Coal an essential energy producer, past and future: "public education," believes Kevin Mueller, Saskatchewan mining association industrial minerals section chairman, "requires a major effort.".

There are countless interesting facts and exciting developments related to the field of industrial minerals--material such as coal, char and salt--yet most remain out of the public eye. For example, it is not widely known that coal is the largest commodity moved by rail in Canada or that 17 per cent of this country's electricity is created by coal. Or, that in some industrialized countries simply powering the Internet consumes eight per cent of their electricity.

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"Lifestyle changes are driving an increased demand for electricity and the coal industry will play a big role in how that demand is met," Mueller predicts.

"We're finding ways to advance the technology used in our industry, finding out how to develop cheaper and cleaner methods of producing electricity, and we want to make the public aware of those advancements."

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The Canadian Clean Power Coalition is a key organization active in presenting coal as an environmentally responsible energy source. Alongside 90 per cent of Canada's coal community, producers and consumers of Saskatchewan coal are involved in their efforts.

"The coalition is looking at some of the ways we can improve the quality of coal and conducting tests that will give us a greater understanding of the different constituents within coal," Mueller says. "The end goal is to demonstrate processes that reduce emissions from coal-fired plants to levels that are as good or better than other power sources."

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Coal is already a cash-friendly energy source, Mueller points out. As a fuel source for electricity production, coal provides a considerably lower-cost option. Abundant coal reserves in this province will last more than 200 years, far longer than our limited oil and gas reserves.

Coal-fired plants have become substantially more efficient as electric companies work to increase thermal performance within their operations. SaskPower's plans to refurbish and renew major components in their power plants is a strategy the coal mining industry applauds.

"Of the 12 million tonnes of coal we produced last year, 10 million tonnes were sent to SaskPower as per our long-term contract agreements," Mueller says. "SaskPower's decision to go ahead with major expenditures and to invest in the life-extension work they're doing tells us that our industry will be a very important contributor to energy production in this province for a long time to come."

The industry has proven its stamina over the last century and the Bienfait Mine is, in fact, celebrating its centennial year alongside the province of Saskatchewan. In 1905 there were 120,000 tonnes of coal mined using horses and carriages and in 2005 there will be 12 million tonnes produced using massive loaders and huge trucks. There have been other significant changes, Meuller says.

"A hundred years ago production was the No. 1 concern but today it shares that ranking with both safety and the environment," he says.

The industry is now keenly aware of its responsibility to re-contour and re-vegetate land throughout its reclamation activities, plus it has invested heavily in new and more energy-efficient equipment. A fair bit of work is also being done, Mueller says, in coal gasification and in finding ways to use the byproducts of the coal conversion process in other applications.

Mueller is also quite pleased with the industry's world-leading safety record. In excess of 1.1 million hours were spent on coal mining operations in the province last year without one lost-time accident. Compare that with other work and general lifestyle activities in Saskatchewan, Mueller offers, where a disabling injury occurs once every two-and-a-half hours.

While coal mining dominates the industrial mineral scene there are other plays in the province. Charcoal briquette production continues at the Bienfait operation while sodium sulphate encountered a below-average year due to increased competition. Graphite-rich mineral deposits are being developed near Southend and prospective rare earth deposits have been identified in the Hoidas Lake area.

"This sector accounts for more than 600 direct jobs in Saskatchewan and is highly valuable to the provincial economy when you consider the indirect jobs in machine shops, with electrical and mechanical contractors and with suppliers," Mueller says. "I see opportunities for growth in this industry and a bright future as the economy continues to grow."