<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/last-ditch-australias-richest-woman-takes-on-local-environment-laws-in-canada-coal-power-play/>
"A push by Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart’s corporate interests to open
The Rockies in Canada to coal mining is facing growing resistance after the
provincial government announced it is planning to rewrite environmental rules
in consultation with industry.
The Lethbridge City Council in Alberta, Canada has become the latest regional
authority to join a growing rebellion, voting on Tuesday to reiterate its
opposition to coal mining in the sensitive ecological area.
This comes as Northback Holdings Corp, a subsidiary of Rinehart’s Hancock
prospecting, has recently been working to reboot a failed attempt to open a
mega-mine in the Rockies after it initially failed to get off the ground due to
concerns about the potential for water pollution.
At the centre of the controversy is the Grass Mountain Project, initially
proposed as an open-pit metallurgical coal mine covering 28km2 – an area that
would cover the City of Sydney at 26.7km2 – on the site of a legacy coal mine.
If built, it was expected to produce 4.5m tonnes of coal each year to be
exported to Asia for steelmaking.
The proposal has passed through a succession of corporate entities over its
lifetime but in 2019 Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, became involved
as part of a $A600 million Canadian coal power play.
Early on it appeared the iron-ore magnate made a bad bet when the project
failed to secure environmental approvals – a twist in the mining-friendly,
low-regulation jurisdiction that has attracted other Australian coal miners,
including Atrum Coal and Montem resources.
After the initial setback, Northback Holdings Corp has attempted to revive its
dead project by pitching Grassy Mountain as a “responsible and innovative
resource development” and emphasising the existing damage from legacy mining
activities at the site."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
