OCTOBER 2015 VOL. 120 NO. 10

FEATURE ARTICLES NEWS/4 RAISE BORING/18

18 A New Approach to Shaft Development Work Raisebor engineers the largest diameter raise in the Alabama coalfields 23 A Test of Valor

The 104th national mine rescue competition brings dozens of teams to Kentucky to put their skills to the test 26 2015 U.S. Prep Plant Census MINE RESCUE/23 SAFETY EQUIPMENT/34 While a number of plants changed hands, the total number remains relatively stable 34 A Different Perspective NIOSH researchers learn from CM operator responses to proximity detection systems 36 Third Quarter Fatality Overview Industry marks fairly quiet June-September period

COAL IN THE NEWS 4 Blaschak Coal Expands Mining Activities 4 TECO Closes Coal Division Sale 5 Alpha Moves Forward in Bankruptcy Case 6 Production Could Start Soon for High Point Surface Mine THIS ISSUE 8 Colowyo’s Mine Plane Approved 10 Murray Energy Sues UMWA, Cites Deal Breach This month, Coal Age publishes its annual Prep Plant Census, including 12 Senators Unveil Black Lung Reforms Plan a comprehensive listing of the nation’s facilities and their latest updates. 13 DOL, NIOSH Establish Black Lung QA Program It also takes on the topic of shaft development, documenting some record-setting work in the heart of Alabama’s coalfields. Coverage and 14 Duke Energy to Reduce Emissions From Power Plants, complete results from the 2015 National Coal Mine Rescue Competition Fund Projects begins on page 23. On the cover, an Atlas Copco Robbins 123R C raise 15 Minnesota Power Will Expand Portfolio, But Keep Coal boring machine rests at the Jim Walter Resources No. 7 mine, where Cowin & Co.’s Raisebor completed a 26-ft-diameter raise bore shaft to a 15 Morehead State Dedicates Craft Academy depth of 1,440 ft earlier this year. 16 Sierra Club, Xcel Energy Argue Over Sherco Plant’s Future 17 Usibelli Stops Coal Exports for the Rest of 2015 DEPARTMENTS 2 Editorial 4 WORLD NEWS Coal in the News 5 World News 5 South African Miners End Strike 10 People 12 Dateline Washington 6 India Vows Ambitious Green Targets, Defends Coal Use 14 Calendar 16 Awards 8 Wyoming, China Reps Building Bridge of Coal 38 Operating Ideas 40 Suppliers News 42 Product News 45 Classified 48 Legally Speaking

October 2015 www.coalage.com 1 editor’s note Court Wisely Grants a Stay on WOTUS www.mining-media.com Mining Media International Editorial Office uring early October, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306 Jacksonville, Florida 32224 U.S.A. granted a nationwide stay on the Waters of the United D Phone: +1.904.721.2925 States (WOTUS) rule recently proposed by the Environmental Fax: +1.904.721.2930 Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The proposed rule was an effort to clarify the scope of Editor-in-Chief—Steve Fiscor, [email protected] federal regulatory jurisdiction to satisfy U.S. Supreme Court Western Field Editor—Russ Carter, [email protected] decisions in 2001 and 2006, which concluded that the agencies Field Editor—Donna Schmidt, [email protected] adopted an interpretation that unduly widened the scope of European Editor—Simon Walker, [email protected] Latin American Editor—Oscar Martinez, [email protected] their authority. Many cases against the WOTUS rule are pend- BY STEVE FISCOR Assistant Editor—Jennifer Jensen, [email protected] ing in courts around the country. / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Graphic Designer—Austin St. Clair, [email protected] The proposed rule changes were mostly an effort to more clearly define the WOTUS for all Clean Water Act (CWA) programs. Most of the Mining Media International changes were related to tributaries, adjacent wetlands and “other waters.” As pro- Corporate Office posed, it would have expanded federal jurisdiction considerably over waters that 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1 Denver, Colorado 80231 U.S.A. have little or no connection to flowing streams and rivers, exposing new mines or Phone: +1.303.283.0640 mine expansions to additional permitting delays, which would further threaten the Fax: +1.303.283.0641 economy in the coalfields by putting more jobs at risk. President/Publisher—Peter Johnson, [email protected] Despite the fact that the EPA said the rule would more clearly define tributaries, it Vice President of Sales & Marketing—John Bold, [email protected] was the definitions that worried the court the most. In its ruling, the court said, “In Midwest/Eastern U.S. & Canada, Sales—Victor Matteucci, [email protected] one sense, the clarification that the new rule strives to achieve is long overdue. We Western U.S. & Canada, Sales—Mary Lu Buse, [email protected] also accept that respondent agencies have conscientiously endeavored, within their Scandinavia, UK and European Sales—Colm Barry, [email protected] technical expertise and experience, and based on reliable peer-reviewed science, to Germany, Austria & Switzerland Sales—Gerd Strasmann, [email protected] Australia/Asia Sales—Lanita Idrus, [email protected] promulgate new standards to protect water quality that conform to the Supreme Japan Sales—Masao Ishiguro, [email protected] Court’s guidance. Yet, the sheer breadth of the ripple effects caused by the rule’s def- Indonesia Sales—Dimas Abdillah, [email protected] initional changes counsels strongly in favor of maintaining the status quo for the Latin America Sales—Paulina Downey, [email protected] / Sylvia Palma, time being.” [email protected] A nationwide stay was granted by a 2:1 vote, with the majority believing that Classified Advertising—Kirk Carbo, [email protected] opponents currently challenging the rule would likely prevail. The court also took Show Manager—Tim Fearney, [email protected] issue with the content of the rule, and the lack of notice and comment for significant Production Manager—Dan Fitts, [email protected] changes that were added in the final version. The court also noted that the rule had already been stayed in 13 states. “Recognizing the legal infirmities that could ultimately topple the rule, the court wisely decided to suspend the nationwide implementation of the waters of the U.S. rule,” said Hal Quinn, CEO, National Mining Association. “As it stands, the federal overreach embodied in the WOTUS rule will only add more uncertainty and delays to state, local and private land use decisions.” Coal Age, Volume 120, Issue 10, (ISSN 1040-7820) is published monthly by Mining Many in the mining business believe the rule does not comply with Supreme Media Inc., 10 Sedgwick Drive, Englewood, Colorado 80113 (mining-media.com). Periodicals postage paid at Englewood, CO, and additional mailing offices. Canada Court decisions and that they were not given significant notice to review and com- Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40845540. Canada return address: Station A, PO ment as required by law. The dissenting judge said the court should not issue a stay Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5, Email: [email protected]. Current and against the rule until it determines that it has jurisdiction under the CWA to review back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an editorial calendar, are available online at www.coalage.com. the rule. The majority believed they had the discretionary power to issue a stay until SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled circulation to qualified subscribers. the questions related to jurisdiction are answered, and that briefing is under way. The Non-qualified persons may subscribe at the following rates: USA and Canada, 1 year, court’s nationwide stay was the right decision as they consider the merits of a regula- $56.00, 2 year, $96.00, 3 year, $162.00, Student, $16.00, Outside the USA and tion that will surely impact the coal mining business and many other industries. Canada, 1 year, $77.00, 2 year, $137.00, 3 year, $225.00 surface mail (1 year, $145.00, 2 year, $257.00 airmail delivery). For subscriber services or to order single copies, write to Coal Age, 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA; call +1.303.283.0640 (USA) or visit www.mining-media.com. ARCHIVES AND MICROFORM: This magazine is available for research and retrieval of select- ed archived articles from leading electronic databases and online search services, including Factiva, LexisNexis, and Proquest. For microform availability, contact ProQuest at 800-521- 0600 or +1.734.761.4700, or search the Serials in Microform listings at www.proquest.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Coal Age, P.O. Box 1337, Skokie, IL 60076 USA. Steve Fiscor, Coal Age Editor-in-Chief REPRINTS: Mining Media Inc, 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA [email protected] phone: +1.303.283.0640, fax: +1.303.283.0641, www.mining-media.com PHOTOCOPIES: Authorization to photocopy articles for internal corporate, personal, or instructional use may be obtained from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at +1.978.750.8400. Obtain further information at www.copyright.com.

COPYRIGHT 2015: Coal Age, incorporating Coal and 2 www.coalage.com Coal Mining & Processing. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. xperience has no substitute.

With the largest number of operating longwall shearers in the world, Eickhoff is uniquely specialized in providing best-in-class shearers that deliver: · High performance & availability. · Highest quality gearing that is unequalled. · Proven Ei-Control SB automation technology.

