Location of coal leases in the West Country in relation to popular recreation areas and campgrounds.
The Blackstone Project, is a proposed coal mine project just south of Nordegg in Clearwater County. The project is wholly owned by Valory Resources Inc., the same company that owns the Mine 14 project near Grande Cache.
To align with the Government of Alberta’s new policy direction for coal mining in the eastern slopes, the Blackstone Project, originally proposed as including a combination of open cut, highwall and underground mining, is now being touted as a potential underground, steelmaking coal mine. A scan through Valory’s website, reveals that the Blackstone project encompasses 16 coal leases totalling approximately 15 000 hectares of public land in Clearwater County, near many popular recreation areas, and in prime critical habitat for threatened bull trout populations.
Figure 1. Overlap between Blackstone lease area and core Bull Trout recovery zone
It is also within the source waters for Edmonton and many other downstream communities. It is estimated that the project will produce 6 million tonnes of metallurgical coal per year, which would make it the largest metallurgical coal producer in Alberta and likely the second largest in Canada.
How did the Blackstone Project come to be? A short timeline.
Given its location in the Eastern Slopes, this area was long protected from coal development by the 1976 Coal Development Policy. In case Albertans needed more evidence of industry influence on the government, and of the conversations that were taking place between the coal industry and the Government of Alberta before the Coal Policy was rescinded on June 1, 2020, the Blackstone project provides another clear example.
Valory Resources, through Black Eagle Mining Corporation, first applied for their coal exploration program (CEP) approval on November 27, 2019. This is something the company would not have done were they not confident the Coal Policy would be rescinded.
Statements of concern submitted by the Blood Tribe / Kainai Nation, Whitefish (Goodfish) Lake First Nation, and Ermineskin Cree Nation between December 2019 and January 2020 were quickly dismissed by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), and the Coal Exploration Program (CEP) application was approved on February 26, 2020. Over three months before the Coal Policy was rescinded.
It is unclear how much exploration work the company was able to do with their approved Coal Exploration Program (CEP) between the recission of the Coal Policy on June 1, 2020 and when it was reinstated on February 8, 2021, and coal exploration on former Category 2 lands was paused on April 23, 2021. What we do know, is that the project should have been on pause from April 23, 2021, until January 2025 when the moratorium was lifted.
On December 20, 2024, the Government of Alberta announced the Coal Industry Modernization Initiative (CIMI), along with an intention to develop a new coal policy by December 2025. While the CIMI is meant to build from the Coal Policy Committee’s recommendations and align itself with public sentiment regarding coal mining in the Eastern Slopes, it is largely a reflection of industry’s ambitions for the region.
Following the CIMI announcement, Minister Jean lifted the coal moratorium on January 15, 2025 and, perhaps learning from the mistakes of their predecessors, the Alberta Energy Regulator only sent a letter to Black Eagle/Valory on January 28, 2025, revoking previous suspensions and granting extensions to the expiry dates for their Coal Exploration Program (CEP) (extended to November 25, 2025) and Deep Drilling Permit (extended to November 25, 2026).
On July 14, 2025, Black Eagle/Valory applied for amendments to some of the conditions in their CEP (CEP190008), including a request to extend the expiry date from November 25, 2025, to November 25, 2026. This request included little justification for why the extension is warranted and what the impact of an extension might be, only citing wanting to align the CEP expiry date with that of the Deep Drilling Permit.
CPAWS Northern Alberta has submitted a Statement of Concern detailing concerns with extending the Coal Exploration Program (CEP) given the potential impacts this would have and given new information that exists for the area, particularly new evidence showing the presence of breeding populations of species at risk like bull trout.
Figure 2. Overlap between Blackstone lease area and streams upstream of known Bull Trout spawning and habitation zones
Harms to Drinking Water, Access to Public Land and Aquatic Life
The Blackstone project lies within a critical watershed for people, wildlife and the environment. Streams and creeks within the mine lease area all ultimately flow into the North Saskatchewan River, supplying drinking water for downstream communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan, including a large proportion of the City of Edmonton’s drinking water.
These headwater streams and wetlands also support native trout and amphibians of high conservation and recreation value. In particular, introduced Cutthroat Trout and native Bull Trout populations (both provincially and federally listed as Threatened), as well as the Western Toad (a species of Special Concern), inhabit tributaries of the Ram River and nearby watersheds.
In fact, according to the recovery strategy for Bull Trout that was released in 2020, Blackstone overlaps almost entirely with a core population area for the species. This makes the region particularly important for the recovery of the species. Any further impact is likely to result in local extirpation of the species and a significant blow to the survival of the species in Canada.
Additionally, one of the only known spawning areas for Bull Trout is located in the Fall Creek tributaries in the north of the lease area, as identified in a report that came out in 2023. Bull trout that spawn in these streams inhabit the Ram, Saskatchewan, and Clearwater rivers. These cold-water fish require pristine, oxygen-rich streams with intact riparian cover.
Some Damage is Done, but more should not be allowed
Coal exploration activities (drilling, road building, seismic lines) increase sedimentation and can introduce pollutants (fuel, drilling fluids, heavy metals or selenium) that degrade water quality. Such disturbances threaten spawning and rearing habitat, pushing these already-fragmented fish populations toward local extirpation.
This information is of particular importance not only because it points to the impacts that coal exploration and potential coal mining will have on the area, but it has also only become available after initial approval was granted for CEP190008 on February 26, 2020. Any further approvals, including to extend the expiry date of the Coal Exploration Program (CEP), need to take this new information into account because of the potential impact on species at risk.
Exploration for the Blackstone project has already left scars on the landscape. Even before the 2020-21 policy flipflopping, Black Eagle had drilled for 17,600 m through 110 boreholes with plans for another 20,000 m. While individual drill pads may have a relatively small physical footprint, the impact of each individual pad adds up, especially when you then include the impact of bulldozing lines through forest and building access tracks to each drilling site. Cumulatively these impacts are not minimal and can have significant and cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystems in the region.
As a result of the proliferation of coal leases granted while the Coal Policy was rescinded, as well as the presence of largescale industrial forestry, grazing and recreation, broader cumulative impacts on the landscape have likely increased significantly. A key observation shared through the Coal Policy Committee’s Final Report was the need for cumulative effects analyses to be conducted prior to the authorization of any “new coal mine, exploration permit or other industrial activity.” These analyses do not currently exist, nor do plans exist for them to be carried out. They should, however, be a requirement before any new approvals are made for projects like Blackstone and Mine 14.
Why this Mine? This has always been important. So, why now?
Any new development in Alberta, and particularly in the Eastern Slopes, should be subject to extensive public scrutiny and consultation, and this is particularly important as the Government develops a Coal Policy that will guide development in the region going forward. Decisions made now set the precedent for what this policy may look like and can open the door to more unsustainable development in the eastern slopes.
The Blackstone project shares the same owner as Mine 14 – Valory Resources Inc. Mine 14’s applications are currently under review by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) after an unprecedented decision by the regulator’s CEO, Rob Morgan, to cancel the public hearing scheduled for the project – at the request of Valory Resource Inc.
The fact that protections for the eastern slopes have been gutted in the absence of a new coal policy is absurd and, by all accounts, appears to be a deliberate ploy by the Government of Alberta to use the opportunity to push for expedited coal development during a window of opportunity that they have manufactured alongside their industry partners.
The timing for the Blackstone project is suspect given that approvals were made before any consultation and that the potential harms will have profound impacts on Albertans and the nature on which they rely. Alarm bells should be raised given Valory Resources Inc’s demonstrated influence over the Alberta Energy Regulator. This mine could move forward without fair process, or involvement of Albertans.
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