TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Global diversified miner Anglo American on Thursday announced that it would shutter its Peace River coal operations in British Columbia, at the end of the year.

According to the company, Peace River was a platform for growth in Canada; with the Roman expansion project, located immediately south of the current Trend mine, offering a significant growth opportunity.

However, Anglo American said it remained committed to Peace River over the long term and would complete all preparation works for Roman before the indefinite care-and-maintenance period started.

"Significant reductions in operating costs and reduced mining activity have failed to offset the impact of a weakening metallurgical coal price. As a result, we have been forced to take further action in response to the weak market conditions, so that we can preserve the long-term future of the operations.

"We will ensure that the operations can be restarted as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible when the market improves. Our immediate priorities are to provide the support to our employees that they need at this difficult time and to stay focused on a safe transition to care and maintenance by year-end,” Anglo American Coal CEO Seamus French said.

He added that the company saw significant long-term growth potential in the north-east of British Columbia and Peace River remained an attractive asset within its coal portfolio.

The Roman mine would be an openpit mine producing between two-million tonnes and four-million tonnes of metallurgical coal a year, with a life expectancy of about 16 years. The Trend and Roman operations would be combined and use as much of the existing infrastructure as possible.

The Trend mine currently had the capacity to produce up to 1.5-million tonnes of hard coking coal a year, while added capacity from the Roman project could lift output to 2.5-million tonnes a year by 2016.

In April, Walter Energy idled three British Columbia mines owing to low metallurgical coal prices. Two significant Canadian development projects had also been placed on the back burner as a result of the low prices. Teck Resources had deferred restarting the Quintette coal mine, in north-east British Columbia, which had the potential to produce between three-million tonnes and four-million tonnes of steelmaking coal a year, until market conditions improved.

Australia’s Coalspur had also delayed its $478-million Vista project, in Alberta, which had the potential to become Canada’s largest thermal coal mine, while Walter Energy had idled three mines in British Columbia.