Name: Greenhills operations (GHO).

Location: The mine is located in the East Kootenay region of south-eastern British Columbia, in Canada.

Controlling Company: The mine is a joint venture between Teck Coal, a subsidiary of Teck Resources (80%) and POSCO Canada (20%).

Brief Description: Teck Coal Limited’s Greenhills Operations (GHO) comprises one operating surface mine along with several areas planned for surface mine development held under multiple contiguous coal leases and licences. The total area of the GHO property is 11 806 ha.

GHO currently produces coal from three active pit phases –  Cougar pit phases 4, 5 and  – using openpit coal mining methods. Future developments are planned for Cougar phases 7 to 11.

Brief History: The mine has been in operation since 1983, under various ownership.

Products: Metallurgical coal.

Geology/Mineralisation: GHO coal resources are contained in the Mist Mountain formation of the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous age Kootenay Group. Interbedded sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and coal seams were deposited throughout this period. Subsequent to deposition, the sediments were impacted on by the mountain building movements of the late Cretaceous to early Tertiary Laramide Orogeny, which produced the structural features that currently dominate the area.

North-trending thrust faults associated with the tectonic movements have resulted in repetition of all or parts of the coal sequence. Thrust faults have repeated coal seams and whole blocks of the coal-bearing Mist Mountain Formation. Subsequent north-trending normal faults have also displaced the sequence.

The major, regional structural features of the Fording river valley are two north-south-trending asymmetric synclines containing near horizontal to steep westerly dipping thrust faults and a few high angle normal faults. The Greenhills syncline is located to the west of the Fording river with the Alexander Creek syncline to the east. The synclines are separated by the regional Erickson Normal Fault located on the western bank of the Fording river.

Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2017, were estimated at 165.2-million tonnes.

Resources: Total resources as at December 31, 2017, were estimated at 176.6-million tonnes in the measured category, 247.1-million tonnes in the indicated category and 181.6-million in the inferred category.

Mining Method: GHO is an openpit truck-and-shovel operation.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The basic operation of a coal processing plant is separation by gravity. Based on the difference in specific gravity of coal and rock, the coal can be separated to a desired specification. To assist gravity separation, mechanical means are also used.
At GHO, this is accomplished through vibrating screens, cyclones, spirals, and flotation cells. Each technique contributes to the recovery of clean coal from the raw coal feed.

Other on-site infrastructure includes an electrical power system, haul roads, a coal conveyor system, rail loadout, maintenance shops, laboratory and all accessory facilities.

Prospects: Proven and probable reserves at Greenhills are projected to support mining at current planned production rates for a further 31 years.

Contact Details:
Teck Cominco
Tel +1 604 699 4000
Fax +1 604 699 4750
Email investors@teck.com
Website https://www.teck.com