‘A different attitude about mining’: Alberta premier reacts to approval of Grassy Mountain project

The Alberta Energy Regulator has approved exploratory drilling for the proposed Grassy Mountain coal project.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wants Albertans who are opposed to coal mining in Grassy Mountain to look at it in a different way.

On her Saturday morning radio program, Your Province, Your Premier, Smith said she has heard the naysayers loud and clear, but feels flat-out opposition to coal mining overlooks some uncomfortable truths.

“You cannot build wind turbines without steel,” she said. “Steel comes from coal.

“You cannot build the polysilicon panels for solar panels without coal,” she added.

“You cannot build (EV) batteries without zinc and copper and all of the other rare earth elements that you have to dig out of the ground,” she said.

“I understand that people are concerned about it (coal mining), but do know that we’ve got to be able to find the balance.”

Smith tried to clarify the context around the Alberta Energy Regulator’s approval last week for a site in the Grassy Mountains, which was previously rejected in 2021.

“When it comes to coal mining, people do not want to see mountaintop removal,” she said. “People do not want to see strip mining.

“They’re concerned that when you do that, it exposes the rock face to when it rains and selenium gets into the water system -- so we’ve put a policy into place.

“You can’t do these things,” she said. “You can’t do open pit mining and you can’t do strip mining -- but if you can find techniques that allow you to do new underground mining, then we’re going to be open to approving those projects.”

Smith said that’s the direction Northback is planning.

“My understanding is that the AER just approved some test well drilling for Northback at Grassy Mountain to allow them to see if they have the ability to do that underground mining.

“You have to be at a certain depth to make it profitable and I’m just going to watch and see the outcome of that,” she said.

Long overdue: Crowsnest mayor

The decision by the AER was well-received by the mayor of Crowsnest Pass, Blair Painter, who said it was long overdue.

“I think they finally woke up. I think they finally came to a conclusion that should have happened much, much, much earlier,” Mayor Blair Painter said Friday.

“It’s a first step. I’m going to be thrilled if it gets to the point ... that they get the application to start mining.”

Residents of Crowsnest Pass, which saw its last coal mine close four decades ago, voted in a referendum in November. About 72 per cent supported the development of a coal mine at Grassy Mountain.

“The project would be fantastic for our community. They’re going to employ 300-plus people. Not all will live in our community, but we’re going to get our fair share,” said Painter.

“It will strengthen our schools, our hospital, the business community. There’s just so many pluses.”

The regulator’s decision says the company will only be able to draw water from a nearby end pit lake that it owns, and that’s not directly connected to other water bodies or rivers.

It says it’s possible there will be runoff from the lake but there wouldn’t be any effect on water quality or quantity downstream.

‘Exactly what we expected’

David Thomas, a communications coordinator with Crowsnest Headwaters, a group that led the “no” campaign, wasn’t surprised at the AER decision.

“It’s exactly what we expected,” said Thomas.

“There’s nothing more we can do. As long as we loyally and honestly participate in the process, we implicitly respect the results.”

An official with the Environmental Defence advocacy group said the project is in the interest of billionaires and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, not the public.

Stephen Legault said the decision demonstrates “a reckless disregard for the health of southern Alberta’s water.”

He said renewed mining would lead to irreversible water pollution and water withdrawals from the Crowsnest River system, impacting farmers, ranchers, anglers and downstream communities, including Lethbridge.

“If the premier had the best interests of Albertans in mind, she wouldn’t allow a coal mine to be built where southern Albertans get their water from,” Legault said

“Instead, Alberta would invest in the region’s long-term economic prosperity, protect the province’s headwaters, and stand up to foreign bullies who only want to destroy our headwaters in the name of profit and privilege.”

A new attitude

Smith said she believes there’s room to respect the environment and also to dig stuff out of the ground.

“I think we need to have a bit of a different attitude about mining,” she said.

“If you’re going to have the new (sustainable) economy, you’re going to have to dig out of the ground the things you need for that,” she said.

“We’ve got to be able to extract things,” she said. “And also be able to do it in a way that limits the impact on the environment.

“And we’re all trying to find that pathway,” she said, adding that NDP-led provinces on either side of Alberta -- British Columbia and Manitoba -- are both mining.

“B.C. has more coal mines than I think anywhere in the country,” she said, “and in Manitoba, they just approved a gold mine, something they hadn’t done in 15 years.

“Attitudes are changing,” she said, “Technology has improved, and I would just hope people have an open mind that we need this (approach) for our own collective prosperity.”

With files from Bill Graveland and The Canadian Press