The District of Sparwood is exploring the possibility of expanding its museum to embrace the narrative of modern coal mining. Mayor David Wilks is hopeful for the possibility.
“It’s been looked at for some time from the perspective of an expansion to the existing facility,” Wilks said. “The District of Sparwood owns the land, and they have infrastructure that goes there. We thought that it may be a great opportunity for Teck to tell the story of modern mining.”
The museum has done an excellent job of telling the story of underground mining Wilks said.
“But it’s no longer here, right? It hasn’t been here since 1986. “We look at it as an opportunity, so we’ll work with different partners,” explained Wilks. “We don’t want to take anything away from the Heritage Society, they are doing an excellent job. So we don’t want to step on any toes. But we do have an opportunity to work with Teck for a long-term goal of explaining modern mining. I think there are a lot of people who misunderstand metallurgical coal and coal mining, and they think of it as a four letter word, and it’s not.”