Policy or Politics

This article by feature writer John Pundyk available in this week's  Pass Herald available at http://passherald.ca/  I think it says it all.

There has been lots of healthy discussion these days about local politics, especially now, as our community is being scrutinized because of a petition and by ministerial order. There are significant differences between policy and politics, and knowing these differences usually leads to good politics and good policy – but this only happens in a perfect world. In the real world, policy and politics are in constant conflict. So what are the differences? To put it simply, policy is about ideas. Politics is about interests. Interests can be defined as competing ideas. Hence, politics is about how to put particular ideas into action. In a democratic society like ours, some good ideas and policies often clash with other good ideas dear to other people in our political space. Our community is our political space. Because of the coal mines, past and present, our community is very diverse. Unlike many other small Alberta towns which tend to be quite homogenous in their makeup, we have people who came here to work in the mines from every corner of the world. This may be a little exaggerated, but not much. This is also what makes our community a very interesting place to live. Crowsnest Pass is a community which has always been passionate about politics. Those who study our local history know this to be true. Our different interests are dear to us, whether it is the ski hill, the swimming pool, hockey arena, fire department, old hospital, new hospital, our seniors, our young people, you name it – we are passionate about it. This passion for local politics can be presented to the outside world as something negative. Our propensity to resort to petitions to defend our interests can be interpreted as disruptive behavior. I would argue that while our behaviour can be seen as disruptive, it can also be understood in a positive manner. While we may not be easy to govern, we are a people who care deeply about our community and we are always ready to defend our particular interests. We may not always agree with one another, but we always come together in times of need. One of the reasons I love this community is because of its spirit. Since coming to Canada as a teenager from Poland in 1975, I have lived and worked in every part of our province and I can genuinely say there is no place like the Crowsnest Pass when it comes to generosity and friendliness.

This does not make us saints, we do have our moments, but we are good people. So, while we may be good people, governing us has never been easy and it requires special skill. Not everyone has this skill, and you don’t have to have a lot of schooling to know this. Some people, like Ralph Klein for example, are born to be politicians and know, almost instinctively, what to do. Others hone this skill through trial and error. A good majority of us, however, will simply never make good politicians. Local municipal politics is usually an entry point into our political system and it is here where many an aspiring politician has discovered that this sort of thing is really not for them. Political history shows good policy makers seldom make good politicians. Think about the recent leaders of the federal Liberal party. Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff are both very accomplished university professors with many excellent policy ideas, but neither could connect, politically, with the Canadian public. Much the same is happening in our community today. We have some very good people on our council, but our community has never been in a bigger political mess than it is today. We should not doubt their good intentions to make our community better, but the entire experience has lacked political skill from day one. Today we find ourselves under municipal inspection because we have experienced too much policy work which was not accompanied with the requisite political skills. Writing policy is never enough. People must be sold on the merits of the policy and this is done through politics and politics is all about communication. In a small community like ours, communication is not about announcements or newsletters. Rather, communication is a dialogue and argument on the merits of a particular policy initiative. People need to be brought on board, and the more contentious the policy proposal, the more essential it is that people be brought on board before changes are made. Some, of course, will argue if this is the case then change will never come. Well, in a democratic society, politics is the cost of doing business. Even the best policy is sometimes ditched because it is not politically expedient and the political cost outweighs the benefits of good policy. Given no emergency, gradual change is always preferable to an abrupt and unnecessary upheaval. So while our little community may seem dysfunctional, it really is not. I just see a lot of people standing up for what makes this community great and what makes this community vibrant. The unique spirit and work ethic of the Pass has taken us through many hardships and I believe we will get through this turmoil, and emerge even stronger than before.

Crowsnest Pass major announcement.

Well the press release is a little late this information has been on the blogs for the last couple of days and the Pass Herald facebook site since Saturday but never the less still good news. For more on this story John Pundyk wrote an excellent article available in both the Pass Herald and the Elk Valley Herald. 

Riversdale Resources Limited Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Coking Coal Development Portfolio in Canada

Riversdale Resources Limited, a public unlisted entity based in Sydney, Australia, has entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio of coal assets from Devon Energy and Consol Energy located in the Crowsnest Pass area of southwest Alberta, Canada.

