Mining Intelligence and News
Canada

Elkview Mine

Click for more information

Categories

Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Coal (metallurgical)
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotElkview Operations produces steelmaking coal - also called metallurgical coal or coking coal - which is used to make steel. Teck exports the processed coal by sea to the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere. This involves the shipment of the steelmaking coal from the mine site to bulk port terminals in Vancouver by rail. It is then loaded on to larger seagoing vessels, which carry it to our target markets.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Posco Group Inc. 3 % Indirect
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. 20 % Indirect
Teck Resources Ltd. 77 % Indirect
In November 2023, Teck Resources entered into separate agreements to sell steelmaking coal business to Glencore Plc (Glencore), Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) and POSCO (the Steelmaking Coal Business Unit Transactions).

On January 1, 2024, in connection with the Steelmaking Coal Business Unit Transactions Teck Resources completed an internal reorganization of the steelmaking coal business unit to align all steelmaking coal assets, including Teck Coal Partnership and Elkview Mining Limited Partnership, under a newly organized Elk Valley Mining Limited Partnership (EVM LP).

On January 3, 2024, Teck completed the NSC and POSCO Transactions, with NSC and POSCO acquiring a 20% and 3% interest, respectively, in EVM LP. Following the NSC and POSCO Transactions, EVM LP now holds a 100% interest in all of the steelmaking coal operations and Teck holds a 77% interest in EVM LP, with NSC and POSCO holding the remaining 20% and 3%, respectively.

Contractors

Lock

- subscription is required.

Deposit type

  • Sedimentary

Summary:

The Elkview mine is located within the Crowsnest Coalfield in the Elk Valley. The coal measures are situated within the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Kootenay Group sediments.

From earliest to latest, the Kootenay Group includes:
• Morrissey Formation: sandstones; subdivided into the Weary Ridge and Moose Mountain Members; 20–80 m in thickness;
• Mist Mountain Formation: interbedded sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, shale and thin to thick seams of bituminous to semi-anthracite coal; 450–550 m in thickness;
• Elk Formation: interbedded sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, shale and locally thick beds of chert-pebble conglomerate and thin seams of high volatile bituminous coal; 350–450 m in thickness.

The geology within the Elkview Project area dips towards the west at approximately 20º and plunges gradually to the south at about 4–8º.

The Mist Mountain Formation contains approximately 25 coal seams of potential economic interest, consisting of medium to high volatile bituminous coal.

Within the coal measures, there are three structurally separated coalfields, the Elk Valley, Crowsnest, and Flathead coalfields. Elkview is situated on the northern end of the Crowsnest coalfield. The Crowsnest coalfield is bounded by the west-dipping Erickson normal fault on the east and the Bourgeau thrust fault on the west.

The major structure in the Project area is a southwest plunging syncline, the Sparwood (Michel) Syncline. Multiple thrust faults and normal faults occur throughout the Project area, mostly striking in a northwest to southeast orientation. The thrust faults generally dip west to southwest at inclinations of 20–50º. This has resulted in coal seam repeats and structural deformation and complexity along the thrust fault boundaries, by overlapping and drag folding.

The tectonic thickening of the basal 10-seam is an important factor in mine planning.

The Mist Mountain Formation depth of burial ranges from surface exposures to >750 m. The coal measures on the EVO contain bituminous grade coal seams with varying volatile matter contents. The coal quality varies with depth of burial and location along the strike of the deposit. Seams may range in thickness from <1 m to >15 m.

Seams range in rank from high to low volatile bituminous and are numbered from 10 at the base, upwards to 1, with additional seams A through D at the top of the 600 m thick stratigraphic column. All mineable coal seams in Baldy, Adit and Natal Ridges are within the Mist Mountain Formation. A portion of the Fernie Formation occurs at the top of Adit Ridge.

These are the areas in which over thrusted repeats of 10-seam may be found due to the thrust fault thickening, and as such, required an increased drilling density to maintain the geological assurance. Zones of complex geology pass through Baldy Ridge, Adit Ridge and Natal Ridge and are adjacent to the fault lines. About half of the deposit at EVO is classified as complex, with the remaining half classified as moderate.

EVO produces both hard coking coal and semi-hard coking coal products which are derived from the mineable coal seams:
• Hard coking coal (HCC): coke strength after reaction (CSR) 64+;
• Semi-hard coking coal (SHCC): =55 CSR =63.

The specific quality characteristics of individual seams will determine into which of the products it will be placed.

Reserves

Lock

- subscription is required.

Mining Methods

Lock

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Lock

- subscription is required.

Processing

Lock

- subscription is required.

Production

CommodityUnits202220212020201820172016
Coal (metallurgical) Mt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe76.27.1
All production numbers are expressed as clean coal.

Operational metrics

Metrics202320222021202020192018201720162015
Annual production capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7.4 Mt of clean coal7 Mt of clean coal7 Mt of clean coal7 Mt of clean coal7 Mt of clean coal

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Financials

Units20242020
Capital expenditures (planned) M CAD  ....  Subscribe
Capital expenditures M CAD  ....  Subscribe

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Lock

- subscription is required.


AV - Autonomous

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 14, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 14, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 24, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 14, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 14, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 14, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 14, 2024

Aerial view:

Lock

- subscription is required.