A company hoping to develop coal in
"Montem's currently investigating its renewable resource opportunity," said CEO
Although Montem's
"The political landscape is fluid and it remains fluid," he said. "All we can do is react to the rules as they change."
Montem's coal proposal would reopen an open-pit site in the
The company says the project would create 190 full-time jobs over an expected mine life of 14 years.
The project has faced significant public opposition, including from area First Nations. It faces a joint federal-provincial environmental assessment and must also wait for
"It will take years and years and years," Doyle said.
But Montem has also suggested it could build a renewable power plant on the same site, using wind power to pump water to an existing pond partway up the mountain. That water would generate power as it flows downhill to a lower reservoir, which would be used to create green hydrogen.
"The whole world's excited about renewables," Doyle said. "Why wouldn't we spend a bit of money investigating how valuable it is?"
Doyle has just returned from
"We have strong shareholders who are disappointed with where the coal policy has gone. But we've faced reality and we're getting on with business. Because we've got options."
Doyle said Montem will be at an
"We're only really spending significant money investigating the renewables," he said.
Montem isn't going anywhere, Doyle promised.
"We're not leaving. We're not divesting our assets and running away," he said.
"We came here to build stuff and we're trying to build stuff. We're trying to work out which thing to build."
This report by
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