The Alberta government will collect three times more revenue than previously under its revamped mine security program, which pledges to collect money for mine reclamation, The Edmonton Journal is reporting:
The Alberta government will ultimately collect about three times more money under its new mine financial security program from oilsands and coal producers than previously, it announced Thursday.
But existing companies will also get about a 10-year break in payments under the new system, which is geared to collecting more money in the later stages of a mine’s life than in the early stages.
The money is collected to ensure that, should the company go under, the land will be cleaned up and returned to a productive state. As of 2009, oilsands mining occupied 66,342 hectares. Only 104 hectares have been certified as reclaimed by the government.
