In the early 20th century, coal was king. It was the main fuel source for heating homes, powering locomotives and generating electricity. The Crowsnest Pass had an abundance of coal and it was there in 1907 that Leitch Collieries was established. The company was forced to close in 1915 due to strikes, low production and a lack of buyers for the coal.
Coal is formed from dead plants that accumulate in swamps over thousands of years. As the vegetation starts to decompose peat bogs are formed. As the peat is buried under increasing amounts of sand, silt, and mud, the pressure of the piled-up sediments squeezes the water from the peat and it begins to coalify. Under increasing pressure and temperature the plant material is gradually changed as the moisture content is decreased and carbon content is increased.
If conditions are right, the peat may change progressively to lignite, bituminous coal, and anthracite. The energy content, or heat value, of the coal is concentrated progressively too.
The bituminous coal found in the Crowsnest Pass commonly shows a lot of deformation which disrupts the thickness and continuity of the seams. This adds an extra challenge when mining the coal.
Incidentally, there is some limited exploration in the Alberta Foothills for Coal Bed Methane (CBM).
Due to steep coal seams in one of the mines, no mechanization was possible underground so effort was made to maximize production on the surface. I believe Leitch Collieries is unique from most mine sites in that they put that effort into the surface production. This has allowed it to become the historic site it is today with physical structures than visitors can walk through for a truly interesting experience.
The coke ovens would have been the most important part of the operation. There were 101 ovens in total and each one was capable of producing almost 3000 kilograms of coke. These ovens were the Mitchell design and were chosen for their efficiency. Most ovens had one door but the Mitchell had two which enabled some mechanization of the process. Once the ovens were heated, they were filled from the top. Once loaded, a leveling ram was used to spread the coal evenly through the oven. The design also allowed a door made of steel and brick to be used as opposed to sealing the opening with bricks alone.
When the heating process was complete, the doors would be opened and a pusher sent the coke out to the wharf where it was cooled with water. The extraction process took only about 2 minutes as compared to an hour with a traditional beehive oven which saved valuable heat for the next load. At the wharf, the coke was shoveled into rail cars sitting below. It would then be shipped out mainly to be used in steel mills.
The site was declared a Provincial Historic resource on August 25, 1976 and opened to the public in September 1983. The summer of 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of summer programs offered at the site. Enjoy your time exploring the powerhouse, mine manager's residence, coke ovens, washery and tipple.
Please do not climb on the coke ovens.
In order to log this EarthCache, please send me an email (through my geocaching profile, kindly do not post in your log) the answers to the following questions:
On the first line of the email, please include the text “GC1KKKN - Leitch Collieries EarthCache"
1. What was the temperature range for heating the slack and how many hours was it 'baked'?
2. What is forced out of the coal and what is left in the coking process?
3. What type of stone was used in the construction of the powerhouse and mine manager's residence?
4. Photos at the cache site are always appreciated but no longer a requirement to log an EarthCache.
There is no need to wait for me to respond, please submit your answers and log at the same time. Posted logs that do not have the associated answers emailed within seven (7) days will be deleted. Please feel free to re-post once the answers have been sent.
Remember, there is no physical container to be found for an EarthCache site.
References:
1. http://culture.alberta.ca/museums/historicsiteslisting/leitchcollieries/default.aspx accessed January 12, 2009
updated November 27, 2015 http://www.history.alberta.ca/leitch/about/about.aspx
2. Coal - The Rock That Burns http://www.gac.ca/PopularGeoscience/factsheets/Coal_e.pdf accessed November 27, 2015
3. Alberta Geological Survey http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/energy/cbm/coal_and_cbm_intro.html#Alberta_Foothills accessed November 27, 2015