Eickhoff shearers are fully supported by our demonstrated commitment to life-cycle management services. Our singular focus on shearer performance, quality and service is your most competitive advantage for higher productivity and lower costs. A tradition of innovation for 150 years. Eickhoff Corporation 200 Park West Drive 3LWWVEXUJK3$‡ SINCE 7 eickhoffmining.com The Cutting Edge

5NITED3TATESs'ERMANYs!USTRALIAs#HINAs3OUTH!FRICAs2USSIAs0OLANDs"ELARUS Empowering Energy Producers™ news Blaschak Coal Expands Mining Activities

Blaschak Coal Corp. is expanding mining activities into two new locations in the anthracite coal measures of northeastern Pennsylvania. The addition of the two new locations means increased coal reserves for the company, additional capacity to produce run of mine coal at favorable stripping ratios and operat- ing costs, and critical flexibility to optimize production for quality assurance and cost of production. Blaschak is one of the top anthracite producers in the U.S. and the company recently executed a long-term lease to mine a signifi- cant reserve in the Mount Carmel area of Columbia County, Pennsylvania. A Marion 7450 dragline will be moved to this loca- tion and the company plans to acquire a supporting fleet of equip- ment to move into full operation by the end of 2015. The second location is in the Eastern coal measures near Hazleton. Blaschak is currently mining in this location with a Manitowoc 4600 dragline. First coal was produced in August. The additional capacity will permit the company flexibility in operations, giving Blaschak five active mining locations contain- An excavator loads a haul truck at Blaschak Coal's Lattimer mine. ing high-quality reserves. The reserve additions are expected to add as much as 3 million tons of clean coal. sions, thereby minimizing the amount of greenhouse gases emit- The expansion coincides with release of a study suggesting that ted into the atmosphere. In fact, replacing coke with anthracite in the carbon footprint of anthracite is smaller than that of traditional a single electric arc furnace can reduce carbon dioxide by as much metallurgical coke. “The expanded mining operations reflect our as 95,000 tons — the equivalent carbon footprint of 2,000 house- strategic belief in the value of anthracite in existing and emerging holds, or 11,000 motor vehicles. market applications,” said Greg Driscoll, president and CEO of Blaschak Coal Corp. “We’re excited to increase our mining capacity, Blackhawk Mining Winner in Patriot Bankruptcy Auction extending the environmental benefits afforded by our re-mining In what ended up being a “robust and competitive” process, and reclamation, and providing confirmation of our belief that according to officials, Blackhawk Mining was the winner when the Pennsylvania anthracite has favorable environmental impacts when gavel fell on September 22 at the auction of Patriot Coal’s remain- used in place of alternatives in domestic steelmaking.” ing assets tied to its second bankruptcy filing in two years. The study, prepared by Dr. Harold Schobert of Schobert The result is now awaiting approval by the court at Patriot’s International LLC, compared the carbon footprints of using tradi- next case hearing on October 5. Should it be given the greenlight, it tional metallurgical coke relative to using Pennsylvania-produced will help to solidify the infrastructure of the trouble miner’s plans anthracite as a fuel and reducing agent in U. S. domestic steelmak- for its proposed Chapter 11 plan. ing operations. Privately held Blackhawk was originally named the stalking The study confirmed that the use of Pennsylvania anthracite horse bidder in the planned auction earlier this year. It already has over metallurgical coke significantly reduces carbon dioxide emis- Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia operations, and the takeover

BREAKING NEWS

TECO Closes Coal Division Sale Florida-based TECO Energy has officially divested itself from the coal TECO Energy will retain those liabilities related to its employees, industry with the close of its sale of TECO Coal LLC to Booth Energy’s including pensions and severance agreements. Cambrian Coal Corp. — with no money exchanged. The company’s coal arm was first classified as an asset held for sale TECO Energy will now focus only on its regulated electric and gas util- during the third quarter of 2014. ity businesses. The sales closure was official on September 21; it was “TECO Coal was an important component of TECO Energy’s business first announced last year. mix since the mid-1970s, contributing strong earnings and cash flow for Under the deal, no upfront purchase payment was required. However, the many years,” TECO Energy CEO John Ramil said. “We appreciate the ded- company will receive future contingent consideration of $60 million should icated team members at TECO Coal and the contributions they have some coal benchmark prices reach outlined levels over the coming five years. made to TECO Energy’s success.”

4 www.coalage.com October 2015 news continued

TOP 10 COAL-PRODUCING STATES WORLD NEWS ¸ ˛ ˝ ¸ (in Thousand Short Tons) Rio Tinto Sells Its Interest in Bengalla Week Ending (10/3/15) Rio Tinto reached a binding agreement for the sale of its 40% inter- YTD ‘15 YTD ‘14 % Change est in the Bengalla joint venture in Australia to New Hope Corp. Ltd. Wyoming 280,452 295,156 -5.0 for $606 million. Bengalla is the smallest of three coal mines in the West Virginia 77,211 86,543 -10.8 Hunter Valley of New South Wales in which Rio Tinto holds an inter- entucky 50,088 59,858 -16.3 est, producing 8.6 million metric tons (mt) in 2014. Illinois 46,001 43,125 6.7 Rio Tinto and Mitsubishi Development have recently agreed to a Pennsylvania 40,516 47,022 -13.8 simplification to the ownership structure of Coal & Allied, which Montana 32,909 32,202 2.2 helps enable this transaction. The transaction is subject to certain Indiana 27,141 29,654 -8.5 Texas 24,812 32,989 -24.8 conditions precedent being met, including the pre-emption rights of North Dakota 20,827 21,921 -5.0 the Bengalla joint venture partners. Colorado 16,102 18,552 -13.2 The sale of the interest in the Bengalla joint venture is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016. U.S. Total 691,306 754,808 -8.4 New Hope currently has two open-cut coal mines in southeast Queensland that produce thermal coal: New Acland, north of Oakey, would add Patriot’s Panther, Rocklick, Wells, Kanawha Eagle, and Jeebropilly in the near Ipswich. Total clean coal production from Paint Creek and Midland Trail complexes to its portfolio. these operations is about 7 million mt. More than 90% is directly Blackhawk also acquired James River Coal’s (JRC) assets in a sold to export markets, predominantly in the Asia-Pacific region. bankruptcy sale in 2014. South African Miners End Strike Alpha Moves Forward in Bankruptcy Case The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), representing tens of As it wades through its first two months of its Chapter 11 bank- thousands of miners across South Africa, negotiated a new wage ruptcy case, Alpha Natural Resources is now anticipating approval deal for coal miners that brought a strike, which lasted more than a of its debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing package following a week, to an end in mid-October. The workers with the lowest pay September 15 hearing. The company, which filed its initial volun- structures will receive wage increases of up to R1,000/month tary petitions in Virginia on August 3, is now awaiting a final order ($75/month) over the initial year and another increase of 7.5% the from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The 18-month package provides following year. Higher earners will see raises of between 5% and for up to $692 million so that the company can continue opera- 7.5% over both years, the Reuters report said. Initially, miners were tions. The financing is led by a group composed of the company’s demanding a R3,000 per month wage hike. Affected companies first and second lien lenders. include Anglo Coal, Glencore, Exxaro Coal, Kangra, Delmas Coal and “This expected approval follows a number of other final orders Msobo. These operations are spread across the Highveld region, received from the court in recent weeks, including the authorization home to most of South Africa’s coalfields. Prolonged strikes are not to continue paying employee wages and benefits,” officials noted. uncommon in South Africa — up to almost half a year in the case of Alpha Chief Financial and Strategy Officer Phillip Cavatoni said the platinum industry a couple of years ago. Most of the country's that finalizing the DIP with the support of its lenders is a “signifi- electricity is generated from coal-fired power plants and an extend- cant milestone” in its process to restructure. “We believe that, in ed strike would have eventually disrupted power. concert with existing liquidity, this package provides the financial flexibility needed to navigate the Chapter 11 process,” he said. The Indonesia to Amend More CoWs During October case is In re Alpha Natural Resources Inc. 15-33896, U.S. The Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry is finalizing Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond). the amendment process of a number of contracts of work (CoWs) Alpha Natural Resources has also confirmed it will cut nearly related to coal mining. Bambang Gatot Ariyono, the ministry’s 100 from its payroll at two mines in Virginia while it prepares to director general for mineral and coal, said his office was working shut down three other operations in the same area. Spokesman to reach agreements with mining companies to adjust their CoWs. Steve Hawkins said the mines to be closed include Deep Mines 44, “We are now focusing on the third generation of coal CoWs. 37 and 25. All will be idled by the end of November. There are a total of around 50 firms and we are expecting to com- Additionally, 96 job cuts will be made at Deep Mines 41 plete 10 to 20 of them within October,” Ariyono said. There are a and 26. Miners’ last day will be November 20, pursuant to a total of 73 coal CoWs and 34 mineral CoWs that must be renegotiat- recently issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification ed and amended as mandated by the 2009 Mining Law. Act notice, or within two weeks of that date. All of the mines are located in Dickenson County. Deep Mine 44 began production Glencore, Tohoku Set Annual Coal Contract this year. Glencore Xstrata Plc and Japan’s Tohoku Electric Power Co. have settled an annual Australian thermal coal import contract 12% low- Production at Galatia’s New Era Coming to a Halt er than a year earlier, according to Hellenic Shipping News Murray Energy Corp.’s Galatia underground steam coal mining Worldwide. The price set for the year beginning on October 1 was complex in Saline County, Illinois, currently has about 500 around $64.60/metric ton (mt), reflecting a worldwide supply glut employees, its lowest level in several years, as the privately owned Continued on p. 6...

