# Hello from Sunny Southern Alberta



## CJ Dixon (Dec 17, 2018)

Saw this forum as I was looking where to buy coal for my forge.  I have a propane forge up and running but want to have a coal forge for better heat control for heat treating.  I've heard that since the changes in operation at the Crowsnest Pass mines, coal is getting hard to get unless you have an inside source or a good friend (neither of which I have).  Any help will be great and I look forward to browsing posts and learning some new stuff.


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## historicalarms (Dec 17, 2018)

Do you require mountain dug "coking coal" or will the low-land shallow coal seam coal used to heat 1000's of homes from the settlement days onwards work in a"hobby" situation.


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## CJ Dixon (Dec 17, 2018)

Coking coal is my preferred choice as I'm not just heating metal to shape it.


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## historicalarms (Dec 18, 2018)

You might have to "jump" a coal train sitting on a siding somewhere in the "Interior" in the middle of the night then for that LOL .

    Low-land coal can be found quite easily along most any riverbank in AB. if that's the route you end up going. Probably the Sheep or St Marry's in your area have some showing up.  Look on the outside of a curve in the rivers (the outside of the curve washes more sluffed earth away exposing the coal, especially with the new bank faces exposed after the floods of a few years ago). you want to look for black horizontal lines in the river bank that are a few feet wide. These black steaks will show where a coal seam face is exposed and a pick-axe & shovel will probably be enough to mine what coal you will use in short order.

    LOL... I can tell you how to "blast" some out with readily available materials  as well if your so inclined  ( I worked/blasted 9 yrs in an open pit mine with an old guy that did it "old school" one time just to show us young-uns how it was done).


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