Poplar River Coal Mine

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Poplar River Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Coronach, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Poplar River Coal Mine Coronach, Saskatchewan, Canada[1] 49.2127113, -105.4714202 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating[1] 1978[1]

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.
Capacity (Mtpa) Production (Mtpa) Year of Production Mine Type Mining Method Mine Size (km2) Mine Depth (m) Workforce Size
3.3 Surface[2] Strip[2] 74.88[1] 50* 167[3]

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt) Year of Total Reserves Recorded Total Resources (Mt) Coalfield Coal Type Coal Grade Primary Consumer/ Destination
45 Lignite[1] Thermal[1] Poplar River power station[2]

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner Parent Company Headquarters
Prairie Mines and Royalty LLC[4] Westmoreland Coal Co [100.0%] USA

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Saleable 3[5] 3[5] 3[6]

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.

Background

Poplar River mine is a surface strip mine operated by Westmoreland Mining LLC and located in Coronach, Saskatchewan.[7] The Poplar River Mine is a 7,488 Ha. surface strip mine located in South Central Saskatchewan near the Town of Coronach. The mine operates two active pits and supplies lignite coal to the two generating units at the Poplar River Generating Station which is owned and operated by Saskatchewan Power Corporation. The mine has been supplying coal to the station since 1978.

Coal is uncovered using two draglines (2 – BE 2570W). The exposed coal is hauled from the pits to a loadout and then railed 20 kilometres to the generating station. Current annual production of the mine is 2.3 to 3.4 million tonnes. The current coal supply contract for the mine expires in 2029.[8]

Poplar River Mine owns and operates the railway from the mine to the generating station. Work is underway to extend the existing coal contract for a 10 year period.[7]

  • Operator: Westmoreland Coal
  • Owner: Westmoreland Mining LLC
  • Location: Coronach, Saskatchewan, Canada
  • GPS coordinates: 49.2127113,-105.4714202 (exact)
  • Mine status: Operating
  • Start year: 1978
  • Mineable reserves: 45 million tonnes
  • Coal type: Lignite
  • Mine size: 7,488 Ha
  • Mine type: Surface
  • Production: Up to 3.4 million tonnes per annum[8]
  • Equipment: Dragline
  • Number of employees: 167

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20240903172518/https://www.poplarrivermine.com/about-us. Archived from the original on 03 September 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20240816173316/https://www.poplarrivermine.com/how-we-mine. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20210805134211/https://westmoreland.com/location/poplar-river-mine-saskatchewan/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. https://westmoreland.com/poplar-river-mine-2/v. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 https://miningdataonline.com/property/457/Poplar-River-Mine.aspx. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. (PDF) https://ijc.org/sites/default/files/Poplar%20River%20Annual%20Report%20for%202022_Final.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. 7.0 7.1 Poplar River Mine – Saskatchewan, Westmoreland Mining LLC, accessed October 2020
  8. 8.0 8.1 About Us, Poplar River Mine website, accessed June 2022.