TransAlta to stop mining coal in Canada by end of 2021

MINING.COM Staff Writer | November 4, 2020 | 10:53 am Energy News Canada Coal

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TransAlta Corp. (NYSE: TAC) announced that it will end mining operations at its Highvale coal mine by the end of 2021 and will stop using coal to power its generators in Canada effective January 1, 2022.

Located south of Wabamun Lake, about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton, Highvale is Canada’s largest surface strip coal mine and covers more than 12,600 hectares. The mine has been in operation since 1970.

TransAlta chief executive Dawn Farrell said the closing will come four years ahead of its original off-coal schedule for the mine.

Approximately 8 million tonnes of low-sulphur-content thermal-grade coal are mined at Highvale each year and delivered to TransAlta’s Sundance and Keephills thermal generating plants.

The company said Keephills and Sundance Unit 4 will only operate on gas.

According to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), coal use in the country will decline 75% by 2040.