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The Coal Valley Mine |
| The Coal Valley mine was a related late comer to the Coal Branch. The mine opened in 1922 by the same financial backers as the Sterling Collieries at Sterco. Like Sterco, the Coal Valley Mining Company was always run as a strip mining operation. Within one year, the mine had 100 employees and was producing 500 tons of coal daily. The town was originally called Prattville after one of the French investors on the Board of Directors. However, the name soon changed to Coal Valley. The mine was subject to seasonal closures each year and was hard hit during the depression. The mine at Coal Valley closed in 1955 and the town was abandoned. The former townsite is again the site of open pit mining operations within the Luscar Sterco (1977) Ltd lease. |