All of the Company’s wholly-owned properties located in northeast British Columbia are in close proximity to established rail and road networks that are available year round. The properties are serviced by the Tumbler Ridge Branch Line, which offers a purpose-built link between the coal properties and the region’s major rail network, CN Rail (which has acquired the former BC Rail network). This branch line joins the former BC Rail (“BCR”) main line north of Prince George and provides direct access to the ports of Vancouver and, via the CN main line, Ridley Terminals within the Port of Prince Rupert. The Willow Creek Mine (and, in the future, the Brule Mine) delivers coal directly to the former BCR main line, west of Chetwynd. The rail distance between the Company’s mines and Ridley Terminals is approximately 950 km.
Ridley Terminals, which is open all year round, has an annual shipping capability of 16 million tonnes (expandable to 24 million tonnes) and a stockpile capacity of 1.2 million tonnes. In July 2006, the Company signed a port services agreement with Ridley Terminals Inc. The agreement expires in March 2015 and provides the Company with the option to extend the contract for two additional five-year terms. This, combined with the Company’s contract with CN Rail, completes the link that enables the reliable delivery of coal to customers
