The long black streaks in the hills along Highway 40 outside Grande Cache, Alta., are a clear sign of the rich coal seams that run through the eastern slopes of the Rockies there.
The community, about 430 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, was established in the 1960s to serve the mine that still pulls coal out of the ground outside town. The volatile coal industry has fuelled the local economy from the beginning.
In recent years as coal fired power plants were phased out across Alberta, the future of the town’s existing mine became more uncertain. The local power plant was converted from coal to primarily natural gas in 2019.
Only the continued demand for metallurgical coal to make steel overseas has kept the mine going. There is now a proposal to build a new mine in the area to produce more coal for steel making, a project that has some people in Grande Cache thinking twice.
The Summit 14 mine, proposed by Maxim Power, would be built on Grande Mountain which looms large over Grande Cache.
CST Canada Coal Limited’s existing coal mine operates just outside of Grande Cache, Alta. Another company, Maxim Power, is proposing to build a new mine near the existing facility in order to meet demand for metallurgical coal to make steel overseas. (Josh Mclean/CBC News)
Fears for tourism, pollution
The potential mine site is also visible through the trees of Jules Desrocher’s camp ground and trail riding business.
“The haul road is going to come across what we are looking at — right on Grande Mountain,” he says, pointing to the potential mine site in the distance.
Desrocher worries tourists will stop coming to enjoy the natural beauty of the area if there is a coal mine overlooking his operation.
The Metis entrepreneur also has concerns about what the mine will mean for drinking water in the area.
Desrocher, who also works part time in the oil and gas sector, is quick to point out that he is not anti-industry. But he says there are too many unknowns when it comes to the new mine proposal.
‘A good thing for the town of Grande Cache tax wise’
In Grande Cache, at a packed open house about the proposed mine held in July, questions about its environmental impact are top of mind for many in attendance.
Maxim Power, the company pitching the new project, says that the mine will be underground, meaning local water will be more protected than in a surface mine.
Residents of Grand Cache, Alta., gather at a meeting to learn more about a coal mine proposed for the area. Many local business owners welcomed the proposal as a way to create jobs and expand the tax base. (Josh Mclean/CBC News)
Kyle Mitton of Maxim Power adds that the company has to do “the environmental monitoring and demonstrate that this will be a responsible operation,” before it is given the green light to build the mine by the province.
If the company does receive the permits it needs, the mine could be producing metallurgical coal by the end of next year.
It is a prospect that many at the open house, including local businessman Anthony Yakielashek, support.
“This is a good thing for the town of Grande Cache tax wise — to keep the town going,” Yakielashek says.
Project could create 120 new jobs
The Alberta government had flirted with the idea of opening several new metallurgical mines in the province in recent years. However, strong public opposition forced most of the projects to be shelved.
The Summit 14 mine was the exception, grandfathered because it had been in the works since 2008.
The town of Grande Cache, Alta., has long been powered by jobs in the coal industry and many residents support the new mine proposal. (Josh Mclean/CBC News)
“There are multiple approval steps remaining for this project but its approval would provide economic security for the Grande Cache area,” said a spokesperson for the Alberta Ministry of Energy and Minerals.
The local Chamber of Commerce agrees, noting that bringing, “employment for an estimated 120 workers into the Grande Cache economy would be great.”
But if the mine is built it would alter the landscape of Grande Mountain, and some worry it could impact the area’s budding tourism sector.
‘Something special about this area’
Gina Goldie, who grew up in Grande Cache, started her river rafting company in the area 25 years ago. “There is just something special about this area, it is just so quiet and serene and beautiful,” she says.
Like many people from Grande Cache, Goldie is conflicted about the new mine, recognizing the environmental risks but also aware of the economic benefits.
Grande Cache resident Gina Goldie started Wild Blue Yonder Rafting 25 years ago. She has mixed feelings about a potential new mine in the area. (Josh Mclean/CBC News)
“So in an ideal world we are not using coal mines anymore — but we don’t live in that world, we are at the precipice of serious climate problems and so how do we solve those — that is a very big complex problem.”
Goldie is most worried about the reclamation of the mine site once it is done producing coal. She also has concerns about the ability for regulators to make sure the site is cleaned up.
Still, she says the fact that the mine is producing coal for steel manufacturing, and not electricity production, is an important distinction, since there are currently no viable alternatives.
The area around Grand Cache is known for its natural attractions and new businesses focused on tourism have been growing. (Josh Mclean/CBC News)
“There has got to be a balance struck between preservation of our natural areas and use of our natural resources and I think that is the challenge,” Goldie says.
Goldie points out that the steel produced from Grande Cache’s coal seams could be used to build wind turbines or electric cars, key pieces to decarbonizing the planet and addressing climate change.
As the Summit 14 mine continues to move its way through the approval process, people in the area say they’re wrestling with how the coal industry and the environment can coexist, unearthing no easy answers — only hard questions about the future of their town.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
