BRULE (WILLOW CREEK)

The Site:
Mine Location: Western Canadian Coal's Brule (Willow Creek) mine is an open-pit coal mine producing primarily pulverized coal injection. It is located about 45 km south-southwest of Chetwynd.

Mine Type:
The Brule mine is an open pit mine that produces primarily metallurgical (coking) coal.

Type of Deposit:
The Brule development is the successor to the Dillon Mine. Like other mines in the region the coal in the rock is in tight upright folds and is accessed through steep pit walls.

The Operation:
The Brule deposit is part of the large range of coal mines in the region. The Brule pit was opened in 2007 and has produced 1.3 million tones of coal annually. Western Canadian Coal is expected to raise coal production to 2 million tones annually starting in 2010. The Willow Creek pit of the Brule Development is currently on care and maintenance and only the Brule pit is currently being mined

Mining Process:
Traditional open pit mining methods are used to mine coal at Brule. Explosives are inserted in the vertical benches at the walls of the pit and detonated several times daily. Hydraulic excavators and vehicular loaders are used to scoop up the broken coals into haul trucks. The coal is trucked the former Dillon processing plant which is located nearby.

Only rudimentary refining and processing is done at the on-site processing plant. The coal is loaded onto a conveyor and moved to a rudimentary crushing system which breaks the coal down into smaller pieces. The coal is then spray washed to keep dust down and then loaded on coal cars.

Markets:
The major market for coal from Brule is South Korea. Coal is shipped via train to Prince Rupert and the Vancouver ports where it is loaded on ships to Asia.

The People:
The Brule mine currently employs over 80 workers on-site in a variety of mining positions. When the Willow Creek pit is operating the mine adds another 60 workers.

For more detailed information on Brule (Willow Creek) visit Western Canadian Coal's Web site.

August 2009 Update