The non-binding vote, held on Monday, saw participation from nearly half of the municipality’s 6,000 residents. The project is being led by Northback Holdings, formerly known as Riversdale Resources and Benga Mining, and Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is the parent company.
The mine, originally closed in 1983, has the capacity to produce 4.5 million tonnes of steelmaking coal annually and spans 2,800 hectares.
First proposed in 2019, the project faced its first challenge after Alberta’s government rolled back 1970s-era restrictions on open-pit coal mining in 2020, as part of the province’s efforts to boost an economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and plunging oil prices.
In 2021, provincial regulators ruled that the project was “not in the public interest,” citing environmental risks, particularly concerns over selenium contamination in local waterways. That decision was upheld by three…
