Canmore Coal Mining

Canmore Coal Mining. . , Coal mining in Canmore offered rare high quality coal and extremely dangerous mining conditions., Anthracite coal, as found in Canmore, accounts for only one percent of the coal in the world. It is renowned for its purity and the heat it generates, making it ideal for generating steam and coking steel. The Bow Valley was the only known location in Canada with anthracite coal when the Canadian Anthracite Co. opened the No. 1 mine in 1887. Today, the largest pockets of anthracite coal in the world are located in west-central BC., The seams in the Canmore region tend to be steep and filled with explosive methane gas. In the Wilson seam, for example, 2,000 cubic feet of gas was produced for every ton of coal. Explosions, rock fall and other hazards killed at least 42 miners during Canmore's 92 years of coal mining., The single worst accident occurred on June 14, 1900 when an explosion killed eight miners and injured several more. The explosion was caused when a miner, one of those killed, ignited the gas by opening his safety lamp. That the number of deaths over 92 years was that low is a testament to the skill of the miners and mine managers. They excelled in safely extracting coal in some of the world's most dangerous conditions., Canmore's fortunes grew when the Canadian Pacific Railway discovered that Canmore's coal burned hotter and more efficiently than the coal the railway had been using for its locomotives. CPR general manager William Cornelius Van Horne said, "A locomotive driver or fireman who cannot use Canmore coal will get no employment with the CPR"., The railway switched to Canmore coal on its western leg. The CPR remained Canmore's main customer throughout most of Canmore's mining history. Oil and gas, however, would end this relationship by the 1960's as the railroad switched to diesel-electric locomotives., Canmore found a new market in Japan's steel industry but that proved to be short-lived. The distance and cost to transport coal, and competition from mines in Asia and Australia killed any promise the Japanese market offered. Canmore's mines closed in 1979., Most of the coal mining in Canmore was underground. Open-pit mining was also used in the last decade as a means to quickly meet quotas. Quarry Lake, one of Canmore's most-loved recreation sites, was once a strip mine.