October 2015 www.coalage.com 5 news continued

St. Clairsville, Ohio-based company phases out production at Continued from p. 5... Galatia’s New Era mine, according to the Illinois Department of for thermal coal. Australia is by far the biggest supplier to Japan, Natural Resources (IDNR). accounting for about 76% of Japan’s thermal coal imports in the Gary Broadbent, Murray Energy spokesman and assistant gen- first eight months of this year. The price set by Tohoku and Glencore eral counsel, said in September that the most recent layoff of 112 will likely be followed by other Japanese utilities. Annual contracts hourly and salaried personnel at Galatia was related to an ongoing starting in October account for about 20% of Australian thermal transition of production from New Era to the New Future mine, coal imports to Japan, covering about 22 million mt. whose production costs are believed to be lower than New Era’s. The layoffs included 50 hourly and 62 salaried personnel. India Vows Ambitious Green Targets, Defends Coal Use While output is decreasing at New Era, the mine is expected to India set a series of ambitious environmental targets, including operate into 2016, Broadbent said, although he did not indicate reducing its carbon intensity by 35% by 2030, according to AsiaOne, when it will cease production. New Era’s production decreased but rejected calls to curb coal use, saying developed countries were from 927,444 tons in the first quarter of 2015 to 578,406 tons in the mostly to blame for climate change. In an action plan submitted to second quarter, according to the federal Mine Safety and Health the United Nations ahead of a major environmental conference in Administration. The mine’s employee count fell by about 200 peo- Paris, India also pledged to generate 40% of its electricity from ple during that same period. renewable sources within 15 years. “We are confident we will The transition means Galatia should produce 7 million to 7.5 achieve the 35% target by 2030,” Environment Minister Prakash million tons of coal going forward, Broadbent said. New Era and Javadekar said, adding that “it is a huge jump for India, therefore, New Future produced more than 11 million tons of coal in 2014. it is a very ambitious target.” Yet India also vowed to continue expanding its use of coal — it Production Could Start Soon for High Point Surface Mine plans to double coal production to 1 billion metric tons by 2020 — United Minerals Co. LLC, operator of several steam coal mines in saying it was vital to meet the needs of its burgeoning economy, the high-sulfur Illinois Basin for Peabody Energy, could begin pro- which grew 7% last quarter. duction soon at its newest surface mine — High Point near Boonville in Warrick County, Indiana. CEZ Considers Buying Vattenfall’s German Lignite Assets In early October, the company was awaiting a Section 404 Czech electricity producer CEZ will consider bidding for lignite pow- Clean Water Act permit from the federal Army Corps of Engineers, er plants in Germany put up for sale by Sweden’s Vattenfall, accord- the final regulatory approval needed for the mine. Earlier this ing to Reuters. year, the Indiana Division of Reclamation, part of the Indiana State-owned Vattenfall, which is under pressure from the Department of Natural Resources, issued a final state permit cov- Swedish government to get out of its profitable lignite power busi- ering more than 3,000 acres for High Point, which will be United’s ness in Germany because it is heavily polluting, said it would sell its largest mine. German lignite plants. According to a company official, High Point is expected to pro- “We are definitely ready to look at the assets,” CEZ CFO Martin duce just under 1 million tons of high-sulfur coal annually once it Novak said at the Reuters East European Investment Summit in is in full production, probably sometime in 2016. The official was Prague. The plants could be operated profitably for years to come holding out hope that preliminary production could begin before despite current low electricity prices, which have deterred investors the end of 2015. from building new power capacity, he said. The official said High Point has enough reserves to last several “The logic is very simple,” Novak said. “Yes, it makes no sense to years, although he did not elaborate. build anything new at 30 euros per megawatt-hour anymore, but it does United currently operates the Cardinal surface mine in Pike make sense to buy something, discounting it with cash flow.” County, Indiana, and the West 61 surface mine near Boonville in CEZ, Europe’s seventh-biggest utility with a market capitaliza- Warrick County. Cardinal produced 268,506 tons of coal in the first tion of $11.5 billion, has maintained strong cash flow and lower half of 2014, federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) debt than many of its peers. The company has been looking at records show. The mine has 33 employees. West 61 produced 445,653 expansion opportunities as others are forced to sell. tons in the first six months of 2015 with nearly 70 employees. United produces coal from the Indiana Nos. 5, 6 and 7 seams

Indonesia’s Adaro to Lower Coal Output Next Year that average approximately 11,200 Btu/lb and 5-6 lb SO2/MMBtu. PT Adaro Energy will likely cut down production at its mining site next year following ongoing decline in the commodity’s price, Project Will Double Coal Storage at Oak Creek Plant according to the Jakarta Post. Adaro President Director Garibaldi We Energies is expected to commence construction this fall on a Thohir said his company was looking at output in the range of 52 to $62 million project that will double the coal storage area at its Oak 54 million metric tons (mt) next year, which would be up to 7% low- Creek power plant on Lake Michigan south of Milwaukee after er compared to this year’s target of between 54 to 56 million mt. receiving final regulatory approval from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in late August. BHP, SaskPower Partner to Speed Up Development The WEC Energy Group subsidiary said the project, scheduled of CCS Technology for completion in the fall of 2017, will enable it to burn more low- BHP Billiton and Saskatchewan-based electricity provider sulfur Powder River Basin coal in Oak Creek, in the process saving Continued on p. 8... its customers millions of dollars in lower fuel costs.

6 www.coalage.com October 2015 You’re there. We’re there.

AIR PURIFICATION

Respiratory protection coupled with clear vision make your work safer.

GAS DETECTION

The Dräger X-am® series of personal gas monitors identify hazards quickly and accurately.

We have you covered. When it comes to mining operations, you want to identify hazards sooner, work safer and minimize downtime. That’s where Dräger’s X-am® series of personal gas monitors and X-dock® calibration system can help you. We’ve made them durable and easy to use. All to keep things simple and efficient. Just how you want them.

VIEW OUR COMPLETE MINING OPERATIONS PORTFOLIO AT DRAEGER.COM/MINE-OPERATIONS 5285 news continued

The PRB coal will be blended with higher-sulfur Appalachian Continued from p. 6... coal in Oak Creek Units 1 and 2, which have a combined generat- SaskPower announced a partnership to accelerate the global devel- ing capacity of 1,230 megawatts. opment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology by sharing According to the utility, fuel savings could amount to $31 mil- access to the data, information and lessons learned from lion annually if Oak Creek is able to burn a blend of 60% PRB coal SaskPower’s Boundary Dam facility — the world’s first full chain as a result of the coal storage expansion. Savings could amount to power sector CCS project. $78 million a year if the PRB share rises to 100%. Currently, the Under the agreement signed by the two companies, and subject plant burns approximately 20% PRB coal. to contractual terms, BHP Billiton would contribute to the establish- Once the stockpile area is increased, We Energies expects to ment of a global knowledge center to help promote research and receive one additional coal train a week at Oak Creek. reduce the cost and risk associated with new CCS projects. BHP Oak Creek’s two newest generating units, placed in operation Billiton Chief Commercial Officer Dean Dalla Valle said he was during the past few years, burn about 3.3 million tons of coal annu- excited that the company was working with SaskPower to support ally. The plant’s older units burn about 3.1 million tons a year. efforts to reduce the world’s emissions. “The individual components of CCS have been successfully Colowyo’s Mine Plan Approved demonstrated for many years, but Boundary Dam is the first power The U.S. Department of the Interior has approved and signed a project to bring all these together. Much more investment and many modified mine plan for Colowyo mine, which was subject to a fed- more projects are needed to bring down the cost of technology and eral district court order requiring the Office of Surface Mining accelerate its deployment,” Dalla Valle said. “By making relevant (OSM) to update its environmental review of the mine. information from Boundary Dam more widely available, we hope our In addition to the new mining plan, on August 31, the OSM contribution has a multiplier effect and promotes CCS investment completed a new environmental assessment for the mine, result- around the world.” ing in a finding of no significant impact on the environment from mining operations. Wyoming, China Reps Building Bridge of Coal The approval of the new mine plan completes the effort by A group of delegates from the University of Wyoming (UW), joined by OSM to comply with the court’s May 8 order to complete the envi- local legislators, recently teamed up with representatives of one of ronmental review within 120 days. OSM’s counsel has notified the China’s biggest coal regions on ways to collaborate for clean coal court that it has completed the environmental review and and coal conversion technologies. approved a modified mining plan. The group, accompanied by Sens. Michael Von Flatern and Jeff “We are grateful to the staff at OSM and the other cooperating Wasserburger of Campbell County, Wyoming, attended meetings and agencies for their diligence and hard work to complete the environ- held discussions with their Chinese counterparts and industry officials mental review within the short timeframe ordered by the judge,” during the fifth China International Energy Industry Expo and Low said Mike McInnes, CEO of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Carbon Development Summit Forum in Taiyuan in the Shanxi Province. Association, which owns the Colowyo mine through its subsidiary, UW officials said the Chinese delegation is interested in the Colowyo Coal Co. “The unwavering support we have received from school’s carbon engineering program and have invited its our 220 mine employees, the community and elected officials across researchers to apply for funding under Shanxi’s domestic and inter- Colorado helped ensure the Department of the Interior, from national programs — with Wyoming being the first to receive an Secretary Jewell down, committed the resources and time necessary invitation for domestic funding. to complete this important work.” The gathering also identified opportunities for foreign invest- Colowyo Coal Co. believes the new mine plan allows the mine ments for research based at UW as well as ways to collaborate on to continue to operate, and the completion of the environmental carbon engineering technological approaches, findings from the UW assessment, which resulted in a finding of no significant impact on Rock Springs Uplift carbon dioxide sequestration site, challenges of the environment and mining operations, will satisfy the court, but new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, the it is uncertain how the court will proceed. importance of Powder River Basin (PRB) coal mining and Wyoming’s “The approval of the new plan should provide our employees resource and educational reach globally. and the residents of Moffat, Rio Blanco and Routt counties with Mark Northam, director of University of Wyoming School of the confidence to move forward and focus on the future,” said Energy Resources, delivered a keynote address to 800 at the global Chris McCourt, manager of the Colowyo mine. Located in north- forum at the invitation of the Shanxi Provincial Science and west Colorado, Colowyo produces more than 2 million tons of low Technology Institute. Demand for coal in China, as in Wyoming, is in sulfur, subbituminous coal annually and is currently one of two decline as utilities are seeking reductions in carbon emissions from primary fuel sources for the Craig Station power plant near Craig, coal-fired power plants in response to government regulation and Colorado. market changes [and] like Wyoming, Shanxi Province is concerned In February 2013, WildEarth Guardians sued OSM claiming about revenue losses related to the coal industry’s downturn,” UW that the agency failed to adequately provide public notice and officials said. “Although their populations differ significantly in address environmental impacts prior to mine plan approvals for size, Shanxi Province and Wyoming both depend largely on coal and seven coal mines in the western U.S., including Colowyo. other mineral production to drive their economies. Specifically, the environmental activists claimed the Environmental Assessment that OSM prepared to comply with the ˛ National Environmental Policy Act for the Colowyo mine plan was

