Gregg River to close

Luscar has announced that the Gregg River coal mine, near Hinton, Alta., will close by September.

Low coal prices, high production costs and, more recently, unfavourable geological conditions are responsible for the closure.

“Management has completed a comprehensive review of the circumstances facing the Gregg River mine, and has considered all possible alternatives for improving its prospects,” says Luscar President Gordon Ulrich. “In spite of the significant effort that has been made to reduce costs and increase productivity, the mine continues to incur losses. The most prudent course of action is [the mine’s] orderly closure.”

Currently, the mine employs 228 hourly workers and 55 staff. After the closure, about 30 workers will stay on to carry out final reclamation work, which is expected to last about three years.

The mine entered production in 1983 and was acquired by Luscar in 1998, when it bought out Manalta Coal. In 1999, Gregg River produced 1.6 million tonnes of metallurgical coal for export to international steel mills. Luscar is Canada’s largest coal company, with 10 other mines in western Canada. These mines also produce thermal coal for domestic use.