Tumbler Ridge

Tumbler Ridge

Tumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. It has a area of 1,558 km2, with a population of1,987. The housing and municipal infrastructure, along with regional infrastructure connecting the new town to other municipalities, were built simultaneously in 1981.

About Tumbler Ridge in brief

Summary Tumbler RidgeTumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. It has a area of 1,558 km2, with a population of1,987. The municipality incorporates a townsite and a large area of mostly Crown Land. The housing and municipal infrastructure, along with regional infrastructure connecting the new town to other municipalities, were built simultaneously in 1981 by the provincial government to service the coal industry. In 2014, both operating coal mines were put into care and maintenance mode, but are still allowed to restart without needing to go through the process of getting a new mines act permit. In 2018, the Peace Region Paleontology Research Center opened in 2003. The research centre and a dinosaur museum were funded in part by the federal Western Economic Diversification Canada to decrease economic dependence on thecoal industry. Archaeological evidence show a human presence dating back 3,000 years. The nomadic Sekani, followed by the Dunneza and then the Cree, periodically lived in temporary settlements around the future municipality. In the 1950s and 1960s, oil and natural gas exploration and logging was conducted through the area, and 15 significant coal deposits were discovered. In 1981, a consortium of Japanese steel mills agreed to purchase 100 million tonnes of coal over 15 years for US$7. 5 billion from two mining companies, Denison Mines Inc. and the Teck Corporation.

The Quintette mine was closed in 2000 production and the town lost about half its population. The Wolverine Mine is in active production, as of 2017. Economic diversification has also occurred with oil and gas exploration, forestry, and recreational tourism. The town was completely forested when it was incorporated in April 1981, and the area was completely cleared of forested forested land in the 1990s. The area is 1,130 km to the nearest port and the mountainous barrier and the nearest rail line is the W. C. Bennett Dam at Hudson’s Hope. A branch of the A C Bennett Dam is located in the Rocky Mountains, using a branch line from the W C Bennett dam at Hudson’s Hope to power a branch power line through the Rocky mountains to Dawson Creek, Dawson Creek and Chetwynd. In 1982, houses and other buildings were constructed at the town. Full production was reached the following year following the production of the Coal Trend mine, which was purchased by Walter Energy in 2010. Walter went bankrupt in 2015, and their Canadian assets—including the Wolverine Mine—were purchased by Conuma Coal in 2016. The Trend Mine remains closed, but the Wolverine mines are in activeProduction, and both mines are still in operation. In 2012, the town was fully functioning before the residents arrived. During that year, roadways were cleared and water and sewerage system was built. During the winter of that year the water and sewage system was constructed, and all buildings were built.