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Canmore’s last coal mine might have closed down in 1979, but the rock industry still underpins economic and social development in the Bow Corridor, continuing a mining legacy in the area that dates back more than 110 years.

Lafarge Canada, Baymag, Burnco Rock Products and Graymont Western Canada make up the local rock industry sector, which primarily operates out of Exshaw, about 15 kilometres east of Canmore on Highway 1A at the centre of what is considered one of North America’s highest quality limestone deposits.

The Bow Corridor’s rock industry contributes 53 per cent of Alberta’s total structural materials, produces half the province’s total limestone output and facilitates the only calcined and fused magnesia productions in Canada.

The yield, about 1.6 million tonnes a year plus about 36,000 cubic metres of concrete, translates to more than $100 million in gross revenue production according to latest available figures.

However Gordie Miskow, a spokesman for Lafarge, whose family line extends across four generations in the Bow Valley, says the rock industry’s benefit to nearby communities goes far beyond simple dollar terms.

“One of our mission statements for our corporation is to give back to the communities of our operational footprint,” Miskow says. “We do basically have a budget of around $250,000 a year that we try to spread through the Bow Valley communities with regard to sponsorships. “The key elements are those programs that strengthen youth, families and team-type concepts, those which enhance the business of the community and basically other initiatives that enhance quality of life in the community.”

The rock industry pays about $750,000 in property taxes to the Municipal District of Bighorn each year, with some of that amount passed on to the province as school tax revenue, but most of it staying with the municipality.

On a provincial level, the industry’s annual economic contribution to Alberta’s Gross Domestic Product has grown 9.8 per cent over the past 17 years, from $133 million to $147 million.

Miskow says the local industry’s infrastructure requirements, including rail and highway connections and need for large volumes of natural gas electricity, along with a commitment to responsibly manage the Bow Corridor’s limestone deposit, have been instrumental in attracting investment to the area.

The total value of existing facilities and infrastructure exceeds $450 million, up from $321 million 12 years ago. Many of its employees make their homes in Canmore, and the MD of Bighorn.

Miskow says the rock industry prides itself on utilizing locally derived goods and services for its production.

Local procurement involving nearly 200 regionally based suppliers is estimated to have increased more than 30 per cent in the past 12 years, exceeding over $38 million annually.

In turn, the rock industry is a key supplier to construction business locally and across southern Alberta. The cost of materials, asphalt, concrete, sand and gravel, would increase significantly if it were not for the competitive local supply, Miskow says.