Coal mining has always been an important component of Nova Scotia's economy, landscape and culture. Together with cod fishing it was the primary export and employer for the regions population. With both industries now failing, the poor economic climate will no doubt have an effect on the population. This paper attempts to examine the economic conditions, market forces, and political maneuvering that gave rise to the coal industry in Nova Scotia as well as those contributing to its demise.Coal FormationThe first stage in the formation of the fossil fuel we know as coal is large accumulations of organic matter, an anoxic environment, and large amounts of time. Dead plant material readily decomposes when exposed to the oxygen rich atmosphere so an oxygen poor environment is required. Common environments meeting these conditions were swamps of the Carboniferous period. As plant life died in these swamps the dead organic matter sank into the oxygen deficient stagnant water where it was partially decomposed by bacteria. This partial decomposition lead to an accumulation of a spongy brown material known as peat. Peat itself can serve as an energy source albeit not a very efficient one. The next stage in coal development involves the burying of the peat accumulations by layers of sediment (Montgomery, 1990). As the peat is buried more and more pressure and heat is exerted upon the peat squeezing out the water and various gasses (volatiles) and increasing the carbon content (Lutgens, Tarbuck, 1993). With shallow burial one gets lignite, a soft brown coal. Then as more and more sediment is loaded on top of the deposit more water and volatiles are pressed out increasing the carbon content changing lignite to bituminous coal. With even more pressure and heat, like the kind associated with mountain building one gets anthracitic coal. So generally the more pressure and heat that the peat experiences the higher the concentration of carbo...
