PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal hopeful Atrum Coal has suspended the scoping study on its Groundhog project, in British Columbia, with the company saying it will continue to evaluate "all options" for the Groundhog and Panorama projects.
The scoping study for Groundhog is due for completion in the first quarter of this year.
Groundhog is estimated to host over one-billion tonnes of resource, with 156-million tonnes contained in the measured category, 453-million in the indicated, and 407-million in the inferred.
Atrum’s share trade on the ASX was suspended in March, after the ASX determined that the company’s level of operations no longer warranted the continued quotation of its securities, as Atrum tussles with the government of Alberta, Canada, over its Elan coal project in the region.
The company is also in the midst of a claim against the government of Alberta for the de facto expropriation of its Elan coal leases.
The company was in 2021 forced to pause a prefeasibility study for the Elan project after the government of Alberta took a decision to reinstate the previously rescinded Coal Development Policy for Alberta.
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.