The portfolio, comprising over 35,000 acres in total, includes the Grassy Mountain Project located near the towns of Blairmore and Coleman and adjacent to a large capacity rail system already established for coal transport to the existing west coast ports of Westshore Terminal near Vancouver and Ridley near Prince Rupert Sound. Grassy Mountain is an advanced project that has been the subject of substantial exploration and feasibility work including approximately 364 drill holes, two trial pits and a 54,000 tonne bulk sample.  Currently Grassy Mountain has a Canadian 43-101 resource of 192 million tonnes and a reserve of 55 million tonnes although Riversdale sees the potential to expand this further.  Additionally, Grassy Mountain is located in a Category 4 zone under the Alberta Coal Development Policy.

 A earlier feasibility study for Grassy Mountain outlined a open pit development plan to produce approximately 2 million tonnes per annum of both metallurgical and thermal coal over a 28 year life with moderate upfront capital and an FOB cash cost for the first 12 years of US$85 – US$90 per tonne. Riversdale has been working with Norwest Corporation from Calgary, McElroy Bryan from Australia and two recognised Australian based coal quality consultants in undertaking its review of the portfolio. As a result, Riversdale has commenced work to evaluate the potential for a 4 million tonne per annum mine producing primarily a hard coking coal with a secondary PCI product. Riversdale believes such a project will be possible through the use of modern coal mining and washing techniques which have advanced significantly since the earlier feasibility work. 

In addition to Grassy Mountain Riversdale has acquired the Bellevue, Adanac and Lynx coal exploration leases which currently contain an additional 160 million tonnes of estimated resources and an extensive package of freehold land accumulated by the vendors over the past 30 years. The portfolio provides Riversdale an exciting opportunity to look at multiple developments in the region which has a long history of coal mining.

Riversdale has entered into an agreement to acquire the coal properties and freehold land assets for a total of US$ 49.5 million (A$ 47.6 million) payable by the end of June 2013.  Of the total amount, approximately US$35 million (A$ 33.6 million) is attributable to the Grassy Mountain Project. 

The Chairman of Riversdale, Michael O'Keeffe stated "the acquisition of the Crowsnest Pass assets concludes an outstanding first year of exploration and development for our company with a targeted program at our Chickaloon project in Alaska identifying a number of promising coking coal seams. The Crowsnest Pass assets will propel Riversdale into becoming a major force in high quality metallurgical coal production from multiple assets.”

Crowsnest Pass Mayor Bruce Decoux is thrilled with today’s announcement.  “One of this Council’s priorities has been to broaden our economic base and strengthen our local economy.”  The Municipality’s hard work with Riversdale is certain to generate great economic spin off for our community and region,” says Decoux  

Over the last few months Crowsnest Pass Mayor, Council and Administration have been working to support Riversdale and to ensure confidence in the strength and vibrancy of our community.  “We are confident that the support we provided to Riversdale helped pave the way for this initiative to come to fruition” said Decoux.  “We are excited that the Crowsnest Pass will soon be home to a highly reputable international coal mining group and that all citizens in our community will reap benefits,” added Decoux.

Background on Riversdale

Riversdale is an Australian public unlisted company with approximately 70 shareholders. The company was created by the former senior management of Riversdale Mining Limited, an ASX company acquired by Rio Tinto Limited in 2011. Riversdale currently has a 10 year lease over the Chickaloon Coking Coal Project in Alaska and is looking to develop a significant steel making materials business with a focus on high grade metallurgical coal in stable sovereign environments.

The board and senior management of Riversdale comprises:

Michael O'Keeffe (Chairman) - previously Chairman of Riversdale Mining Limited and former Managing Director of Glencore Australia

Steve Mallyon (Managing Director) - previously Managing Director of Riversdale Mining Limited and former Managing Director of RBC Capital Markets Australia

Gary Lawler (Non Executive Director) - former Director of Riversdale Mining Limited and Senior M&A Partner of Ashurst 

Tony Redman (Non Executive Director) - former Director of Riversdale Mining Limited and former Chairman of Anglo American Coal

Anthony Martin (Chief Financial Officer) - former Riversdale Mining Limitada Country Manager (Mozambique)

Russell Dann (President, Riversdale North America) - former Regional Director of Queensland Government Mines and Energy Agency)

 Steve Mallyon.                                          Anthony Martin

Managing Director                                     Chief Financial Officer

A media availability is scheduled for Tuesday, January 8^th between 10 am and 12 noon at the Municipal Administrative offices.  Mayor Bruce Decoux will be available to speak on this announcement.

Steve Mallyon from Riversdale Resources will be available to speak to media via telephone on January 8^th between 2 pm and 5 pm, mountain standard time at +61 407 464 529.

The Municipality will be hosting a welcoming reception in early February at which time  Riversdale Resources representative will be in attendance and available to speak with media.