A $746-million transmission line project meant to power Imperial Metals’ (TSX:III) Red Chris mine has gone into service, BC Hydro announced Wednesday (August 13).
But the value of the Northwest Transmission Line remains up in the air as the mining company deals with the fallout of the August 4 Mount Polley mining disaster, which saw 10 million gallons of water released when a tailings pond dam collapsed.
Raymond Goldie, an analyst with Salman Partners, told Business in Vancouver last week the commissioning of the Red Chris mine could be delayed by up to a year due to the Mount Polley disaster.
BC Hydro and the Ministry of Energy both could not confirm by deadline where the power would be redirected to if the Red Chris mine were put on hold.
There are, however, at least 10 other potential mine projects in the rural northern B.C. region that could one day use the power from the transmission line.
The new line, which runs from Terrace to Bob Quinn Lake, is 344 kilometres long.
The federal government covered $130 million of the project’s cost while anchor tenant AltaGas (TSX:ALA) provided $180 million.
Future industrial customers and independent power producers who use the line will be required to pay latecomer capital contributions to offset the upfront capital costs of the project.
