BC Environment Minister Terry Lake and Energy, Mines and Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman issued the EAC following a review steered by the province’s Environmental Assessment Office.
The office also provided more information on BC’s Peace Northern Caribou Plan, including funding and protection measures for the 400,000-hectare winter caribou habitat in the South Peace area.
The EAC includes 25 separate conditions.
Roman, a 499ha (1233 acre) expansion of the active Trend complex, includes three linear open pits, waste rock dumps, mine access and haul road infrastructure that ties into the Trend mine, water management structures, in-pit tailings management facilities, as well as selenium, sulfate and nitrate treatment facilities.
A coal processing plant is also planned, which will serve both the proposed Roman mine and the Trend mine.
If Roman comes to fruition and is granted a Mines Act permit and other relevant approvals, the operation will be constructed on provincial Crown land.
It will target 2 to 4 million tonnes per annum of metallurgical coal and is expected to have a 10-year lifespan.
The BC government said the proposed project had the potential to contribute more than $C54 million to the country’s GDP and to create more than 1000 construction and 760 operations jobs.
Peace River Coal is a wholly owned subsidiary of AngloAmerican.
