreased from 4.4 years from first production in the April 2020 scoping study to 3.7 years in the updated scoping study.

Capital Expenditure
Total preproduction capital expenditure has increased by $90-million, from $683-million in the April 2020 scoping study to an estimated $773-million in the November 2020 updated scoping study.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Atrum Coal is continuing its information drive for its Elan coal project.

The company was forced to pause a prefeasibility study in 2021 after the government of Alberta decided to reinstate the previously rescinded Coal Development Policy.

The policy dictates the condition for coal leasing, exploration and development, and prohibits future coal exploration approvals on particular land types.

Elan is located on land designated as Category 2 under the coal policy, referring to land not normally considered for openpit coal mining unless appropriate environmental stewardship is applied.

Meanwhile, fellow coal developer Benga Mining, which is hoping to develop the Grassy Mountain coal project, also in Alberta, has also encountered problems.

Benga, along with two First Nations groups, applied for permission to appeal the provision component of the Joint Review Panel (JRP) decision, which had found that the project was not in the public’s best interest.

The single appeal judge has now denied all three applications for permission to appeal; the three parties will, consequently, not be able to appeal the JRP decision.

However, Benga and the two First Nations groups have also filed a judicial review challenge of the provincial component of the JRP decision with Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench.

Atrum nonexecutive chairperson Glen Koropchuk has said that Atrum will take all learning opportunities, including the decisions of the JRP on the Grassy Mountain project, to work with its own indigenous and local community stakeholders to improve its Elan project environmentally and socioeconomically.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Palaris Australia (coal technical consultant).

Contact Details for Project Information
Atrum Coal, tel +61 3 8395 5446 or email info@atrumcoal.com.