Morien Resources has been dewatering and rehabilitating the access
tunnels to the old Phalen mine in Nova Scotia.
Foresight Energy Buys into Donkin Project in Nova Scotia
The $500 million Donkin coking coal
project in Canada’s Nova Scotia province
finally may be moving to the commercial
stage after nearly a decade under the
joint partnership of U.S.-based Foresight
Energy LP and Morien Resources, headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In late
August, Morien and Foresight were entering into discussions with provincial officials to reach agreements aimed at
ensuring Donkin’s development along the
rugged Atlantic Ocean coastline of Nova
Scotia’s Cape Breton Island.
Those talks were prompted by Foresight’s agreement earlier in the month to
acquire Glencore’s 75% interest in
Donkin. Morien, a natural resources
development company spun off from
Erdene Resource Development Corp. in
late 2012, controls the remaining 25%
of the project.
Morien had been given the right of
first refusal by Glencore to match any
offer Glencore received for its majority
stake in Donkin. After considering its
options for a couple of weeks, Morien
announced it had waived its right of first
refusal and, instead, would work with
Foresight Energy to get the underground
coal mine up and running.
“The decision by our board to waive
our right of first refusal was predicated
on the quality of the partner,” Morien
CEO John Budreski said, referring to
Foresight.
Foresight, based in St. Louis, Missouri,
currently operates four deep mines in
Illinois, including three longwall operations, and expects to produce about 24
million tons of coal in 2014.
Donkin is fully permitted and located
within about 20 miles of a deepwater
port in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Approximately $43 million has been invested in
the project since 2006, including $15
million by Morien. Mining could commence at Donkin within the next year or
so. The project is expected to produce up
to 3.6 million tons of coking-quality coal
annually.
As featured in Womp 2014 Vol 09 - www.womp-int.com