FORDING RIVER

The Site:
Mine Location: The Fording River coal mine is located on Eagle Mountain, 29 km northeast of Elkford, BC.

Mine Type: Fording River is an open-pit coal mine that produces mainly metallurgical (coking) coal, and a small amount of thermal coal.

Type of Deposit: These coal deposits are in the Jurassic-Cretaceous Kootenay Group, a sedimentary rock unit composed of sandstone, siltstone, shale and coal. These rock layers have been folded, faulted and uplifted to form Eagle Mountain. There are 20 mineable coal seams (1 to 13 metres thick) in these sedimentary rocks at the Fording River mine site.

The Operation:
Mining began at Fording River in 1971. Since 1982, mining has been centered on Eagle Mountain, only one of the many areas that have been mined in this operation. Fording River mine is currently owned by Teck through its subsidiary Teck Coal. Every year, this mine produces between 8 and 10 million tonnes of clean coal, and it has proven coal reserves fo 222 million tonnes, which will allow mining to continue for at least 25 more years.

Mining Process:
Mining is done by conventional open pit coal mining methods. Ingersoll-Rand drills are used to drill holes that are filled with ANFO. After blasting, shovels load haul trucks with waste rock for disposal in a waste rock dump. Bulldozers clean the coal seam surface, pushing the broken-up coal down to the bench floor for easy pick-up. Wheel loaders load special haul trucks with coal for transport to a breaker (crusher). In some areas of the mine, a dragline with a 46 cubic metre bucket is also used to remove waste rock above a coal seam, and then to excavate and pile the coal so it can be easily loaded into a haul truck. Over 80 million cubic meters of rock and coal is blasted and hauled each year at Fording River.

Once the coal has been crushed, it is screened to remove large chunks, and then undergoes one of three forms of washing to separate the coal from any other mixed-in sedimentary rock particles. Once sorted and separated from waste rock it is then dried, first by spinning in a cyclone, then by drying in a special furnace which also burns coal for energy. The clean coal is conveyed to a stockpile, then on to a silo at the load-out facility where it is held until it is loaded onto rail cars.

A mine access road has been built between the Fording River and Greenhills mines, both owned by Teck Coal. These sites now share expensive equipment and so make the most use of it. Also, since the road is short, coal from either mine can be hauled and processed at either site, avoiding overworking one plant, while leaving the other idle. Also, service parts for equipment maintenance and repairs are also shared throughout Teck's coal mines situated in the Elk Valley, allowing each site to keep a smaller inventory of costly items.

Ongoing Reclamation:
Fording River is located high in the Rocky Mountains at an elevation where the land is generally covered with spruce and pine forests with patches of sub-alpine meadows. The area is habitat to many mountain dwelling and woodland animals, including bears, cougars, deer, elk, Rocky Mountain sheep and mountain goats. While mining continues, the environmental staff monitor and work toward maintaining clean air and good water quality throughout the site. When the mine closes and the site is entirely reclaimed, the land will be restored for forestry, wildlife habitat and recreation.

Ongoing reclamation work at Fording River has involved re-sloping waste rock dumps from an angle of 37 degrees to 28 degrees and replanting them. This gently-sloping shape lessens soil erosion and makes it easier for seedlings and cuttings to take root and grow. About 40,000 seedlings are planted every year, most of which are started in a greenhouse at the mine. About 20 hectares are re-vegetated each year using special seed mixes or by planting conifer and deciduous tree seedlings. So far more than 700 hectares of disturbed land has been reclaimed at Fording River. These successfully reclaimed areas are also providing forage for wildlife.

Fording River's attention to the environment and its successful reclamation efforts have earned the mine 23 environmental awards since 1978. Most recently it was selected winner of the 2006 Citation for Outstanding Achievement for Reclamation at a Coal Mine at the 28th Annual British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium. This award acknowledges their successes in finding the best methods and timing to reclaim mountainous areas, for their successes in recreating forest and wildlife forage areas, and for restoring fisheries in local rivers that were affected by mining.

Markets:
Clean, dry coal is loaded into 115-car unit trains for transport from the Elk Valley all the way to Roberts Bank south of Vancouver, a journey of more than 1100 km. There, at Westshore Terminals, the coal is loaded into ships bound for Japan. Fording River has a 15-year contract to supply Japanese steel mills with their coking coal.

The People:
Employment: In 2008, Fording River employed over 900 people directly at the mine. Of these, 47% work in mine operations, 25% work in mine maintenance, 17% work in administration, and 11% work in the processing plant. The average wage is around $25.00 per hour.

Community: About 85% of the employees at Fording River live in Elkford. The rest live in Sparwood, Fernie, and the Cranbrook area, and in the Crowsnest Pass area of Alberta. The mine provides its employees bus transportation from Elkford to the mine site. Many people who live outside of Elkford carpool to town and then catch the bus up to the mine.

The economy of Elkford and other communities thrive because of the earnings of mine employees who live in them. In addition, it is estimated that for every fulltime employee at the mine, another 6 people hold jobs indirectly related to the operation. Fording River, also supports these communities in other ways, by sponsoring special school projects and local sports teams, and by contributing to local charities.

Elkford is the 'Wilderness Capital of BC'. People who live there and others who visit enjoy many outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, camping and golf in the summer, plus downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling in the winter. The community also has an ice arena, a library, a pool, baseball and soccer fields, as well as many small businesses that help create a vibrant community. Special community events, such as Wildcat Days in the summer and Dogsled Races in the winter, draw many people from other parts of BC, Alberta and the United States.

For other Fording River mine information see

Teck Cominco
Mining Technology

Information and uses of: metallurgical coal.
Information and uses of: thermal coal.

April 2009 Update