Coal mining in Canada: 1983

This report has two purposes: to present significant information on coal mining operations in Canada as of December 1983 and to update the assessment of Canada's coal reserves as of December 1982. Regarding coal mining operations the report includes names of operators, location and size of operations, a brief description of mining and coal preparation methods and major equipment used. Because the geological setting of coal operations in Canada varies in the extreme and because this setting is critical to the technology used in excavating and processing coal, a section briefly depicting the geology of major coalfields has been included. Canada's coal reserve quantities have been updated from those presented in EMR Report ER 79-9 because of significant changes that occurred since 1978, especially in Nova Scotia, Alberta and British Columbia. Coal quality data have likewise been updated. EMR's reserve term definitions are unchanged from the earlier report, except the term COAL-IN-MINEABLE-SEAMS replaces the earlier term "mineable coal". The approval of coal projects in Alberta and British Columbia follows well-defined procedures. This has resulted in some public disclosure of data on coal reserve quantities, limiting criteria, coal quality, mining plans, environmental impact assessments etc. Technological information used in this report was also acquired during regular visits by Coal Research Laboratories staff to operating mine sites across Canada.