Mining in Alberta: 17 Facts, History & More!

Mining in Alberta: 17 Facts, History & More!

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Key Takeaways

  • Alberta’s eight operating oil sands mines produced 48% of the province’s raw bitumen in 2025, about 1.77 million barrels per day
  • Alberta produced 46.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel in 2025 valued at $665 million, second only to Ontario
  • Alberta’s underground brines hold an estimated 82.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, which could be the third-largest lithium resource in the world

mining in Alberta facts and statistics

When most people think of Alberta, they picture oil wells and pumpjacks. But Alberta is also one of Canada’s busiest mining provinces, with 8 operating oil sands mines, 4 operating coal mines and 35 rock-hosted mineral surface mines as of April 2026 [1].

Those mines supply the fuel that powers our economy, the steelmaking coal the world needs, and the sand, gravel, limestone and salt that help build our roads and homes. And a new chapter in Alberta’s mining sector is already underway, with new lithium mining opportunities emerging from below ground in previously drilled oil and natural gas reservoirs.

Below, we explore 17 facts about mining in Alberta, along with a brief history and what the future holds.

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17 Alberta Mining Facts

#1 – Alberta is home to plenty of mines, including 8 operating oil sands mines, 4 operating coal mines, 35 rock-hosted mineral surface mines, and thousands of sand and gravel operations on both private and public lands [1]

#2 – Mining produced 48% of Alberta’s raw bitumen in 2025, or about 281,000 cubic metres per day (roughly 1.77 million barrels per day) [2]

#3 – Alberta is home to four operating coal mines; in 2025, coal production fell 11% year-over-year due to lower thermal and metallurgical coal prices and temporary disruptions at the Grande Cache mine [3]

#4 – The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) now includes three major new or expansion bituminous coal projects: Mine 14, the Vista Coal Mine Phase II Expansion and the Grassy Mountain project, predicting a modest rise in coal production between 2025 and 2035 [3]

#5 – Alberta’s mineral shipments, excluding coal and oil sands, were worth $857.2 million in 2024 and $838.4 million in 2025  [4]

#6 – Alberta produced 46.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel in 2025 worth $665 million, ranking second only to Ontario by tonnage, making sand and gravel the backbone of the province’s non-fuel mining and the raw material for roads, concrete and homes across Western Canada [5]

#7 – Salt and limestone are among Alberta’s leading non-fuel minerals produced, and the province has more than 40 known kinds of metallic and industrial minerals [6].

#8 – Alberta has no active metallic mineral mines. Any gold produced in the province is a by-product of sand and gravel mining, and small amounts of placer gold have been recovered from river sediments throughout Alberta’s history [7]

#10 – The Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) estimated in early 2026 that Alberta’s Devonian brines hold 82.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in place, potentially making it the world’s third-largest lithium resource [8]

#11 – Alberta’s lithium carbonate equivalent in place is estimated to be worth around CAD $1.4 trillion, showing the immense potential of this resource, if developed and brought to market [10]

#12 - Alberta has potential for vanadium, rare earth elements and titanium in oil sands by-products, plus potash, uranium and lithium. Today, Alberta’s non-energy mineral production comes mainly from 23 active quarries producing salt, silica sand, limestone and other industrial minerals [9]

#13 – Alberta also has geological potential for potash in eastern Alberta and uranium in southern and northeastern Alberta, two resources found in abundance in the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan [9]

#14 – Alberta also has potential for new mineral and metal discoveries for gold, silver, base metals, and diamonds, as well as a broad spectrum of other mining resources [11]

#15 – The development of metallic and industrial mineral resources across Alberta has long been overshadowed by energy, including oil, oil sands, natural gas, and coal; although Alberta is home to more than 40 known kinds of metallic and industrial minerals, only a few are currently under production [11].

#16 – Alberta is home to top refineries for critical minerals, including cobalt, nickel, and magnesium, offering opportunities for refining and mining services to operations in Northern Canada [9]

#17 – Ammolite, an iridescent gem formed from fossilized ammonite shells, became Alberta’s official gemstone in April 2022. It is found almost exclusively in southern Alberta [8], where companies mine it with backhoes in open pits [7].

Brief History of Mining in Alberta

Mining in Alberta predates the province itself. In 1874, Nicholas Sheran opened the first commercial coal mine near present-day Lethbridge [12].

The next great leap came in 1967, when Great Canadian Oil Sands began production north of Fort McMurray. Its plant opened the door to commercial oil sands mining [17].

Albertans turned a sticky mix of sand and bitumen into one of the world’s great energy industries. Today, the oil sands are one of Alberta’s – and Canada’s – greatest economic strengths, supporting significant jobs, economic activity, exports, and more.

The Future of Mining in Alberta

Alberta’s next mining chapter is being written in brine, not just rock. The Mineral Resource Development Act received royal assent in 2021 to support the province’s minerals strategy [6], giving companies a clearer path to develop minerals beyond oil sands and coal.

To date, the province has changed legislation to support and streamline mining development. The AER became the life-cycle regulator for brine-hosted minerals such as lithium in early 2023, and for rock-hosted minerals in 2024 [14]. One regulator now oversees a project from application to closure.

The economic opportunity is huge. The AGS says Alberta’s lithium resource positions the province to become a major global supplier as demand for the critical mineral grows [15]. With decades of drilling know-how and a workforce that already understands what sits underground, Albertans are ready.

From the oil sands to sand and gravel pits to below-ground brines to potentially undiscovered deposits of various minerals and metals, Alberta’s mining story is still growing and remains critical to Canada’s mining story.

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SOURCES:

1 - https://static.aer.ca/prd/documents/reports/AER2025-26-AnnualReport.pdf

2 - https://www.aer.ca/data-and-performance-reports/statistical-reports/alberta-energy-outlook-st98/crude-bitumen

3 - https://www.aer.ca/data-and-performance-reports/statistical-reports/alberta-energy-outlook-st98/coal

4 - https://mmsd.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/prod-prod/ann-ann-eng.aspx

5 - https://mmsd.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/PDF/MIS2025TableG01-en.pdf

6 - https://www.alberta.ca/minerals

7 - https://ags.aer.ca/our-science/mineral-resources/mineral-production

8 - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-emblems

9 - https://www.alberta.ca/minerals-strategy-and-action-plan

10 - https://www.canadaaction.ca/alberta-lithium-reserves-third-largest-world-report

11 - https://www.alberta.ca/about-minerals

12 - https://history.alberta.ca/energyheritage/coal/the-early-development-of-the-coal-industry-1874-1914/the-spirit-of-entrepreneuralism/nicholas-sheran.aspx

13 - www.history.alberta.ca/energyheritage/sands/mega-projects/experimentation-and-commercial-development/industry-landmark-the-great-canadian-oil-sands-plant.aspx

14 - https://www.aer.ca/understanding-resource-development/resource-development-topics/mineral-resource-development

15 - https://ags.aer.ca/publications/all-publications/inf-160