Encouraged by its early success in reopening two British Columbia metallurgical/PCI coal mines acquired from bankrupt Walter Canada last year, Conuma Coal Resources Ltd. is preparing to restart a third mine, Willow Creek, in July, a move that could boost the company’s 2017 output to approximately 4 million tons in the western Canadian province. Conuma, a subsidiary of West Virginia-based ERP Compliant Fuels, resumed surface mining at the Brule mine in the Tumbler Ridge area of British Columbia soon after Brule, along with the Wolverine and Willow Creek surface mines, were acquired from Walter in September 2016.
Mark Bartkoski, Conuma’s president, said in February that the company is pleased with results so far from Brule and Wolverine, which also resumed producing coal late last year. In particular, he praised the productivity at Brule and Wolverine. Brule and Wolverine are targeted to produce about 2.4 million and 1.3 million tons of coal, respectively, in 2017.
