Galt Coal Mine #1 and #2 - Lethbridge Alberta Canada - Mines on Waymarking.com

Located in Indian Battle Park, within the Oldman River valley, and set into one of the many coulees that form the valley walls, is the location of the original Galt Mine #1 and #2, where coal was first mined in Coalbanks (later named as Lethbridge). Although the original mine openings have been sealed, the entrance to Mine #1 was reconstructed. An information kiosk stands in front of the drift mine entrance, where several signs and plaques provide the following details:

"HERE WE BEGIN TO MINE THE COAL" In 1882, William Stafford chose this place for the North West Coal and Navigation Company to begin mining coal, thus determining the location of Lethbridge.

This is the story of coal in the banks of the Oldman River by Nicholas Sheran and the development of a lucrative commercial mining operation at this sit by the Galt Family. The entrance to the original Galt Mine Number 1 and Mine Number 2 are directly behind this Kiosk, The drift mine shafts are sealed, but the entrance of Mine Number 1 has been reconstructed.

More information about the beginning of coal mining in the Lethbridge area, including details that drift Mine #1 was opened 13 October 1882:

By the 1870s, Nicholas Sheran (an American entrepreneur) mined a coal seam in the coulees on the west side of what is now the Oldman River. He sold what he mined to Montana traders and the NWMP.

Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt was interested in the success Sheran was having. He knew a transcontinental railway was soon to be built in the area, and the settlers it would bring would create a profitable market for the coal.

On 13 October 1882, Galt's company North Western Coal and Navigation Company opened the first drift mine across from Sheran's operation. This mine was managed by William Stafford. The first president and largest shareholder of the company, William Lethbridge, was the one after whom the town was named.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lethbridge