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Canada

Sukunka Project

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Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
Study CompletedPrefeasibility
StatusInactive / Suspended
Commodities
  • Coal (metallurgical)
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotAccording to the Project Description dated 2013, the Sukunka coal project was proposed as an integrated surface and underground mining operation.

On June 9, 2015, the EAO amended the Section 11 Order, pursuant to Section 13 of the Act, to reflect changes to Sukunka, including the removal of the underground mine and dedicated tailings storage facility.

On August 4, 2015, Glencore plc applied for an Environmental Assessment Certificate to construct and operate an open pit coal mine to produce metallurgical coal and coal processing plant with mine life expected to exceed 20 years.

On December 21, 2022, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation have not issued an Environmental Assessment Certificate for the Project. As a result, the project is presumed cancelled.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Glencore plc. 100 % Indirect
Sukunka Project at 100% owned by Glencore.

Deposit type

  • Sedimentary

Summary:

The Sukunka Project lies within the elongate, disturbed Foothills sedimentary belt of northeastern British Columbia. The coal licenses are underlain by the transgressive/regressive Lower Cretaceous Bullhead and Fort St. John Groups that consist of fluviodeltaic and marine terrigenous clastic sediments that have a maximum composite thickness, excluding those of the Minnes Group, of 1,100 m. The oldest lithologies exposed within the property belong to the Minnes Group. That unit is overlain by the Cadomin, Gething, Moosebar, Gates, Hulcross and Boulder Creek Formations.

In the southern half of the Peace River Coal District the coal beds within the Gates Formation constitute the primary exploration target. Recent mine developments and coal exploration activities have focused on these coals. The Gates Formation is an 80 to 280 m thick interstratified sequence of mainly non-marine sandstone, conglomerate, coal, shale and mudstone. It is separated from the underlying Gething Formation by interstratified fine grained marine deposits assigned to the Moosebar Formation. Within the formation, eleven coal beds that have a maximum thickness of about 10 m and an aggregate thickness of up to 46 m have been reported. Four or five laterally extensive seams, ranging in thickness from 5 to 10 m, are common between Kakwa and Sukunka rivers. The Peace River Arch apparently controlled the northern extent of alluvial-deltaic environments where the major coal beds originated.

Structural deformation of the Cretaceous sequence in the district is characterized by en echelon, northwest-plunging anticlines and synclines, and by southwest-dipping low and medium angle thrust faults, which have repeatedly brought coal measures to the surface. Locally, the tectonic activity has resulted in a thickening of coal beds. At a mesoscopic scale, fault and fold structures can be complex and mining operations can be significantly complicated.

Although the rank of coals that occur in the Gething and Gates Formations ranges from high volatile A to low volatile bituminous, most of the resource is classified as medium volatile bituminous. In some areas mean maximum vitrinite reflectance values exceed 1.5 percent, indicating a rank of semi-anthracite. The coals commonly have sulphur contents of less than 1 percent wt and excellent coking properties. Locally the upper seam in the Gething Formation can have sulphur contents up to about 1.5 percent. Coals within both formations have similar characteristics, and those in the Gates Formation are similar to those of the Luscar Group in the southern Inner Foothills.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Commodity Production

CommodityUnitsAvg. Annual
Coal (metallurgical) Mt 3
All production numbers are expressed as clean coal.

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual production capacity  ....  Subscribe
Raw coal annual capacity  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Waste tonnes, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required May 15, 2025

Workforce

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2022
...... Subscription required 2013

Aerial view:

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