CANADA

Proved amount in place (total coal, million tonnes) 8 723
Proved recoverable reserves (total coal, million tonnes) 6 578
Production (total coal, million tonnes, 1999) 72.5

Canada has considerable coal resources, with proved reserves of more than 6.5 billion tonnes. The first reassessment of resources that has been reported since the data provided for the 1992 Survey of Energy Resources results in substantially lower levels for the proved amount in place. Bituminous coals (including anthracite) are evaluated as 4.6 billion tonnes, based on deposits to a maximum depth of 1 200 metres and a minimum seam thickness of 0.6 metres; sub-bituminous grades are put at approximately 1.1 billion tonnes (maximum depth 300 metres, minimum thickness 1.5 metres); and lignite at 3.0 billion tonnes (maximum depth 50 metres, minimum thickness 1.5 metres). The proved recoverable reserves for each rank have been assessed as approximately 75% of the respective proved amount in place.

Estimates of the tonnages of coal (in-place and recoverable) that are considered to be additional to the "proved" amounts of each rank have been considerably increased: all six quantities now run into tens of billions of tonnes. Such numbers can never possess any high degree of accuracy, but they do serve to underline Canada’s undoubtedly massive coal endowment.

Canada’s coal resources are mainly located in the mid-to-western provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, with smaller deposits in the eastern provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The first four named provinces are responsible for more than 98% of Canadian coal production. Bituminous deposits are found in the two eastern provinces, together with Alberta and British Columbia; Alberta also possesses sub-bituminous grades, while lignite deposits are found mainly in Saskatchewan.

Alberta is both the largest coal-producing and coal-consuming province; as in the other producing provinces, coal is mainly used for electricity generation. In total, more than 89% of Canadian coal production is used for electricity generation, about 8% for steel production and 3% for other industries, mainly cement.

Ontario, as the second largest coal consumer, conforms to the national pattern of usage. Consumption has increased in Ontario as a number of nuclear generating units have been shut down.

British Columbia produces mostly metallurgical coal, which is all exported (over 28 million tonnes in 1998).

The Canadian coal industry is almost entirely in private ownership; output is currently from large surface mines. Virtually all underground operations have now ceased

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