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BUSINESS
Serving the South Country, Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford since 1898
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First Place
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Hot Dog! What a day!
Quality quilts - Page 19 FERNIE
75 years for Cancer Society - Page 2 BAYNES LAKE
Easter in the Park Page 17
ELECTION
Skiers and snowboarders dressed up in their finest 80’s ski wear last week for the annual Hot Dog Day. The unofficial event is always one of the most popular events of the season at Fernie Alpine Resort, and sees Fernie take a step back in time to the decade where clothes were bright, hair was big and ski movies were cool. For more pictures, turn to page 18. Photo by A. Treharne
Plans suspended for new Elk Valley mine MLA Question of the Week - Page 32
SPORT
Elk Valley Wild win silver - Page 23
By Angela Treharne Free Press Staff
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entermount Coal Ltd. has just announced that it has suspended its exploration and development program at the Bingay Main metallurgical coal project located approximately 21 kilometres north of Elkford and on the western boundary of Teck’s Fording operation. The Chairman of Centermount's Board, Jack Austin, said there was a huge deposit of coal at the site, but blamed a drop in the value of coal
for the suspension of the project. He said a prefeasibility study last fall found deposit of nearly 200 million tonnes of raw coal with metallurgical qualities similar to those of Fording coal. Work to date has focused on defining proven and mineable reserves both by open pit and underground methods, and by defining best environmental practices including proper control of selenium to avoid contamination of the Elk River watershed. But, in a press release on Monday, he said, “the present global econ-
omy has reduced the demand for iron ore and therefore for metallurgical coal. “The advice of our financial advisors is to expect that price strengthening will take place by the summer of 2014. Metallurgical coal producers are taking much lower prices today than in 2011 or in early 2012. “The board has therefore decided that raising the major investment funds to complete a final economic feasibility study should await a metallurgical coal price and steel industry market recovery as current financial proposals are excessively
dilutive.” Centermount Coal Ltd. is a private British Columbia company which has invested more than $20 million of shareholders' funds in its Bingay Main project. Centermount said they greatly appreciate the support they have received from the RDEK Area “A” Director, Mayors and Council of Elkford, Sparwood, and Fernie, the Elk Valley community in general and their Kootenay based suppliers. They also said they expect to resume the program in 2014.