8 www.coalage.com October 2015 PRODUCTIVITY, SAFETY AND RESULTS.

Other companies may have the pieces and parts for your project, but CCC Group, Inc. provides dedicated specialty equipment mixed with innovative means and methods to increase the effciency, quality and safety of every project.

As the world’s leading source for mining machinery installations and relocations, our work spans 45 years of delivering successful projects for the mining industry. We have developed loyal client relationships through accurate forecasting of project schedules and budgets. Our experienced workforce provides the results you need.

For more information on our mining machinery services, visit cccgroupinc.com/mining machinery.

5797 DIETRICH RD SAN ANTONIO, TX 78219 TEL. 210-661-4251

PO BOX 200350 SAN ANTONIO, TX 78220-0350

WWW.CCCGROUPINC.COM news continued

inadequate and asked the court strike down the current mine plan. Judge R. Brooke Jackson heard oral arguments on April 24 and Tri-State joined the lawsuit to assist the defense. on May 8 ruled against OSM. In his ruling, Judge Jackson agreed The lawsuit against the OSM was not based on a violation of any with WildEarth Guardians claims that OSM did not involve the air or water quality laws or regulations. The Colowyo mine has public or take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts of min- responsibly operated its mining and reclamation activities since the ing operations when the agency approved the Colowyo mining mine plan was approved under the federal review process, and the plan. Recognizing the potential effect of the decision on the mine remains in compliance with all state and federal requirements. Colowyo mine, its employees and the northwest Colorado com- The issues raised in the lawsuit are related to whether OSM munity, the judge delayed vacating Colowyo’s mining permit for completed appropriate public notification and analysis required 120 days to allow the OSM to address the deficiencies in the per- during a review of the mine plan issued in 2007. At no time during mitting process that he discussed in the order. the case did WildEarth Guardians argue that the mine should be During this time, Colowyo continued to operate. Colowyo Coal designed or operated any differently than it operates today. Co. believes the court’s decision against OSM was in error and is appealing the decision. m PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Murray Energy Sues UMWA, Cites Deal Breach Murray American Energy has filed a lawsuit against the United SunCoke Energy announced leadership changes: Michael J. Thomson, presi- Mine Workers of America (UMWA) for what it called a “repeated dent and COO, is leaving the company and stepping down from the board of and flagrant breach” of the pair’s National Bituminous Coal Wage directors. CEO Fritz Henderson, Senior Vice President Mike Hardesty, and CFO Agreement of 2011. The Ohio producer said September 19 that Fay West will assume additional responsibilities. Hardesty has been appoint- the union has been “flagrantly ignoring” some provisions of ed to the board of directors of SunCoke Energy Partners L.P. Barry Elswick, the deal. vice president, coke operations, is also leaving the company to pursue other UMWA spokesperson Phil Smith responded on behalf of the interests. Hardesty will assume responsibility for the international coke busi- union and said the suit was completely without merit. “We look ness and Dovie Majors, director of performance improvement and interim forward to defending our members’ health and safety on the job in general manager at Indiana Harbor, is being promoted to the role of vice court as well as in the mines,” he said. president, domestic coke operations. Alpha Prepares to Close Emerald Chris Curfman, vice president of Cat’s Mining As the operation nears the end of its mineable life, Alpha has Sales & Support Division, will retire at the end made good on a prior promise to idle its Emerald longwall com- of the year. He joined Cat in 1994 and was plex in southwestern Pennsylvania at the end of next month. The appointed vice president of the Global Mining Virginia-based company, currently in the midst of a Chapter 11 Division in 2004. His division will be integrated bankruptcy case, issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Chris Curfman into the existing Global Mining machine busi- Tom Bluth Notification Act (WARN Act) letters on September 25 indicating a ness divisions. The surface mining sales and support teams will closing date for the mine of November 24. join the Hauling & Extraction Division (See Suppliers News, p. Officials said the mine will be idled at that time due to the 40), which will be renamed the Surface Mining & Technology exhaustion of the final panel of mineable coal; the producer first Division, led by Cat Vice President Tom Bluth. The underground announced the impending end of Emerald’s life in August 2014, at mining sales and support teams will join the Material Handling that time projecting the end of 2015 for a closure date. Denise Johnson and Underground Division, led by Cat Vice President Denise Johnson. About 290 workers, along with a few operational support crew members, will be impacted by the move to idle. United Mine Check-6 International appointed Laura Owen as the CEO. Workers of America (UMWA) officials told the Associated Press She joined the board of directors for Check-6 in December that about 140 miners have already been transferred from the 2014. Previously, she was the founder and CEO of PontSalus. Emerald mine to the company’s nearby Cumberland operation, which it is ramping up. About 250 of the remaining 290 workers ALLU Group announced Edgar J. Chavez will take over as their are union members, the spokesman added. Laura Owen executive vice president and general manager. For the last five years, Chavez has served as director, sales, marketing Bowie Mine Cuts 100 Jobs and product support for PACCAR Inc.’s winch division. Bowie Resource Partners (BRP), owner of the Bowie No. 2 opera- tion near Paonia in western Colorado, has confirmed the fur- Superior Industries named Mike Schultz its product man- lough of 97 of its workers while it progresses with plans to develop ager for the company’s new crushing equipment product a new longwall panel. BRP and the mine’s operating subsidiary, solutions. Most recently, Schultz was employed at Terex Bowie Resources, said September 30 that the layoff will include Mineral Processing Systems as a market area director. 78 workers and 19 contractors. It currently employs 181 full-time employees and 19 contractors. “Some of the affected employees BKT USA named Mike Connor as head of OE sales. He held Mike Schultz will be relocated where possible to fill vacancies in other parts of positions as general manager of Mefro Wheels USA and the business; however, layoffs are unfortunately unavoidable,” president/COO of Redco Wheel. said BRP COO Gene E. DiClaudio. The cuts will be effective November 30.

10 www.coalage.com October 2015 BY NOT BUILDING

WE COMPROMISE ON

What happens when you don’t build all equipment for all jobs, but specialize in shovels and haulers? You build them better. You don’t cut corners. You make them more reliable and productive. THAT’S ALL.

HitachiMining.com news continued

In addition to the new panel development, which it said will West Virginia have jointly announced the introduction of the Black take about 12 months, BRP also noted that it wants to continue to Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2015, which they said will over- “evaluate the market for Bowie No. 2 coal.” Bowie furloughed haul the nation’s pneumoconiosis (black lung) benefits program about 150 last year when it lost a supply contract with the with “commonsense steps” and changes to efficiency. The trio is Tennessee Valley Authority. In all, Bowie owns three underground backed by Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of operations in Utah and another in Colorado. Combined, the com- Ohio, and companion legislation has also been introduced at the pany sold 15.8 million tons of western bituminous coal over the House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia, last calendar year. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania and Frederica Wilson of Florida. The group said the act will “level the playing field” for those min- Senators Unveil Black Lung Reforms Plan ers battling black lung and seeking disability compensation for the Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia and Joe Manchin of condition.

