For years the Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site has kept Alberta's mining heritage alive but time has taken its toll on a unique building that sits at the heart of the site and a campaign in underway to restore it for future generations to explore.

The mine, near Drumheller, is considered Canada's most complete historic coal mine and is the last of 139 coal mines that were registered in the Drumheller Valley.

“It’s the real thing. There’s graffiti from the coal miners from the 1930s in one of the rooms, you can see the guy’s initials. There’s scars where you can see there was a fire that erupted in that tipple,” said Jay Russell, Curator Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site.

Between 1936 and 1979, the mine processed about five million tons of coals and it was used to heat homes, generate electricity and provide power for trains.

Bob Moffatt was a pony driver in the mine 60 years ago and remembers a few scary moments on the job.

“Yeah I had my lamp go out in the mine. I was on a downhill slope with pony in front of me, six coal cars loaded behind me and a door at the bottom of that hill that opened in towards us. It was made of heavy planks and you wouldn’t want to run into it. I tell you that was one time I was afraid,” said Moffatt.

A fifth-generation miner, Moffat survived that incident and a few others like it over his career, and he says he is proud of his contributions.

“It was hard work, but there was something about it, you were, it was production. You were proud,” said Moffat. “Miners got paid by the ton, we got a flat rate. But if you had good miners and you were a good driver, come payday, there could be a few tips.”

The mine’s wooden tipple is where the coal was sorted and processed and it produced almost 10 percent of the entire Drumheller Valley’s output in its heyday.

The tipple was built in the 1920s and the structure was becoming unstable so a campaign was launched in 2012 to preserve it.

"It was getting to a point where it could have been collapsed, a lot of the main structure, the huge beams that were holding it up were rotting out at the bottom," said Moffat.

The mine was able to raise $500,000 to replace the beams and shore up the structure and crews are now working to replace the roof.

“Some of the cross beams are rotted and compressed, so the tipple is sagging on them, and we need to lift it up, pull those whalers out and put new ones in, and so that’s what we’re raising funds for,” said Russell.

A campaign is underway to raise more funds to complete the project. Click HERE for more information.

(With files from Bill Macfarlane)