Teck Resources has purchased a large parcel of land in the East Kootenays, which the company intends to use for conservation purposes.
The mining company, which has coal mining operations in the Elk Valley, bought the land from Tembec for $19 million.
The land is made up of three blocks, all near Sparwood: Flathead Townsite, Alexander Creek and Grave Prairie.
In a statement, Teck said it would work with stakeholders to determine how the lands will be managed.
Tembec once owned two sawmills and one pulp mill in the area, as well as private land and rights to cut on Crown land. It sold its sawmills to Canfor in 2011 and its Skookumchuck pulp mill to Paper Excellence in 2013.
