Summary

Mine Type	Open Pit
Study Completed	Prefeasibility
Stage	Permitting
Commodities	Coal (metallurgical)
Mining Method	Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life	...
Snapshot	Grassy Mountain is on the site of an old mine that closed about five decades ago. The new, open-pit mine that Benga Mining Ltd. proposed for the land forecast production of 93 million tonnes of metallurgical coal over a 23-year life. A joint federal-provincial regulatory panel rejected the Grassy Mountain application in 2021, finding that the project would likely result in significant adverse effects on the environment. Northback is seeking approval from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) for a Coal Exploration Program, a Deep Drill Permit and a Temporary Diversion Licence to support an exploration project to collect technical data related to the Grassy Mountain Project. May 15, 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator approved a controversial coal exploration project. The decision grants Northback permits to drill and to divert water to the site. It isn't an application to mine. Northback will be responsible for reclamation related to the exploration work.
Latest News	Alberta regulator approves Northback coal exploration project in Rockies     May 15, 2025

Deposit type

• Sedimentary

Summary:

The coal seams of the Project are medium volatile bituminous in rank and found within the Mist Mountain Formation of the Kootenay Group, which is Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous in age. The coal sequences in the Mist Mountain Formation consist of a cyclic succession of carbonaceous sandstone, mudstone, siltstone, coal, and some conglomerate. The main coal zones identified within the Mist Mountain Formation in this area, from top to bottom, are Zones 1, 2 and 4. Coal Resources and Coal Reserves estimates take into account the two thickest seams from Zones 1 and 4 and the single thickest seam from Zone 2. Zone 2 contains the thickest single seam.

Grassy Mountain coal in the Mist Mountain Formation outcrop occurs in a general north-south direction for a strike length of approximately seven (7) km. The Mist Mountain Formation consists of 66 to 194 vertical metres of strata and is overlain by prominent, weather-resistant Blairmore conglomerate. The strata have been strongly folded and faulted, resulting in sediments and coal zones repeated in parallel bands. Coal deposits of this type are characterized by tight folds, some with steeply inclined or overturned limbs. Fault offsets are common but fault-bounded plates generally retain normal stratigraphic thicknesses. These characteristics suggest that the Grassy Mountain coal deposits should be categorized as “Complex” to “Severe” Geology Types.

Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Processing

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Commodity Production

Operational metrics

Personnel

Job Title	Name	Profile	Ref. Date
.......................	.......................		Jan 22, 2025

Total Workforce	Year
......	2015