The Australian-based company received notice from the Alberta Energy Regulator that Vista was in the final stages of the application review process. Following a final review in late September, the AER will decide whether a hearing will be set down to resolve any concerns.

Coalspur expects this to be the final step prior to the AER issuing the necessary licenses for the project’s development.

Seven ‘statements of concern’ have been lodged with the AER about the project. But Coalspur says it is continuing to work with the parties it believes may be legitimately impacted by Vista and is confident that its discussions will be concluded within the AER time frame.

Coalspur president and CEO Gill Winckler said construction of the project would be delayed from the intended September start date, but first production remained on schedule for mid-2015.

“This notification from the AER confirms that the regulatory process for Vista is now in its final stages,” Winckler said.

“We are working with the AER and their revised approval process and hope to resolve the outstanding issues in a timely manner.

“We are disappointed that construction on Vista will not be able to commence in September as previously expected. However, our development schedule includes numerous contingencies that will allow us to maintain the capital budget and achieve first production from Vista in mid-2015 as planned, assuming that we begin construction later this year.”

Coalspur also announced that Canadian National Railway Company had received final approval from the Canadian Transportation Agency for construction of the planned railway line that would provide coal to be transported from Vista’s loading site.