About Coal Royalties

The Alberta government captures a fair share of production value from coal in the form of royalties paid each year by producers of coal owned by the province.

In 2003, the Alberta government collected $9 million in royalties from coal.

Coal royalties are set by regulation under the Coal Royalty Regulation. Under this regulation there are two royalty regimes:

• The royalty rate for Crown-owned Subbituminous (Plains) coal,
  used mainly to generate electricity, is: $0.55/tonne.
• The royalty rate for Crown-owned Bituminous (Mountain/Foothills) coal, which is based on a revenue
  minus costs royalty regime, is:
  
  - Before mine payout: 1% of mine mouth revenue
  - After mine payout: 1% of mine mouth revenue plus 13% of net revenue

Coal royalty regimes are monitored to ensure they remain competitive and appropriate for our province.

Learn more on royalties and other revenues from energy and mineral resources