By William N.T. Wylie
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Mechanical wet and dry cleaning processes were introduced at an
early date in the Crowsnest Pass. Wet washeries were used to
clean the very fine coal being prepared for the coke ovens at
Hosmer, Leitch, and Lille before the First World War, and the
International mine at Coleman by the 1930s. This process used
jigs to immerse the coal in fluid and separate it by flotation,
the coal floating to the top while the impurities sank. The coal
was then usually dried with aid of heat. In the 1930s, an
improved wet washing process for larger coal was invented by G.A.
Vissac, general manager of West Canadian Collieries at Blairmore.
In an industry dominated by equipment from the United States and
Europe, the Vissac jig was a notable local invention that
received widespread use. First introduced at the Greenhill mine
in 1933, it was later employed elsewhere in Alberta and in the
adjoining American states. Finally, dry washeries also appeared
between the First and Second World Wars. Developed in Britain,
this process employed air currents to dry-clean the coal. It was
in place at Blairmore and Coleman by 1926.1
The use of mechanical washeries
increased with time as the demand grew for cleaner coal, and
greater emphasis was placed on cutting labour costs. These
concerns led to the spread of mechanical cleaning facilities
among the larger operations in the Coal Branch starting in the
later 1930s, and even more in the early 1940s when labour was
again beginning to be in short supply. Both wet and dry
washeries were installed at Mountain Park in 1938, and
afterwards at Cadomin, Luscar, Coal Valley, and Sterco. The Galt
No. 8 mine at Lethbridge opened an air cleaning plant in 1942.
Vissac jigs were used at Nordegg.2
At certain sites, the coal
underwent further preparation to suit specialized markets. In
the Crowsnest Pass, coke ovens were installed at Morrissey,
Fernie, Hosmer, Michel, Coleman, Lille, and Leitch Collieries
before the First World War, in order to produce fuel for the
smelters in the Kootenay region of British Columbia and in
neighbouring Montana. Coke, containing a very high
proportion of carbon, was produced in these ovens by heating
fine coal in an airtight environment. Most Pass ovens were
spherical brick structures of the traditional "beehive" type, in
which most of the work was done manually. Several, however, were
mechanized, including the Mitchell ovens at Leitch, and the
Belgian-designed Bernard ovens used by the French-based West
Canadian Collieries at Lille.3
Briquette plants were also
constructed at mine sites where a high proportion of crumbly
coal was encountered. In the briquetting process, the coal was
combined under heat and pressure with a binder, which was molten
or crushed tar or asphalt. The result was more easily marketable
chunks of coal, which burned more efficiently and which could be
transported with less breakage. Depending on their quality,
briquettes were sold for domestic or industrial use. Briquette
plants
were built at Bankhead, in the
Banff area, by 1907; at Nordegg by 1936; at Luscar in the Coal
Branch; and, finally, at Michel in the Crowsnest Pass, in 1954.3
Following the preparation
process, the coal or briquettes were usually loaded into
boxcars, or-by the 1950s- trucks, that were maneuvered under the
tipple or briquette building. At most mines, the coal fell from
storage bins down a chute into the boxcars. By the 1930s,
loading booms were often used to minimize breakage. These booms
or loaders were moveable conveyor belts that distributed the
coal evenly through the cars. The coal then usually proceeded by
spur rail lines, often built by the companies themselves, to the
main rail lines for shipment to market.4
William N.T. Wylie, "Coal-Mining Landscapes:
Commemorating Coal Mining in Alberta and Southeastern British
Columbia," a report prepared for the Historic Sites and
Monuments Board of Canada, Parks Canada Agency, 2001.
See Also:
The Coal
IndustryOverview, Rapid Expansion,
Domestic and Steam Coalfields,
1914-1947: The Struggling Industry,
Collapse and Rebirth,
Settlement of the West,
Issues and ChallengesOverview,
Entrepreneurship, Technology,
Underground Techniques,
Surface Technology,
Surface Mining,
Social Impacts,
Unions,
1882-1913: Unionization and Early Gains,
1914-1920: Revolutionary Movement,
1921-1950s: Labour Unrest and
Setbacks, Mining Companies, People of
the Coal Mines,
The Middle Class,
Miners and Local
Government,
Politics and Economics ,
Environmental Impacts,
Health and SafetyOverview,
The State and
Labour Relations,
The State and
Development after 1918
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