DATELINE WASHINGTON The Wages of War

BY LUKE POPOVICH For most Americans asked to fork over a sizeable ing firm in Washington, used EPA’s own model to calculate wholesale chunk of their tax dollars to support the world’s power cost increases anticipated from the rise in natural gas demand biggest defense industry, the pocketbook pain is and the capex required to replace 41 GW of coal plants that would be lessened greatly by the fact that our enemies are retired over and above what is projected without the CPP. out there and dedicated to destroying us. EVA shows CPP adds $15 billion to the cost of electricity by 2022 There is resurgent Russia, wakening from its and $214 billion by 2030. Put another way, by then, nationwide whole- post-Soviet slumber to once again menace eastern sale power costs will spike by more than 20% over the projected cost Europe and challenge us in the Mideast. China is without the rule. And 16 states will see a 25% increase, most likely your flexing its muscles by building bases outside its territorial waters to state if you’re reading this magazine. To this tab, ratepayers will also threaten sea lanes. Islamic fanatics take over vast stretches of Iraq be picking up a $64 billion bill to replace the lost coal capacity. and Syria, fighting our allies there and inspiring terror cells embedded Already, utilities will be scheduling additional plant closures and bud- here. We have little choice but to finance a military that can keep us geting for replacement costs in order for states to meet EPA’s interim safe from foreign enemies who seek our destruction. deadlines. But for the coal industry, that fact provides little comfort, for the Small wonder that 20 states so far plan to join NMA in court to stop Pentagon offers no defense against the government that wants its the rule. destruction. Coal’s worst enemy is not a foreign government but its own If EPA’s CPP is aimed at destroying coal’s customer base, the OSM’s government. The White House is actually tougher on the domestic coal Stream Protection Rule (SPR) is aimed at destroying its production. industry than it is on Russia, Syria or the Taliban. Recall the SPR, published in draft in July of this year, involved a mas- Some call it the war on coal — waged not only here, but abroad, sive re-write of some 475 regulations that govern the oversight of sur- too. The National Mining Association (NMA) has always said this face mining and reclamation. The analysis by Ramboll Environ for NMA charge, while understandable, minimizes the destruction these anti- projects 268,000 jobs will be lost in mining and coal-supported employ- coal policies inflict on the country as a whole. Fewer coal plants and ment. Of these, almost 74,000 will be at risk in both surface and under- production means fewer good jobs, less fuel diversity, less reliable sup- ground operations. The reason of course is the massive volume of coal plies of affordable energy and, of course, further hardship for poorer that will no longer be economic to mine. The study found recoverable households least able to absorb “the EPA premium.” reserves would drop by 62.5% with lost production from SPR mining

Last month, two new studies of the impact of anti-coal regulations restrictions valued at $22 billion. In that lost volume of coal are underscored both points. From these analyses, both commissioned by deposits that support the highest number of jobs, hence more than

NMA, we can virtually measure how coal mining and the larger economy 71% of total coal mining employment would be at risk. it supports are both under attack. The Pentagon protects us from foreign governments, but who will The first study brings home the irreparable economic harm to a dozen protect us from our own? coal states caused by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean “ Power Plan (CPP), a rule to curb carbon emissions from the existing coal Luke Popovich is a spokesperson for the National Mining Association, fleet. Energy Ventures Analysis (EVA), an independent economic consult- the industry’s trade group based in Washington, D.C. Coal’s worst enemy is not a foreign government but its own government. “12 www.coalage.com October 2015 news continued

Specifically, the proposal will give miners equal access to med- certifies as “B readers” for X-ray processing in claims. “By formal- ical evidence as well as better access to legal resources. izing this agreement with OWCP, together we will establish a new Additionally, those who have filed claims and seen them denied mechanism to help ensure that chest X-ray readings used in black because of recently discovered discredited medical evidence will lung benefits proceedings meet the highest standards,” Weissman have a remedy with which to move forward. said. The program is one of several initiatives the DOL has The act is the second collaboration for the three men; in July, they advanced following issues raised by a recent inspector general unveiled the Miners Protection Act to help ensure lifetime pensions review of the black lung claim adjudication process. and health benefits are honored for retired miners and their families. Utah Mine Loses Lease for Noncompliance DOL, NIOSH Establish Black Lung QA Program The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has canceled the lease The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP), part of for a Utah underground coal operation after the operation’s owners the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the National Institute for violated the terms of the deal by not posting a required bond and let- Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have teamed up for a ting royalty payments to the government go into arrears. quality assurance program that will help with the processing of According to local outlets, including the Salt Lake Tribune, the pneumoconiosis (black lung) claims. The two inked a formal Hidden Splendor Horizon complex near Price is now being memorandum of understanding on September 24 outlining the ordered to pay $230,929 in past-due royalties for the operation; the initiative, which will evaluate black lung benefit claims in a more arrearage stems from a three-month period in 2012 at the rate of efficient manner. “In the past two years, the department has $8 per ton. implemented several initiatives to improve the quality and timeli- Additionally, for five years, Hidden Splendor reportedly failed ness of decisions on black lung claims,” said OWCP Director to forward rent payments to the BLM totaling $3 per acre. The Leonard Howie III. agency has since filed documents in U.S. District Court in Salt The interagency agreement will now provide a process to mon- Lake City against the now-shuttered mine. itor and assess the quality of X-ray readings submitted to the DOL The room-and-pillar Horizon mine, which started production as part of the adjudication process, he said. David Weissman, in 2006, was controlled by Hidden Splendor parent company director of NIOSH’s Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, said America West Resources. According to case documentation, about the research group has a longstanding commitment to ensure pro- 16 million tons of recoverable federal reserves in Carbon County fessionalism, proficiency and objectivity among the physicians it remained on the lease.

Mining Technology ■ 6X more CM systems operating in U.S. coal mines than any other manufacturer ■ Precise location of workers maximizes safety and productivity ■ Dynamic SharpZoneTM technology - maximizes mine Mobile Machinery Low-Light productivity MineOwl Camera System - minimizes nuisance / false alarms Hi-res LCD LED lights housed monitor in rugged in rugged XP XP housing [email protected] housing

October 2015 www.coalage.com 13 news continued

When in operation, Horizon produced an average of about a civil penalty of $975,000. The United States is joined in the settle- 280,000 tons annually. It last had significant tonnage in 2012, ment by co-plaintiffs Environmental Defense, the North Carolina when it ended the year at 210,096 tons. At its peak in 2011, it pro- Sierra Club and Environment North Carolina. duced a little more than 370,000 tons. “This settlement brings five more power plants into compliance under EPA’s national initiative to cut pollution from the country’s Duke Energy to Reduce Emissions From Power Plants, largest sources,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Fund Projects Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “After many years, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. we’ve secured a strong resolution, one that will help reduce asthma Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with Duke attacks and other serious illnesses for the people of North Carolina.” Energy Corp. to resolve Clean Air Act violations at five coal-fired “The settlement announced marks another milestone in our power plants across North Carolina. The settlement resolves long- ongoing efforts to enforce the Clean Air Act and reduce air pollu- standing claims that Duke violated the federal Clean Air Act by tion from coal-fired power plants,” said Assistant Attorney General unlawfully modifying 13 coal-fired electricity generating units John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and located at the Allen, Buck, Cliffside, Dan River, and Riverbend Natural Resources Division. “This settlement is a just and fair reso- plants, without obtaining air permits and installing and operating lution to this long-running enforcement action in which we the required air pollution control technologies. alleged that Duke modified these plants in ways that significantly Eleven of the 13 units have recently shut down, and under the increased their annual emissions. It is good news for the environ- settlement, those shutdowns become a permanent and enforce- ment and public health in North Carolina.” able obligation. At the remaining two units, Duke must continu- The United States initially sued Duke in 2000, and trial was set to ously operate pollution controls and meet interim emission limits begin in October following years of pre-trial litigation, including a before permanently retiring them. In addition, the settlement landmark 2007 Supreme Court decision agreeing with EPA’s inter- requires that Duke retire another unit at the Allen plant, spend a pretation of the relevant Clean Air Act regulations modifications that total of $4.4 million on environmental mitigation projects, and pay increased the actual annual amount of pollution from a plant.

