Genesee Coal mine opens in Alberta

Fording Coal Limited has officially opened the Genesee Coal mine ahead of schedule and under budget.

Located 55 km south-west of Edmonton, Alta., the Genesee Coal mine forms part of the Genesee Power Project developed by Edmonton Power, a department of the City of Edmonton. The power project will generate electrical power by burning coal produced from the coal mine immediately adjacent to the power plant. The mine is expected to produce three million tonnes of thermal coal annually for the generation of electrical power. The plant will have two 400 megawatts generating units, the first of which will be producing power in 1989 and the second in 1991.

The mine’s reserves consist of over 270 million tonnes of sub- bituminous coal contained in three major seams.

A joint venture project by Fording Coal Limited and Edmonton Power, the power project was initially proposed in the late 1970s to be producing power in the early 1980s, a time of rapid growth in the Alberta economy. The project was deferred twice by regulatory agencies due to the slower pace of electrical demand growth. Electrical demand has now reached a point where the additional capacity of the Genesee Power Plant is required.

The first power is scheduled to be commercially produced in October, 1989.

Under construction since May, 1987, Genesee Coal mine has created approximately 80 man-years of employment. By the end of December, there will be 30 permanent jobs in the mine itself and as the mine expands to meet the requirements of the power plant, 90-100 employees are forecasted by 1991.

Fording Coal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Limited, Canada’s second largest corporation which has extensive holdings in transportation, hotels, real estate, and natural resources development companies.