Stellarton Surface Coal Mine

45°33′56.5″N 62°40′30.4″W

Pioneer Coal Mine in 2015

The Stellarton Surface Coal Mine was an open pit reclamation coal mine located in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. It was operated by Pioneer Coal Limited.

Abandoned tunnel at the edge of the Stellarton pit

Operations

The mine began operations in 1996 and coal was extracted using truck and shovel mining. Coal mining has taken place in this area of Pictou County for more than 400 years, and until the Donkin Mine reopened in 2017,[1] the pit was the only operating coal mine in Nova Scotia.[2] Underground mining previously took place in the area where the Stellarton pit was located[3] and occasionally remnants of the abandoned tunnels from underground mining could be seen on the pit walls while the mine was still in operation.[2] In 2022 Pioneer Coal ceased actively mining in Stellarton and began reclamation work on the now former mine.[4][5]

See also

• Pioneer Coal Limited
• Westray Mine

References

1. "Donkin Mine begins producing coal in Cape Breton". No. CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
2. Beswick, Aaron (24 June 2014). "The end of an era may be nearing for King Coal". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
3. Beswick, Aaron (6 November 2013). "Springhill could dig coal". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
4. Jordan, Sarah (16 January 2024). "Stellarton, N.S., mayor hopeful for development as pit mine gets its fill". PNI Atlantic. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
5. Adshade, Kevin (14 December 2023). "Former mine in Stellarton seeing progress toward new life". The Advocate. Retrieved 22 January 2025.

External links

• Media related to Pioneer Coal Mine at Wikimedia Commons