Premier Danielle Smith has said that Northback Holdings’ proposed Grassy Mountain metallurgical coal mine will be allowed to continue through Alberta’s regulatory process.Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Smith said the project was among a small number of advanced coal proposals previously permitted to continue when Alberta revised its coal policy.“It was a mine that, to my understanding, was in operation back in the ’50s,” Smith stated, adding that her government had been very clear about environmental expectations for projects such as Grassy Mountain going forward. “When four advanced mine projects were declared to be able to continue going through the process, they were one of them. So I’ll allow them to continue to go through the process.”Smith also stated that public opposition to new development on Category 2 lands ultimately led her government to change course regarding coal policy.“What I heard was that greenfield development on Category 2 lands was something that Albertans were very reluctant to give approval to, which is why we’ve changed the policy,” Smith said.“We bought back the leases and the freehold interests on those lands so that they don’t get developed.”.Smith defends coal moratorium lift amid lawsuit threats; Nenshi slams UCP ‘incompetence’.Smith had previously confirmed in November that her government had been buying back coal leases and mineral rights while negotiating with companies that launched legal challenges after the province reinstated its coal policy in 2022, effectively halting new coal exploration and development across most of Alberta.Northback Holdings Corp., a subsidiary of Australian mining giant Hancock Prospecting, has been working to resubmit a revised proposal for the Grassy Mountain project to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) for the past several months.The company said in September that its updated plan for the Crowsnest Pass-based project was smaller in scope and included additional environmental safeguards.The revised proposal would reduce the mine’s footprint by about 40% and lower annual production of metallurgical, or steel-making, coal to 2.5 million tonnes, down from the original estimate of 4.5 million tonnes.The company also said it had spent the past four years addressing concerns that led to the project’s earlier rejection by the AER, including risks to water quality and fish habitat.The project has been given the seal of approval by the local Crowsnest Pass community, which has deep ties to coal mining, as 72% of local voters supported the project in a non-binding referendum held in 2024.
