Blackstone Project
Rocky Mountain House
Clearwater County
Alberta, Canada
Valory’s wholly-owned Blackstone Project is an underground, steelmaking coal exploration project in Clearwater County, Alberta.
Blackstone consists of 16 neighbouring mining lease applications. Over 100 drill holes intersecting the target seams have served to return a Resource of 339 million tonnes (Mt) while test work has confirmed the potential for a premium, low volatile (PLV), low ash product matching Canadian and Australian exporters (CSR 65+%; Vol 21.5%; RoMax 1.23-1.51).
Blackstone is located on provincially owned commercial timber plantation within an industrial region that supports quarrying, oil and gas drilling and sulphur production. The project has multiple rail and port access options.
In January 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) received Ministerial Order 003/2025, issued by the Minister of Energy and Minerals, Hon. Brian Jean to rescind the 2021 cessation of coal exploration and development in the Eastern Slopes of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, where Blackstone is located. The government has directed the AER to lift the suspension of all approvals and extend the expiry dates to account for the period of suspension.
Resource
339Mt
Exploration Target
Up to 830Mt
The Blackstone Project’s outcropping coal seams create the opportunity for smaller waste, reduced costs, and an abbreviated timeline to first coal.
Stage 1 Underground Highwall Operations
Resource
339Mt
Estimated CAPEX
US$600M
ROM per annum
3.5Mtpa
Mine Life
+25 years
FOB cost
US$88/t
Excluding government and vendor royalties
First coal
2032
Geology
The Blackstone tenement is a contiguous series of coal lease application areas wherein the coal seams extend right throughout the entire area.
Infrastructure
Blackstone is located on a provincially owned commercial timber plantation within an industrial region that is connected to existing infrastructure.
- Blackstone is connected to major highways by established internal roads.
- Existing rail spur and high voltage power within 10km.
- Excess capacity on two rail networks linked to three coal port terminals.