At Atrum we are committed to achieving excellence in environmental stewardship and minimizing our environmental footprint through implementing industry leading, environmentally responsible best practices. Our efforts focus on encompassing fundamental principles of adaptive management, the precautionary principle, sustainable project development, ecosystem-based approach, and incorporation of Indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge in all phases of the mining life cycle.
Water conservation and stewardship
Water is a vital resource and is essential to the sustainability of our operations, inclusive of the environment and communities in which we operate. We acknowledge the potential of our operations to impact water resources and will employ a proactive risk management approach to water management.
As part of our water management program, we strive to reduce water consumption and maintain water quality by implementing the following strategies:
- Optimizing the water management system to maximize non-contact water conservation
- Minimizing project footprint on regionally significant water resources
- Protecting/enhancing sensitive ecosystems and critical habitat for aquatic life
- Employing the latest innovations in water treatment (e.g. saturated rock fill)
for rating curve development on Daisy Creek
sampling lower trophic level periphyton from stream substrate
Protecting and enhancing biodiversity
We value the unique flora and fauna within the Southern Alberta Upland Ecosystem in which we operate and we endeavour to protect and enhance biodiversity by achieving targeted outcomes, including:
- Conducting comprehensive environmental baseline programs to ensure all ecosystem values are measured and incorporated in project planning and design
- Integrating biodiversity values into each project phase: exploration, construction, operations and closure
- Working towards achieving a net positive impact on biodiversity across the project footprint
- Implementing a progressive reclamation strategy that utilizes a diverse mix of native species and soil amendment techniques
Reducing our carbon footprint
We are committed to supporting and enhancing global efforts to combat climate change and ensuring potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities are incorporated in our project development strategy. Although our project will produce coal for steel-making (coking coal as opposed to thermal coal), we still aim to reduce our carbon footprint by deploying energy efficient measures and utilizing low carbon technologies throughout the mining life cycle.
Our carbon reduction strategy focuses on achieving the following objectives, including:
- Incorporating energy use reduction and efficiencies throughout the project life cycle
- Exploring opportunities for alternative energy sources
- Minimizing carbon emissions with integration of financially viable, low carbon technologies
