A key part of the building conservation efforts at the abandoned Brazeau Collieries mine operation involves repairing the outer shell of the structures so they can better withstand the weather and not further degrade on the interior. This is one side of the briquette plant, where everything at the operation came together. Hot liquid petroleum asphalt was combined with cleaned, crushed coal, then gravity-fed through rotating steel presses to form the briquettes. During peak demand, 4 separate lines ran 24 hours a day making briquettes for shipping out by rail. Today, new corrugated metal siding gleams over the darkened heart of the coal operation and distant clouds billow above the silenced stacks.
Gleaming Shell, Coal Heart, Nordegg
Royce Howland Photography 