Highvale Coal Mine
Alberta, Canada
REFERENCES
- http://www.transalta.com/sites/default/files/Highvale_Mine_Pit09_Info%20Booklet.pdf
- http://www.transalta.com/facilities/mines-operation/highvale-mine
- http://www.sunhills.ca/
- http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/OFR/PDF/OFR_1985_07.pdf
- http://books.google.ca/books?id=C5XyR0jHe8QC&pg=PA397&lpg=PA397&dq=mining+challenges+of+the+21st+century&source=bl&ots=42kW4cNTmQ&sig=sr0gD_2_4nda-7qg2T5iPImosQA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7_8iVNSjJM3MigLq_ICQAQ&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=highvale%20mine&f=false
- http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=eca9f0ba-b75f-46ba-9eb7-beda148c4a88
- http://altiusminerals.com/prairie-royalties/highvale
- http://www.sherritt.com/getattachment/7a7b0634-0dd4-46c4-bcda-19d73042fa9c/2012-Annual-Report
- http://esrd.alberta.ca/lands-forests/land-industrial/education/industrial-land-use/coal-mines.aspx
- http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/coal/5-year/
Mine - 201 Mining Methods
Kent Redding
Bucyrus 8750 B
- Largest dragline model in the World
- Moved into pit 08 for a year, moved to pit 09 afterward
- 2 years to assemble with 220 engineers
http://www.transalta.com/sites/default/files/Highvale_Mine_Pit09_Info%20Booklet.pdf
Economics
- Price of coal from 2009-2012
http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/coal/5-year/
Steps in Operation
Topsoil & Subsoil
- Bottom dump & rear dump haulage trucks
Removal of Overburden & Coal
- Some pits require blasting
- Bottom dump haulage trucks
Reclamation
- Earlier stockpiling of topsoil & subsoil is now replaced and planted to original state
- 1,361 hectares of 5,865 hectares
- Developed into woodlands, agriculture, recreation, wildlife habitat and wetlands
(http://www.transalta.com/facilities/mines-operation/highvale-mine)
Haulage Trip
- Maximum 10 kilometer route
Strip Mining
- A tabular, lens shaped or layered deposit
- Overburden is removed first
- Once ore is removed a separate operation follows replacing overburden and soils to original state
Size and production
http://esrd.alberta.ca/lands-forests/land-industrial/education/industrial-land-use/coal-mines.aspx
http://www.transalta.com/sites/default/files/Highvale_Mine_Pit09_Info%20Booklet.pdf
History & General Information of the Mine
- 70 kilometers west of Edmonton
- Operation started in 1970
- Currently owned by TransAlta Utilities Corporation
- Canada's largest surface coal mine