Whatever happened to Alberta's coal industry?

CBC Calgary's Robson Fletcher answers certain nagging questions that some Albertans may have about the state of the coal industry in the province.

Alberta averages 25 to 30 million tonnes of coal production each year from its 9 mines. Coal-bearing formations underlie about 300,000 square kilometres, almost half of Alberta. In 2014, 9 mine sites produced approximately 30.8 million tonnes (Mt) of marketable coal.

Alberta is certainly a province in Western Canada. Its landscape encompasses mountains, prairies, desert badlands and various vast coniferous forests. It has more than 600 lakes, and certain rich mineral deposits. In the west, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks have beautiful glaciers in the Columbia Icefields. The fantastic Waterton Glacier International Peace Park is a biosphere reserve that really straddles the southern border with the USA.