The 1987 Coal Review DEVCO

The Cape Breton Development Corp. (DEVCO), a federal Crown corporation created in 1967, is eastern Canada’s major coal producer. DEVCO operates three submarine coal mines, including the new Phalen Colliery, which started its first production face last May; a second wall went into production in September. Phalen Colliery

The decision to start the Phalen Colliery was made in 1982, but actual construction of the mine did not get under way until 1984 following the closing of the corporation’s #26 Colliery after a major fire. The Phalen mine features retreat longwall mining using the newest mining technology and the most modern underground equipment available. The mine produces coal that can be washed to produce 50% metallurgical and 50% thermal coal, both of very high quality. It has a planned production of 8,600 tonnes run-of-mine daily. Coal is transported by cable belt and conveyor belt with men and material transported by endless haulage, monorail and drop hoists. Total workforce underground and on the surface is about 700. Prince Mine

Although it started in 1975 as a room-and-pillar operation, the Prince mine now uses the retreat longwall method of mining. The vertical workings of this submarine mine are 780 ft below sea level. The mine’s production rate is 5,800 run-of-mine tonnes daily. A conveyor belt system moves the coal from the depths to the surface, while men and material are moved by the endless haulage system, drop hoists and battery locomotives. Prince mine coal is used for the generation of electric power. The mine employs about 650 workers. Lingan Colliery

The oldest mine operated by the corporation, the Lingan Colliery, is also the first mine to be opened following DEVCO’s takeover of the Sydney coalfield mining industry. It started production in 1970 and has a current production of 5,900 run-of- mine tonnes daily. The workings are 2,060 ft below sea level. This mine uses the traditional advance longwall mining method. The Lingan Colliery employs slightly more than 100 people underground and on the surface. The Mined coal can be washed to produce both thermal and metallurgical coal.

The three DEVCO mines are ex pected to produce about 3.2 million tonnes of saleable coal during the fiscal year ending March 31, 1988.

DEVCO’s coal division also owns and operates a transportation system consisting of a railway with a modern repair and maintenance centre, a fleet of tractor-trailer trucks for coal transportation, a coal preparation plant, a shipping facility on Sydney Harbour, a banking and lifting centre for blending coal, and a pilot plant for production of carbofuel (a coal-water fuel that could create an expanding market for coal in the near future).