Lake Kathlyn Anthracite Coal Company Operations and Closure

The Lake Kathlyn Anthracite Coal Company, located five miles northwest of Smithers near Lake Kathlyn, started in mid-1915 when it received its Certificate of Incorporation in Vancouver. It was set up with non-personal liability and capital of $200,000. The original owners listed were George H. Ballard and Frank X. Frank, along with associates from Smithers. Frank held ten coal licenses in 1917, and by 1926, he and Ballard held licenses #11172 and #11198. A 1916 BC Mining Report shows C. Frank as a name connected to it.

By 1927, there were three partners who owned this mine: Mr. G. H. Ballard, Mr. Frank X. Frank, and T. J. Beatty. This company mined anthracite coal, which is the hardest type of coal, right here near Lake Kathlyn.

On October 12, 1932, C.W. Dill was the President and F.N. Ballard was the Managing Director. They had a town office in the Chester Building in Smithers. At the site, a crew of 15 was working on camp construction, building a bunkhouse, a blacksmith shop, and a power plant house. They also built a 250-foot chute that went uphill to the mine's tunnel, which they called the Ballard Seam. They were digging 150 feet down the hill to tap into this seam and hoped to produce 50 tons daily within three weeks. They also had three bunkers built on site to hold the mined coal.

Just a few days later, on October 16, 1932, Charles W. Dill and F. Ballard were still in charge. By November 1932, Thomas F. Campbell was in charge of mining the Ballard Seam. On March 1, 1933, Anthony McDonald, who worked on the mine's development, was in the hospital with a broken foot.

The company ran into trouble. On June 12, 1934, the Worker's Compensation Board seized a lot of their mining equipment under a warrant. Then, on October 16, 1934, a mechanics lien by Mark Wicks and Roy Wicks effectively ended the company. A Sheriff's sale happened on December 19, 1934, at R. L. Gale's office in the Chester building in Smithers. They were selling the prospecting licenses for the coal mine, all the equipment, machinery, tools, buildings, and supplies. George H. Ballard and the company were listed as defendants in that sale.

On October 24, 1934, F.N. Ballard, G.C. Elliott, and W.H. Parker, who were principal owners from Vancouver, visited the mine. Thomas Campbell was still the Mine Superintendent at that time.

There was a close call on February 6, 1935, when William Dinsdale, the Mine Foreman, and his Assistant H.J. Graham had a narrow escape. They had set a charge and withdrawn, but it didn't fire. When they went back into the mine to check the wiring, the charge blew up, seriously injuring both men with flying rock.

Later, on August 7, 1935, a Mr. Eric Jones from Victoria, BC, was involved with the mine. By March 9, 1938, the government was asked to keep the road to the mine open, which suggests it might have reopened. It seems Thomas Campbell opened the mine with local associates around 1934.