Our Coal Business
We are the world’s second largest exporter of seaborne steelmaking coal, with five mines in British Columbia and one in Alberta. We wholly own the Coal Mountain, Cardinal River, Fording River and Line Creek mines, and have a 95% partnership interest in the Elkview mine and an 80% joint venture interest in the Greenhills mine.
The bulk of our coal production is high quality steelmaking coal, also known as metallurgical coal. The majority of our coal is exported for steel production, with approximately 95% transported west by rail to the coast of British Columbia and shipped from there to Asia, Europe and South America. Our largest markets in Asia have traditionally been Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and now China is emerging as a significant importer of steelmaking coal.
We foresee strong growth in demand for steelmaking coal in China, which is currently undergoing the biggest process of urbanization and industrialization in human history. This huge socio-economic transformation requires vast quantities of steel and China’s steel industry has expanded to meet this demand, and is now transitioning production to large new plants on the coast.
We have taken steps to increase our production levels to meet the additional demand for quality steelmaking coal.
*Data is sourced from Mineral Reserves and Resources as disclosed in the Annual Information Form, dated March 1, 2013