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The Luscar mine was opened north of Cadomin in 1921 by
the same financial backers of the Mountain Park Mine. Luscar Collieries
Limited acquired additional leases staked by John Gregg & R.W.
Jones. The new company built a spur line from Leyland which was assumed
by the Canadian National Railway upon completion. Within a year of operation,
the Luscar mine employed 180 men. An underground fire in 1922 hampered
production for a year as the seam had to be sealed off and another seam
opened. While coal from Luscar was high quality, its friability meant
that briquetting was necessary.
Unlike the Mountain Park mine which
rarely experienced full shut downs, Luscar was prone to frequent
shutdowns. Many of the residents spend summers camping in the
wilderness, close enough to town to be notified if workers were needed.
Peak Production occurred in the late 1920's and again during WW2.
In 1941, the population of Luscar was about 650. Luscar survived
the first mine closures in the early 1950's but when its briquette plant
burned down in 1956, it was decided that the mine would not rebuild and
operations ceased in October of that year. The mine saw rebirth in 1969
when Cardinal River Coals LTD. reopened the Luscar mine in response
to the growing Japanese market for coking coal. This was followed
by Gregg River mine in the early 1980's.
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Fording
Coal Partnership Confirms Closure of Luscar
Mine
CALGARY, April 2 /CNW/ - Fording Canadian Coal Trust (TSX: FDG.UN, NYSE:FDG) and Teck Cominco Limited (TSX: TEK.A, TEK.B) today announced that the
Fording Coal Partnership will proceed with closure of Cardinal River Coal's
Luscar Mine located near Hinton, Alberta. It is expected that mining
operations will be completed by April 2004.
"We have thoroughly evaluated the Luscar Mine and will proceed with
the orderly shutdown announced by its previous owners due to the depletion of coal
reserves at the mine," said Jim Gardiner, President and CEO of the Fording
Coal Partnership.
The current employee level of about 290 will be reduced in a
phased process as mining is completed. Initial reductions to occur in May 2003 will
affect about 190 employees. The Partnership's share of closure and reclamation
obligations will be completed as part of the shutdown process, and are not
expected to be material. Employee severance costs as well as reclamation
obligations for mining activities prior to March 1, 2003 are the
responsibility of the mine's previous owner.
"In a related matter, the Partnership has also decided that the
current supply capacity of metallurgical coal to world markets does not justify
immediate development of the nearby Cheviot Project," said Mr. Gardiner. "Our
producing properties have sufficient capacity to meet current market demands
for our metallurgical coal. The Cheviot Project is one of a number of potential expansion projects that the Partnership can undertake when
additional supply is warranted by coal markets."
The Partnership will maintain the process facility and
plant infrastructure at the Luscar Mine to ensure that the Cheviot Project can be
efficiently developed when market conditions justify this alternative as a
source of coal supply for the Partnership.
Fording Canadian Coal Trust is an open-ended investment trust.
Through investments in metallurgical coal and industrial minerals mining and
processing operations, the Trust makes quarterly cash distributions to
unit holders. The Trust, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Fording Inc.,
holds a 65% ownership of the Fording Coal Partnership and is the world's
largest producer of the industrial mineral wollastonite. The Fording Coal
Partnership, comprised of Canada's senior metallurgical coal mining properties, is the world's second largest exporter of metallurgical coal,
capable of supplying approximately 25 million tonnes of high-quality coal
products annually to the international steel industry.
Teck Cominco Limited is a diversified mining and metals company,
headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with assets totalling approximately $5billion. Its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols
TEK.A and TEK.B. The company is a world leader in the production of zinc and
metallurgical coal and its mining operations also produce significant quantities of copper and gold. The Company is also the managing partner of the
Fording Coal Partnership in which it holds a 41% ownership interest. In total,
the company owns, or has interests in, thirteen mines and two refineries.
Further information can be found at www.teckcominco.com.
%SEDAR: 00019073E
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