Majority of Units in PJM Interconnection See Boost CALENDAR OF EVENTS After Auctions Most of the coal-burning generation units owned by FirstEnergy November 9-13, 2015: Economic Evaluation and Investment Decision Methods, Corp., American Electric Power Co. (AEP) and East Kentucky Power five-day course, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado. Contact: Cooperative in PJM Interconnection LLC got a welcomed boost after CSM SPAC; Email: [email protected]; Tel: 303-279-5563; Web: www.csm- clearing the regional grid operator’s recent base residual capacity space.com/events/econeval. auction and two subsequent transition capacity auctions. The generation units cleared the base residual auction for the January 27-29, 2016: WVCA Mining Symposium, Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, 2018-2019 delivery year and the transition auctions for the 2016- West Virginia. Contact: Web: www.wvcoal.com. 2017 and 2017-2018 delivery years. January 28-29, 2016: 16th Coaltrans USA, The Four Seasons Miami, Miami, Florida. The outcome was especially good news for FirstEnergy’s 2,233- Contact: Web: www.coaltrans.com. megawatt Sammis plant in Stratton, Ohio. Sammis, located along the Ohio River and the Akron-based company’s largest plant in January 31-February 3, 2016: 41st Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Ohio, has been at risk for possible closing. The plant is part of the Technique, Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact: ISEE; Email: [email protected]; Web: approximately 3,100 megawatts of coal and nuclear generation www.isee.org. capacity the company is seeking to continue operating under a February 21-24, 2016: SME Annual Conference and Expo, Phoenix Convention Center, controversial power purchase agreement (PPA) pending before the Phoenix, Arizona. Contact: Web: www.smenet.org. Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The PPA also includes the 908-megawatt Davis-Besse nuclear March 6-9, 2016: Prospectors and Developer Annual Conferece, Toronto, Ontario, plant in Ohio and FirstEnergy’s roughly 200-megawatt share of Ohio Canada. Contact: Web: www.pdac.ca/convention. Valley Electric Corp.’s (OVEC) Kyger Creek and Clifty Creek coal March 21-24, 2016: National Western Mining Conference and Expo, Colorado plants in Ohio and Indiana, respectively. Together, Kyger Creek and Convention Center, Denver, Colorado. Contact: Web: www.coloradomining.org. Clifty Creek produce almost 2,400 megawatts of electricity. OVEC was formed in the 1950s to provide electricity to the old U.S. Atomic April 11-17, 2016: bauma, Messe Munchen, Munich, Germany. Contact: Energy Commission. A final PUC decision on the purchase plan is Web: www.bauma.de. expected before the end of this year or in early 2016. April 25-27, 2016: Coal Prep 2016, Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky. Also clearing the PJM auction was FirstEnergy’s largest plant, Contact: Web: www.coalprepshow.com. the 2,741-megawatt Bruce Mansfield facility in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. The company is pursuing the construction of a new May 1-4, 2016: Canadian Institute of Mining, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. coal ash disposal facility at Mansfield. Contact: Web: www.cim.org. A FirstEnergy spokesman said his company was pleased with September 26-28, 2016: MINExpo INTERNATIONAL 2016, Las Vegas Convention the auction results, saying they “come closer to reflecting the true Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact: Web: www.minexpo.com. operating costs of our generating plants.” PJM, based in Pennsylvania, includes 13 states and the District of Columbia.

14 www.coalage.com October 2015 news continued

AEP, meanwhile, said more than 7,000 megawatts of its unreg- one-third renewables. Coal still fuels about 70% of the utility’s ulated generation fleet in PJM cleared the capacity auction for the generation, down from 90% a decade ago. 2018-2019 delivery year, representing all of the capacity its AEP Dave McMillan, Minnesota Power executive vice president, said Generation Resources subsidiary bid into the auction. AEP the new resource plan, dubbed EnergyForward, “offers a detailed Generation Resources, the company’s competitive arm, has 7,923 explanation of how we will balance our resource mix to preserve envi- megawatts of mostly coal-burning generation resources. The ronmental quality without sacrificing affordability and reliability.” auction had a clearing price of $164.77/megawatt per day and was the first held under PJM’s new capacity performance system designed to encourage investment in power plants and strength- Morehead State Dedicates en grid reliability. Craft Academy Nicholas Akins, AEP chairman, president and CEO, said PJM’s market design improvements “are a step in the right direction to help support the investments needed for reliable generator performance. These higher auction prices for the next three years better reflect the value of reliable generation to meet peak electricity demand.” AEP has a similar power purchase agreement before the PUC that covers about 3,000 megawatts of coal-burning generation. Tammy Ridout, an AEP spokeswoman, said the Columbus, Ohio- based company’s portion of the Stuart and Zimmer coal plants in Ohio did not clear the 2017-2018 supplemental auction, though they did clear the original base auction for 2017-2018. Stuart and Zimmer are jointly owned with other electric utilities and are not operated by AEP. AEP’s portion of Stuart and Zimmer also cleared the 2016-2017 supplemental auction and the 2018-2019 base residual auction. Alliance Resource Partners' CEO Joe Craft (back center), surrounded by stu- AEP is one of the largest coal consumers in the nation, burning dents, academics and politicians, was recently recognized for a contribu- more than 40 million tons of steam coal annually. The company tion to Morehead State. has retired more than 6,000 megawatts of coal capacity in the past couple of years, mainly to comply with new federal Environmental Officials of Morehead State University (MSU), along with members of Protection Agency rules. its board of regents, local and state legislators, held a ribbon cutting East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a Winchester-based genera- ceremony during August for the Craft Academy for Excellence in tion and transmission co-op, also cleared in the PJM auctions all of Science and Mathematics. The academy was designed to meet the the more than 1,600 megawatts of coal generation it intends to unique educational needs of academically exceptional high school keep operating for the foreseeable future. That includes the 1,279- juniors and seniors in the commonwealth of Kentucky. A college-level megawatt Spurlock and 341-megawatts Cooper plants. curriculum will allow students to finish high school while also com- pleting up to two years of university coursework. Minnesota Power Will Expand Portfolio, But Keep Coal “In my 11 years here at MSU, I think the Craft Academy may be Minnesota Power, an Allete Inc. subsidiary, plans to gradually diversi- the most transformational activity that has occurred,” said Wayne D. fy its coal-heavy generation portfolio over the next 15 years, but will Andrews, MSU president. keep coal firmly in the mix, in particular, it’s 585-megawatt Boswell State lawmakers budgeted $2.3 million to establish the acade- Unit 4, the workhorse of the Duluth-based utility’s power plant fleet. my. Alliance Resource Partners CEO Joe Craft pledged $4 million dur- Unit 4, part of the 1,025-megawatt Boswell Energy Center in ing the next several years in support of the academy. Craft’s gift is Cohasset, Minnesota, is undergoing a $350 million environmental the single largest cash gift in the history of MSU. upgrade to significantly reduce emissions of mercury, particulates, The Craft Academy will offer unique, project-based STEM+X sulfur dioxide and other pollutants. The project is expected to be courses that will enrich educational experiences and develop compe- completed before the end of 2015. tencies in entrepreneurship and innovation, design and creativity, In a September integrated resource plan filing with the and civic and regional engagement. Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Minnesota Power stressed Boswell’s importance in serving its 143,000 customers in a 26,000- “This is a special day,” said Craft. “There are certain days in square-mile area of northeastern Minnesota that includes some of your life that you will remember forever and this is one of them for the largest industrial customers in the United States. me.” Craft met the students and told the crowd that he had chal- While efficient, the smaller Units 1 and 2 at Boswell, totaling lenged the first class to make the academy the best high school in 130 megawatts, could be the focus of an in-depth analysis next the nation. decade about whether they should be retired. Unit 3, rated at 365 At the end of two years, students will have earned a minimum of megawatts, is expected to remain in operation. 60 credit hours, finished high school and have the opportunity to fur- Boswell burns low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin. ther their education at MSU or transfer to any other college/universi- Longer term, Minnesota Power is aiming for a balanced gener- ty in Kentucky or elsewhere. ation portfolio of about one-third coal, one-third natural gas and

October 2015 www.coalage.com 15 news continued

To that end, Minnesota Power expects to have removed about ning for the utility, said Minnesota Power’s annual load growth 560 megawatts of coal-burning generation from its power supply over the 15-year period is expected to average about 0.7%. by 2020, compared with 2005 levels. In the 2020s, the utility plans to add 200-300 megawatts of gas- Later this fall, the 225-megawatt Taconite Harbor coal plant on fired generation and 33 megawatts of solar energy. the north shore of Lake Superior will be “economically idled,” not permanently closed. That means the plant could be restarted dur- Sierra Club, Xcel Energy Argue Over Sherco Plant’s Future ing the next few years if needed. However, Minnesota Power has This Fall, Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. and environmental decided to halt all coal operations at the plant in 2020, according groups led by the Sierra Club are battling over the fate of the compa- to company spokeswoman Amy Rutledge. ny’s 2,222-megawatt Sherco, or Sherburne County, coal-burning pow- Earlier this year, Minnesota Power completed a $15 million er plant along the Mississippi River near Becker, Minnesota. conversion of its 110-megawatt Laskin coal plant at Hoyt Lakes, Sherco’s future is being called into question in light of the fed- Minnesota, to natural gas. eral Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Clean Power Between 2006 and 2015, Minnesota Power signed power purchase Plan (CPP), which targets U.S. coal plants as a way to reduce emis- agreements and constructed more than 600 megawatts of wind facili- sions of carbon dioxide and address global climate change. ties. It also entered into a deal with Canada’s Manitoba Hydro to pur- Sherco is a three-unit plant that burns about 9 million tons of chase 383 megawatts of hydropower starting later this decade. low-sulfur Powder River Basin coal annually. Its two oldest units As a result, Minnesota Power is a decade ahead of schedule in were built in the mid-1970s and are most at risk of possible shut- meeting Minnesota’s renewable energy standard that requires down because of the CPP in the view of the plant’s critics. 25% of all its retail electricity sales to be generated by eligible ener- Xcel disagreed and said in its latest integrated resource plan gy technologies by 2025. that it wants to keep running Sherco’s three units at least until The company is forecasting modest load growth for its cus- 2030. The plant is needed to provide support for the electricity grid tomers over the next 15 years with more than 200 megawatts of and to maintain service reliability, the utility said. The IRP is additional load by 2029. Julie Pierce, director of strategy and plan- pending before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

% 2015 AWARDS

Sarver Receives SME Grant turbed by associated disturbances, such as sedimentation ponds and Emily Sarver, assistant professor of mining and diversions and/or by coal removal.” minerals engineering at Virginia Tech, In fact, DWC modified its mine plan to avoid disturbing several draws, has received one of the first two nationwide including the upper reaches. The process included moving several ponds Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration and associated diversions out of wooded draw locations. (SME) Career Development Grants. The Career “DWC used creative mining and water management methods to avoid Development Grant program is one part of the disturbance to the upper reaches of the wooded draws, thus preserving society’s new strategic effort aimed at building these unique features,” the company said. and securing the faculty pipeline for mining and Emily Sarver DWC’s Beulah is a 9,000-acre surface mine that produces lignite from minerals engineering. one active pit. Its coal supplies the adjacent 427-megawatt Coyote Sarver, who joined the Virginia Tech faculty in spring 2011, has Generating Station. already been involved in more than $2.8 million in sponsored research, with her personal share exceeding $2 million. Her research and teaching focuses on mine-generated environmental contaminants and the responsi- ble development of mineral and energy resources.

