RE: Political Decision... Yes chrisale, this should ultimately come down to a political decision, after all the EA and permit will be issued by the government both Provincial and Federal if all goes well.
Be it the Clark government or the NDP if they come into power in BC, they will have to make a decision if CEC can mine Raven responsibly within Environmental regulations, or whether the cons outweigh the pros of opening another underground mine on Vancouver Island.
Quinsam has mined responsibly for over a decade. Jobs will be created with Raven and that is something politicians run their campaign on as well as being environmentally responsible.
The NDP has the green vote on their side, but they are also pro-labour so what would they do if they won the provincial election next year?
IMO, whatever the government in BC, be it Clark or NDP the decision to grant a permit for Raven will depend on how responsible Compliance and their JV partners are in their plans to mine Raven in an environmentally friendly way. It will create jobs, and hopefully leave a minimal geologic footprint.
Unfortunately, I don't know of any other means of producing Steel without coking coal. Until we find a substitute for Steel or in the way it is produced, coking coal will be needed so as long as miners extract the coal responsibly, then I don't see a valid reason to stop the Raven Coal Mine.
It would be a benefit to all if miners around the world, especially China and other developing countries were to use environmentally friendly mining procedures to do their part in reducing the overall footprint. I'm sure Canadian miners are among the cleanest and most responsible, so it would be a shame to see Canada doing their part and others not. atb