CEC’s consultant Pincock, Allen and Holt expects to complete its study on the proposed Vancouver Island operation and release the results at the beginning of the third quarter.

Environmental baseline monitoring firm AMEC Earth and Environmental is continuing work on the environmental impact assessment.

CEC said PAH was updating Raven’s geological model and would provide a resource update by the end of this year’s first quarter. Its evaluation of transportation options has been completed and consultants are conducting further studies to verify the efficiency of the preferred option.

Nearing completion are the mine’s washability testing and coal quality analysis, being performed by GWIL Industries, as well as metallurgical testing by West Virginia firm SGS North America. CEC expects the entire suite will be available for review by early March.

Geotechnical testing on core sample, rock rejects and surface soils is being evaluated by Agapito Associates and Knight Piesold.

CEC is developing Raven as part of a joint venture signed in early 2009 with Japanese company Itochu Corporation and Korea-based LG International. Both companies elected Compliance as the complex’s managing owner.

Raven has a resource of about 110 million tons and initial data indicates the mine will likely be a slope portal, extracting coal via room and pillar methods. Production is expected to commence in 2012.