The incident occurred at about 3.15pm local time Monday and all Teck employees as well as visitors and contractors were accounted for.

“Teck has mobilised teams to control a brush fire triggered by the explosion,” the company said, adding that four employees were treated for mine smoke inhalation.

While the cause of Monday’s incident is not yet known, Teck confirmed that the dryer building sustained extensive damage.

“It is expected to be several days before the damage can be fully assessed and the extent of the interruption of production at Greenhills can be estimated,” officials said of the mine, in which Teck has an 80 per cent interest.

Canadian regulatory agencies and authorities have been notified.

The 2010 production budget for Greenhills is 4.3 million tons of met product, with Teck’s share totaling about 3.4Mt. Its 20% joint venture partners are POSCO Canada and its parent company.

Greenhills is located just north of Elkford in British Columbia, and is made up of 11,806 hectares of coal lands (2265ha mines or planned for mining).