Increasing Coal Sales Is The Goal

Monday, November 08, 2010 04:15 AM

Transportation Minister Shirley Bond, Port Metro Vancouver CEO Robin Silvester, Port of Prince Rupert CEO Don Krusel at a news conference on Asia trade mission photo courtesy BC Government

Hong Kong, China - B.C. is well-positioned to take advantage of any increased demand for steel-making coal in Asia -- that's the message coming from participants of the 'Pacific Gateway Alliance' trade mission to Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong.

The group met with five companies in Korea and Japan that invest in coal mines and are interested in the expansion of coal exports to their respective countries. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister, Shirley Bond, says, "We can actually see a point when coal exports from B.C. could double and that would mean tremendous rewards for our provincial economy."

Prince Rupert Port Authority CEO, Don Krusel, adds, "The message coming from our meetings is that Asia is anxious to secure new and expanding sources of coal and British Columbia is of particular interest to them because of our well-developed transportation infrastructure that has been made possible by the Pacific Gateway Strategy."

In addition to investments in infrastructure, Minister of State for Mining, Randy Hawes, says high prices for steel-making coal and a competitive investment climate have led to the opening of five new coal mines in northeast B.C. and expanded output at the Elk Valley mine in the East Kootenay.

Coal volumes are forecast to reach record-breaking levels this year at both the Port of Prince Rupert and Port Metro Vancouver. Volume through the Ridley Terminals facility in Prince Rupert is currently up 83-percent over this time last year and is forecast to reach more than seven-million tonnes by the end of the year. Port Metro Vancouver's coal volume is expected to surpass a previous record of 28.5-million metric tonnes, set in 1997.

Krusel says the interest being expressed in Asia, "is a great opportunity for the northern corridor through the Port of Prince Rupert because of the abundance of coal resources in the area, as well as the available rail capacity and potential expansion of terminal handling capacity." Ridley Terminals is investigating a number of infrastructure enhancements to increase terminal throughput.

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Posted on Monday, November 08, 2010 04:15 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: IMO on November 8 2010 7:57 AM

I thought we were going green? Why are we the only people on this planet who HAVE to pay a carbon tax? I thought coal was a dirty word while I was growing up? I do not understand the GREEN that this government pushes yet it trucks in snow and opens numerous COAL MINES. Please enlighten me if you can.

Posted by: seamutt on November 8 2010 8:22 AM

Money

Posted by: northman on November 8 2010 8:23 AM

They are interested in the "green" that is in your wallet in the form of carbon tax as well as the "green" that pads the provincial bank accounts.

Posted by: gus on November 8 2010 8:25 AM

Many processes generate CO2. Coal is only one of them.

If the processes sequester the CO2, then it is essentially "green" from the GHG emissions point of view.

Here is a plant in Germany which I believe was brought on stream two years ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7584151.stm

BTW, we are not the only people in the world who have to pay a carbon tax. The tax is often called energy tax and environmental tax which are much more general in nature by meaning of the word, but included greenhouse gases.

Read the implementation part of the linked page to see what is done in the rest of the world and which countries were far ahead of the pack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_tax

Here is a recent article about BC's tax that was written in the Ottawa Citizen.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/carbon%20looking%20like%20winner/3325855/story.html

Posted by: acrider54 on November 8 2010 10:11 AM

We in B.C. pay carbon tax then sell coal to Asia.

Posted by: opine on November 8 2010 11:31 AM

OH - I'm gonna get yelled at for this one!

Under the Lois Boone story I made a comment about infrastructure spending instead of tax draining programs.

Seems that foreign countries want to do business with BC because we've done a great job of making it easier for them to do business with us. In this example,'infrastructure'.

I say again, The chicken or the egg?

Posted by: gamblor on November 8 2010 12:06 PM

That why the carbon tax was such a joke. That's another tax that needs to be repealed. But the $$$green$$$ movement demanded it whether it made sense or not.

Posted by: gus on November 8 2010 1:06 PM

From my point of view, we pay for it one way or another. it is the philosphy we use for liquor, cigarettes ... essentially it is a "sin" tax.

We are not paying for the cost of developing new technology to use different energy sources. We speak about sustainability but do nothing about it.

Engineer
Educate
Enforce

We have some engineering in place to run with less fossil fuels and more renewable energy sources.

We are trying to educate people to buy those products.

Some have taken the steps of making the path to follow a bit more obvious by making some choices more expensive.

If that does not work, then making laws that require actions will be next.

Posted by: gamblor on November 8 2010 6:53 PM

We all need fuel and energy to live the way we do. Despite what the Utopians say, living in a teepee is miserable. Energy is NOT a "sin" tax - unless its a "sin" to live. Oil, gas and coal are bar none the cheapest, easiest and most convenient fuels, so much so that to use anything else immediately lowers the standard of living of the users. Just ask Ontario - solar is COSTING them $1 billion a year.

Engineer - you mean Imagineer
Educate - you mean "lie"
Enforce - you mean Eco-terrorism