Overview

Mine Type	Open Pit
Status	Closing / Closed
Commodities	Coal (thermal)
Mining Method	Dragline Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start	...
Snapshot	Active coal mining at TransAlta’s Highvale Mine ceased at the end of December 2021 with the end of coal-fired generation at the Keephills and Sundance power plants. Operations at the Highvale Mine shifted to full-time reclamation in January 2022 with plans to have the Highvale Mine fully reclaimed by 2046. TransAlta submitted under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (“EPEA”) a combined Decommissioning Plan and Final Reclamation Plan for the Highvale Mine to the Alberta Energy Regulator (“AER”). At the same time, TransAlta filed a 10-year Renewal for the Highvale Mine under EPEA, the Water Act and the Coal Conservation Act in June 2022.

Deposit type

• Sedimentary

Summary:

Mining Methods

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Processing

Summary:

Approximately 13 million tonnes of low­sulphur content thermal­grade coal are mined at Highvale each year and delivered to TransAlta’s Sundance and Keephills thermal generating plants. The Keephills 3 thermal plant began commercial operations in 2011 requiring an additional 1.8 million tonnes each year.

The Sundance power plant is the largest coal fired electrical generating facility in western Canada, with six generating units. A 53 megawatt uprate to Sundance 5 was completed in 2009 at a cost of $75 million. Additionally, a 44-megawatt uprate was completed on Sundance 6 in 2001 and a 53-megawatt uprate on Sundance 4 in 2007.

In May 2015, TransAlta completed a 15-megawatt uprate on Sundance 3.

Keephills 3, the 495-megawatt gross (MW) coal fired generating facility, the most advanced coal-fired plant ever built in Canada, began commercial operation on September 1, 2011.

Production

Operational metrics

Personnel

Job Title	Name	Profile	Ref. Date
.......................	.......................		Nov 30, 2023