Stellarton Coal Mine

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Stellarton Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Stellarton Coal Mine Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Canada[1] 45.5647505315899, -62.6729649908837 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating[2] 1996[1]

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.
Capacity (Mtpa) Production (Mtpa) Year of Production Mine Type Mining Method Mine Size (km2) Mine Depth (m) Workforce Size
0.2[3] 2017[3] Surface[4] Open Pit[2] 1.2[1] 65[1] 190*

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt) Year of Total Reserves Recorded Total Resources (Mt) Coalfield Coal Type Coal Grade Primary Consumer/ Destination
1.1 Pictou[1] Subbituminous Thermal[5] Trenton Generating Station[6]

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner Parent Company Headquarters
Pioneer Coal[4] Nova Construction Canada

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.

Background

Stellarton Coal Mine is surface reclamation coal mine in the town of Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada.[7] Stellarton Mine was the only operating coal mine in Nova Scotia until the Donkin Mine reopened in 2017.

The property where Stellarton mine is located is said to have been unusable before Pioneer Coal began mining there. This is because through the operations of the surface coal mine, tunnels made over 200 years of pick-and-shovel mining were removed, allowing for future land development.[8] (Hence why Stellarton Mine is known as a "reclamation mine site.")

In 2014, Pioneer Coal submitted a proposal to blast at the mine site in able to access an 11-foot-thick seam of coal underneath rock about 30 feet thick, however, the plan was met with opposition. Because Pioneer Coal's initial Environmental Assessment approval prohibited blasting, an amendment to the EA would have been required, which Pioneer Coal chose not to pursue.[8][9]

In 2017, Donald Chisholm, president of Nova Construction (which is the parent company of Pioneer Coal), stated that mining would continue at Stellarton for 2017, 2018, and possibly a portion of 2019. He noted that after that, underground mining would have to be considered, which Pioneer Coal isn’t interested in pursuing.[8] While slated to retire in 2019, the mine's closure has yet to be confirmed.[10]

  • Operator: Pioneer Coal[9]
  • Owner: Pioneer Coal
  • Location: Pictou, province of Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Coordinates: 45.5648, -62.6730 (exact)
  • Mine status: Operating
  • Start year:
  • Production capacity (Mtpa): 0.2 [7]
  • Total reserves (Mt): 1.1 [7]
  • Coal type: Subbituminous
  • Mine type: Surface
  • Mine size (Km2):
  • Workforce size:
  • Primary consumer:
  • Source of financing:

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 (PDF) https://www.novascotia.ca/nse/ea/stellartoncoal/StellMineEA_Vol1.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://www.printfriendly.com/p/g/LZin2e. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 https://careersincoal.ca/mine-map/ns-mine-map/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 4.0 4.1 https://www.novascotia.ca/nse/ea/stellartoncoal.asp. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20240121004850/https://www.gem.wiki/Trenton_Generating_Station. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20240121033901/https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/featured-article/coal-mine-fits-right-in-with-the-community/. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Careers in Coal - Nova Scotia, Coal Association of Canada, accessed June 2022.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Town eying future of mined lands", Saltwire Nova Scotia News, February 8, 2017.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Stellarton Surface Coal Mine Extension, Government of Nova Scotia website, accessed June 2022.
  10. "Nova Scotia wants to be off coal by 2030. What does that mean for Trenton?", Saltwire Atlantic Canada News, May 16, 2021.