Coalspur Mines Limited has announced the results of its Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for its Vista Coal Project near Hinton in Canada’s Alberta province.
The BFS at the flagship mine comes after its completion of its pre-feasibility study and brings good news for the company and its share holders.
As per the BFS the mine is likely to produce 24% more coal than initially expected. It was initially estimated that the mine would produce 9 million tons of thermal coal, but this has now been increased to 11.2 million tons annually.
The chief executive officer of Coalspur Mines, Gene Wusaty said that the growing demand for thermal coal in the Asian Pacific economies continues to support the underlying fundamentals required to proceed with the development of Vista.
The Calgary based company hopes that the construction of the mine will begin in early 2013. They hope to have all regulatory approvals in place and detailed engineering finished by that time. The mine will be developed in two phases. By 2015 it should be producing 5 million tons of thermal coal and then in another three years it will be ramped up to its full capacity.
The BFS said that Canadian $1,234 million will be required to reach its full production capacity of 11.2 million tonnes per annum. Gene Wusaty said that the positive results of the BFS confirm Vista's potential as a first class export thermal coal project. The BFS includes a very detailed evaluation of Vista's productive potential and a comprehensive assessment of the capital costs required to develop the mine. The mine is likely to have a life of over 30 years.