Beulah Mine Earns Reclamation Award North Dakota Public Service Commission’s (PCS) Reclamation Division rec- ognized Dakota Westmoreland Corp. (DWC), a subsidiary of Westmoreland Coal, with a 2015 state reclamation award. PSC handed down the honor at an awards luncheon September 30 to crews from DWC and the Beulah complex, which was recognized for taking special measures to preserve wooded draws in the active mining area of the property in Mercer County, northwest of Bismarck. The luncheon was part of the annual meeting of the Lignite Energy Council. “DWC has a number of wooded draws in its active mine area,” Dakota Westmoreland officials said. “Although the lower reaches of most of these wooded draws are not underlain by coal, the upper reaches can be under- The Beulah mine was recognized for taking special measures to preserve wooded draws in active mining areas. lain with coal. Oftentimes, the upper reaches of the wooded draws are dis-

16 www.coalage.com October 2015 news continued

In Minnesota, Xcel does business as Northern States Power. The Sierra Club and other groups, including the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, said Sherco units 1 and 2 should be retired in 2021 and 2024, respectively. There appears to be general consensus, at least for now, that Sherco’s largest unit, 860-megawatt unit 3, will continue operating at least through most of the next decade. Unit 3 is also the newest unit, going into com- mercial operation in 1987. Becker officials said the community would be devastated if Sherco, the largest power plant in Minnesota, closed because the plant provides dozens of jobs and most of the property taxes for the local economy. Republican State Rep. Pat Garofalo supports the plant. In late September, Garofalo, who chairs the Job Growth and Energy Affordability Committee in the Minnesota General Assembly, urged Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, to oppose the CPP. “Democrats support a Bermuda Triangle of mindless energy policies,” Garofalo said. “They oppose pipelines, they oppose environmental-friendly mining on the Iron Range, and they sup- port the Clean Power Plan, which is going to mean higher energy prices and crippling job losses for Minnesota.” He added, “Becker is not the only community that would be devas- tated by the loss of a coal power plant. If Sherco and other coal plants close, we’re talking about the loss of millions in local property tax rev- enue and hundreds of jobs that support families across the state.”

Usibelli Stops Coal Exports for the Rest of 2015 The Usibelli coal complex in Alaska, citing an oversupply of coal globally as well as low prices, will idle its exporting of coal through the end of the year. Aurora Energy Services (AES), the operator of the Seward Coal Loading Facility under parent company Usibelli Coal Mine (UCM), said September 22 it will halt its exports to Chile, South Korea and Japan — to which it shipped 1.2 million tons annually at peak, but now sends about 150,000 tons per year — through the balance of 2015. In-state coal will still be supplied, according to officials. AES General Manager Rod Brown said the company will furlough, though no exact numbers were disclosed. A small skeleton crew will be kept at the site for maintenance. The Seward Coal Loading Facility’s exports have been falling since 2011, along with the demand for Alaska coal. UCM, headquartered in Healy, is the only operating coal mine in Alaska.

A dragline moves overburden at Usibelli Coal in Alaska.

October 2015 www.coalage.com 17 raise boring

A new Approach to Shaft Development Work Raisebor engineers the largest diameter raise in the Alabama coalfields

Hard rock miners commonly bore raises between levels underground, and now Raisebor, a division of Cowen & Co., has successfully used the technique to develop a shaft at a deep coal-mining operation in Alabama. Above: the Raisebor team in the foreground, the raise boring drill in the background.

On December 7, 2014, Raisebor, a division ing. The shaft was needed to make the pany’s Atlas Copco Robbins 123RH C raise of Cowin & Co., completed a 26-ft-diame- mine more efficient. boring machine. Two earlier, 20-ft raises ter raise bore shaft to a depth of 1,440 ft, The 1,440-ft-long, 26-ft-diameter raise were just enough for the crew to stretch its the largest diameter raise bore ever in was actually the third project for the com- legs and get ready for the big pull. North America, and appears to be the largest in the world. Raisebor performed the record-setting feat at the Jim Walter Resources No. 7 mine near Brookwood, Alabama, using an Atlas Copco Robbins 123R C raise boring machine and multi- modular wing system (MMWS) reamer. The reamer was designed for this job in a collaborative effort with Atlas Copco design engineers. The project started in 2009 when Rick Sidwell, general manager of Raisebor, started thinking about a larger raise bore. He knew the drill for this job needed to be special. “I see the industry going this way. It’s a safety factor that just makes sense,” Sidwell said. Years of planning and engi- neering followed. The mine was sinking this shaft to offer miner and utility access closer to the work- ing face. It was taking workers roughly an hour to reach the working face. Nearly 25% The reamer was assembled on the surface custom to Raisebor’s specification, disassembled, taken under- of each 8-hour shift was lost to commut- ground and reassembled. Inset: Atlas Copco Secoroc cutters for the raise bore reamer.

18 www.coalage.com October 2015 raise boring continued

tem operates off two hydraulic systems, and said, “The reaction with the 123RH C with RCS-based monitoring, for high raise drill is quicker, yet it takes time to machine availability. adjust after the command. This is almost a An external loop cooling system main- safety factor.” He said the control allows tains optimum drive and thrust system for adjustments in the formation as need- temperature. The drill runs on a 480-volt ed, so there isn’t damage to the drill or drive pack and a 700-hp hydraulic motor drill string. turning the drill string. The machine’s anti-jamming feature Drilling operator Eric Todich agreed also prevents damage. When rotation with Bass’s assessment of the controls, pressure moves into the red range on the

Rick Sidwell, general manager of Raisebor, a division of Cowin & Co. Inc.

The project was made more complicat- ed than a typical raise by its size. The rebar- reinforced foundation for the drill was a massive 32-ft-deep concrete box built by Cowin & Co. at the surface that required the removal of 2,500 cubic yards of material pri- or to building the platform. The drill strad- dled an open box’s 1-ft-thick concrete liner, which was drilled out when the raise bore’s head reached the surface. Drill operator James Bass said there is more power behind the 123RH C compared to other units he has used in the past. “I can feel more power and better control. And when I make a correction, there’s almost an anticipation of my actions. I can feel the changes in the formation as it happens and change the drilling parameters smoothly and as necessary.” The formation’s high angle fractures with varying changes throughout the for- mation made it difficult to ream. “Because the head is so wide, I could be pulling though hard and soft formations at the same time,” Bass said. “Pulling slowly through it, though, I can feel the torque change. The rpm and force show constantly on the control panel, and I hear and feel what needs to be adjusted more than I see it.” Average drilling parameters put 2.5 rpm of head rotation at the pipe. The aver- age thrust was from 350,000 to 700,000 lb, with torque at or below 350 klbf. The sys-

