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T hur s da y, J a n u a r y 2 , 2014
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Vol. 1 Issue 9
“Live Your Dream”
ry Time, Guaranteed Patrick B Sager CFP,CLU,EPC 403-753-0020 Blairmore, AB
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Office is open 9:00am-4:30pm, Mon-Fri Deadline for advertising is 5 pm on Fridays Find us at 12707 20 Avenue Blairmore, AB 250-509-0177 Chris Hopkyns publisher@ cnpfreepress.com
Skiers and snowboarders of all ages took advantage of the mild temperatures and great snow offered at the Pass Powderkeg Ski Hill over the Christmas holidays. The municipal ski hill’s regular hours are Wednesdays through Fridays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Photo by J. MacFarlane
Land use plan threatens coal development, mining company says By Joni MacFarlane Editor As one of the last potential coal mining areas in Canada, development of the south-eastern flanks of the Rocky Mountains is threatened by the province’s proposed land use plan, council was told. President and CEO of Altitude Resources Inc., Gene Wusaty, appeared before council on Dec. 17 and said his company was set to begin exploration activities in the area but are concerned about the South Saskatchewan Regional Land Use Plan (SSRP) that proposes to protect areas adjacent to coalfield sites. Altitude Resources was started about three years ago and recently listed on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, said Wusaty. Last summer, Altitude signed an exploration and option
agreement with Elan Coal Ltd. that gave them the option to acquire a 51 per cent working interest in 23,000 hectares north of Crowsnest Pass. Under the agreement, Wusaty said, Altitude is committed to spend $15 million by the end of 2016 on drilling and exploration activities to identify coal reserves that would support a new export metallurgical coal project. The property extends in a north-south direction for about 50 km north of Riversdale Resources’ Grassy Mountain project. The coal deposits are similar to Teck’s in the Elk Valley, said Wusaty. He added that there are several other companies with property in the area and emphasized the potential opportunity that exists. “This opportunity in the Pass here is one of the few remaining coal development po-
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tential sites that I see in Canada,” he said. “It’s a commodity business and you need to have infrastructure. It’s by no mistake that Altitude’s located close to the CN line... those lines have spare capacity and they lead to the west coast ports that also have spare capacity. And that’s probably the single biggest reason why Alberta has suddenly seen a resurgence in coal exploration and development is because other places in the world, such as Australia, [have] run out of spare port capacity and rail capacity.” Wusaty said Altitude has an exploration target of about 740 million tonnes with an initial drilling program north of Grassy Mountain. An application for a drilling permit was submitted about a month ago and they expect to begin work in the second quarter of 2014. Cont. on Page 2...
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