Coal Quality In The Ardley Coal Zone, Plains Region of Alberta

This report addresses the coal quality of the Ardley coal zone in the Alberta plains. The Ardley coal zone is lower Tertiary in age and is one of Alberta's most important sources of thermal coal. Along the eastern and northern erosional edges of the Paskapoo Formation, subbituminous coal resources of the Ardley zone are found at shallow depths. Currently, three major mines are producing coal from the Ardley zone, (the Whitewood, Highvale and Genesee mines) to produce thermal electric power for the province. The Highvale mine alone produces over 13 million tonnes/year of coal making it the largest coal mine in Canada.