Resource World Magazine

j u n e / j u l y 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 43 Nestled in the Elk Valley, not far from the Alberta border in southeastern British Columbia, Sparwood is not just known for well-paying jobs in the coal mining indus- try; the town of about 4,000 also offers its residents outstanding recreational oppor- tunities – both inside and outdoors. Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. [TCK.B-TSX; TCK-NYSE] subsidiary, Teck Coal, operates five steelmaking coal mines in the Elk Valley that employ some 4,000 workers: Fording River, Greenhills, Line Creek, Elkview and Coal Mountain. In 2014, Teck Coal produced 26.7 mil- lion tonnes of steelmaking coal which accounted for 32% of its business in 2014. Nic Milligan, Manager, Community & Aboriginal Affairs for Teck Coal, spoke to Resource World from his office in Sparwood. "Our organization is proud to have a positive and long-term relationship with all the local communities in the Elk Valley and the Crowsnest Pass, includ- ing the District of Sparwood. Our desire is for the communities to derive sustain- able benefits and opportunities as a result of their interactions with Teck and our operations." Milligan said that over the years Teck has developed collaborative partnerships and has worked to minimize its impact on those communities and maximize their benefits in a way that contributes to the communities' long-term well being. The company is involved in various community activities as a participant and a sponsor. There are a great many related service and support industries for Teck's coal oper- ations in BC; provincially, this totals about 26,000 jobs. Milligan noted that Teck has over a hundred years of coal reserves at its five steelmaking coal mines with per- mitting activities underway to extend the timeline. The price of coal has taken a hit, but it's not all bad news. "The lower Canadian dol- lar and lower diesel fuel prices are having a significant positive impact across our oper- ations," he said. "Every one-cent change in the Canadian-US dollar exchange rate generates about $50 million of additional EBITA [earnings before interest, taxes and amortization] for Teck annually. Every US $1 per barrel drop in the price of oil reduces our operations costs by about $5 million per year." Milligan commented that "if we look at our coal operations for the first quarter of 2015, the falling Canadian dollar and lower oil prices, plus our cost reduction program, contribute to our coal's unit costs falling by about $18 per tonne compared to 2014." "We have an innovative water quality plan to ensure the health of the Elk River Valley watershed while also supporting continued sustainable mining in the Elk Valley," he said. "The plan was developed through a ground-breaking process that included extensive public consultation and guidance from a multi-party technical advisory committee with representation from the Ktunaxa First Nation, provincial and federal governments, the US govern- ment and third-party scientists." Milligan remarked that Teck is con- templating three treatment facilities with the first one at the Line Creek opera- tions expected to be in operation by this September. Teck is in the planning stage for the second facility at Fording River which is expected to be operating by 2018. Sparwood Mayor, Cal McDougall, said the town has an excellent relationship with Teck Coal. "We have worked well together for a number of years. There are good lines of communication connecting municipal staff, Council and managerial personnel at Teck as well as other channels." McDougall notes that one recent ini- tiative is the Elk Valley-Crowsnest Pass Communities of Interest Advisory Initiative which was established to foster dialogue and communications about Teck's opera- tions and their areas of influence within the community. "It provides a great two-way Sparwood and teck Coal – a mutually beneficial relationship by Ellsworth Dickson A view Sparwood, southeast British Columbia. Photo by Henry Georgi Photography. continued on page 61 miNiNg

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