The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Jim Ellis, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Energy Regulator, have announced the establishment of a three-member Joint Review Panel to review Benga Mining’s proposed Grassy Mountain coal project, located in southwest Alberta.

Alex Bolton has been appointed as the Chair of the Joint Review Panel. Hans Matthews and Dean O’Gorman have been appointed as members of the Joint Review Panel.

Under the Agreement, the Joint Review Panel will conduct a review of the potential environmental effects of the project, consider mitigation measures, determine whether the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects, and identify any follow-up programs required.

Benga Mining Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Riversdale Resources Ltd, is proposing to construct and operate an open-pit metallurgical coal mine near the Crowsnest Pass, approximately 7 km north of the community of Blairmore, in southwest Alberta. As proposed, the production capacity of the project would be a maximum of 4 Mt/y of clean coal, over a mine-life of about 25 years.