October 2015 www.coalage.com 19 raise boring continued

4 in. of sandstone. In a 24-hour period, two shifts might have 8 to 10 ft of advancement. This was a little ahead of the preplan estimates of 3.7 ft per shift or 7 ft per day. Drilling advanced better than projected throughout the project. “This is an amazing piece of equip- ment, with its rod handling system,” Hicks said. “The old way we had to move pipe with a chain hoist, now we have a modern rod handler. It grips the pipe up to 2,000 psi to thread on the connection.” The design of the MMWS reamer, nicknamed the “Moose,” was based on the largest existing reamer in Atlas Copco’s raise bore tool line. It consists of a 48-in.-wide core and two 48-in.-wide intermediate wings. Up to eight outer wings extend the cutting capacity to 26 ft. The outer wing design was intended to allow efficient cleaning of the head, Raisebor’s James Bass operates the 123RH C raise boring machine from the quiet comfort of its remote opera- which uses five-row Standard Magnum tor station. cutters paired with 1-in. spacing. The wings were designed to be removable to control panel, rotation backs down. “The Drill superintendent Willy Hicks said make underground transport easier. It programming on this drill is really Johnny- the drill performed well throughout the can be operated with as few as four wings. on-the-spot accurate,” said Bass. project. He gave quite a bit of credit to Raisebor discovered that six wings were At one time there was a 20-ft-long, 5-ft- the operators who kept an eye on the optimal for keeping the head clear of rock thick rock that broke free from the face, controls and made the process look easy. buildup. causing a delay in drilling. It took time to On average, the drill advanced at 5.5 The 14.1-in. Atlas Copco Secoroc cut- lower the cutting head and replace cutters in. per hour, but formation changes ters weigh more than 400 lb each. Of the that were smashed, but people were never made drilling speed inconsistent. The 50 cutters used, 35 went the distance. in harm’s way. formation could show a foot of coal then The 15 that needed to be replaced were only changed because they had been damaged by the large rock fall on the head. For Sidwell, the objective throughout the project was not to lower the head unless absolutely necessary. The process could have taken two weeks of advance- ment because tripping up and down would take that much time. Sidwell worked with Atlas Copco to develop the head. “Atlas Copco respected my input. We discussed what needed to be done to make it better. We put extra wing cutters where I felt they were required and I appreciated the flexibility demonstrated by Atlas Copco.” The cutting face is so wide that for each rotation of the inside cutters, the outside cutters will rotate 22 times. However, the cutters showed little wear regardless of location on the face. Rotation speed can be set at the control from 0 to 50 Willy Hicks, drill superintendent. rpm while the pilot is drilling and from 0 to 7 while reaming. The crew found the

20 www.coalage.com October 2015 raise boring continued sweet spot to be 2.5 rpm while reaming the shaft. Vent holes were drilled parallel to the 15-in. pilot hole for two reasons. First, since the raise bore drill cut through mul- tiple coal seams on its way to the surface, so it was important to ventilate it and flush water over the cutters to suppress sparks that could light methane gas. Water also cooled the cutters. Secondly, within 300 yards of the new drill shaft, large intake fans were sending thousands of cubic feet of air per minute to the face of the mine’s workings. With the addition of the vent holes, air drawn down the holes by the intake fans increased gas ventilation. Prior to breaking through the surface, these fans were regulated down to prevent a large influx of dust. The Mine Safety and Health Admin- Using a pilot hole, the raise boring drill pulls the reamer upward letting cuttings fall to the bottom of the raise. istration regulation was for less than 1% A scoop is used to clear the cuttings below. methane on the bit face. To dilute the potentially hazardous gas in the coal seams, The Atlas Copco Robbins 123RH C About the Article air from portable compressors was used in raise boring machine is technically rated This article was provided courtesy addition to supplement the mine’s ventila- for making 10- to 20-ft-diameter holes. of Atlas Copco; it was first published in tion system, sending air at 1,700 cfm down Raisebor’s achievement has proven much the company’s Mining & Construction the annulus of the drill string. larger holes are possible. magazine.

October 2015 www.coalage.com 21

mine rescue A Test of Valor

The 104th national mine rescue competition brings dozens of teams to Kentucky to put their skills to the test

BY DONNA SCHMIDT, FIELD EDITOR

As the old saying goes, anything worth doing is worth doing right. Mine rescuers have always taken such thoughts to heart, with many committed to their skill sets and eager to keep them tested and polished for the day they continue to hope will never occur — a true mine emergency. Put that intrepidness on the line at a national level, and it becomes the World Series of the mine rescue sector — also known as the National Coal Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench and Preshift Competition, which recently wrapped up in Lexington, Kentucky’s Lexington Center. From September 14-17, competitions challenged the teams with various tests of First place in mine rescue is the Alpha southern West Virginia Team. skills and knowledge. For example, compet- ing teams faced a hypothetical mine emer- gency problem, then were rated on their compliance to outlined mine rescue proce- dures as well as their time to complete the tasks at hand. In the bench contest, the participants inspected and ensured the working ability of equipment such as multigas instruments and self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA), and first responders in the first-aid contest demonstrated the correct method of caring for an injured miner. Individual examiners also got to demonstrate their pro- ficiency in identifying potential hazards before the start of a hypothetical shift in the The southeast Kentucky Team takes gold in the mine rescue combination division. preshift contest. A total of 65 teams participated in the annual event (this year’s contest focused on coal mining teams), which collaboratively represented 12 U.S. states and some of the nation’s biggest coal complexes. Taking home the top prizes from this annual event were a group of top Appalachian crews: Alpha Natural Resources’ southern West Virginia Team from Whitesville, West Virginia, in first place for mine rescue, fol- lowed by second and third place winners Arch Coal Lone Mountain Processing’s Lone Mountain Team from Holmes Mill, Kentucky, and Arch Coal Beckley Complex’s Beckley Gold Team from Eccles, West The first place honor for Day 1 mine rescue goes to the Shoal Creek Red Team. Virginia.

October 2015 www.coalage.com 23 mine rescue continued

Taber Tichenor with the award for first place in Bench Alpha southern West Virginia captain Mark Bolen with Bench BG4 first place winner Tony Lloyd. Biopak 240R. the award for Day 2 mine rescue.

Other winners included Alliance Coal’s honors went to Alpha Natural Resources’ and Health Administration (MSHA), Warrior Coal Cardinal Team in the preshift southern West Virginia Team. attending regularly throughout their competition, Kentucky Coal Academy’s Finally, in the combination mine res- mining careers. While the nationals have MCC Team in the Bench Biopak 240R cue/first aid contest, first place went to Mine had many home venues, the first such category, and Revelation Energy’s team Rescue Services’ southeast Kentucky Team. competition was held in 1910 and is now from Kentucky in the Bench BG4 division A complete listing of all participating the largest national competition of its testing. teams and winners can be found on page 25. kind. Also, the mining industry held its In first aid, Cliffs Natural Resources’ Oak A complete wrapup of all teams’ placements first regular mine rescue competitions in Grove Resources Oak Grove Blue Team was and times can be found at http://bit.ly/coal- 1911, with the inaugural event taking tops. rescue-results. place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as dig- Two winners were selected for each day Many of the participants are not new nitary attendee President William Taft of the mine rescue scenarios; Day 1 mine to the competition, which is sponsored looked on. rescue winner was Drummond Co.’s Shoal by the National Mining Association NMA President and CEO Hal Quinn Creek Red Team and Day 2 mine rescue top (NMA) and judged by the Mine Safety told the teams, which totaled more than 2015 National Coal Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench and Preshift Competition Results: September 14-17

MINE RESCUE COMBINATION COMPETITION BENCH BG-4 First Place: Tony Lloyd OVERALL First Place: Mine Rescue Services LLC, southeast Revelation Energy LLC First Place: Alpha Natural Resources, southern West Kentucky Team Second Place: Duke Rich Virginia Team Mine Rescue Captain: Fred Shannon Blue Mountain Energy Inc., Deserado Black Team Captain: Mark Bolen First Aid Captain: Bryan Lewis Third Place: Gary Valusek, Jr. Second Place: Arch Coal Inc., Lone Mountain Second Place: Walter Energy, JWR Blue Creek Team Alpha Natural Resources, Cumberland RD Team Processing, Inc., Lone Mountain Team Mine Rescue Captain: Ricky Lewis Captain: Jimmy Rouse First Aid Captain: Joe Tingle BENCH 240-R Third Place: Arch Coal Inc., Beckley Complex, Beckley Third Place: Arch Coal Inc., Sentinel Complex Mine First Place: Taber Tichenor Gold Team Rescue Team Kentucky Coal Academy, MCC Team Captain: Roy Smith Mine Rescue Captain: George Brooks Second Place: Barry Rowe First Aid Captain: Josh Warner Arch Coal, Inc., Viper Red Team DAY 1 Third Place: Matt Garner Drummond Company Inc., Shoal Creek Red Team FIRST AID COMPETITION White County Coal, Pattiki Mine Rescue Team Captain: David Crowe First Place: Cliffs Natural Resources – Oak Grove PRESHIFT COMPETITION DAY 2 Resources LLC, Oak Grove Blue Team Alpha Natural Resources, southern West Virginia Captain: Matt Miller First Place: Jeff Clark Team Second Place: Walter Energy, JWR Team No 4 Alliance Coal Co. – Warrior Coal LLC, Cardinal Team Captain: Mark Bolen Captain: Craig Slate Second Place: Jason Grasha Third Place: Walter Energy, JWR Blue Creek Team Alpha Natural Resources, Cumberland RD Team Captain: Joe Tingle Third Place: Mike Moore Excel Mining LLC, Excel Mine Rescue Team

24 www.coalage.com October 2015 mine rescue continued

“The National Mining Association wel- viduals and participating companies place comed the opportunity to sponsor this on safety and mine rescue. The selfless year’s National Coal Mine Rescue dedication of all of the participants Contest,” added NMA Senior Vice demonstrated the enduring spirit of our President for Regulatory Affairs Bruce nation’s coal miners and we were honored Watzman. “The high level of participation to play a role in making this national con- testified to the importance that the indi- test a success.” National Coal Mine Rescue Competition

Registered Teams (through September 1)

Alliance Coal Co., Tunnel Ridge Coal LLC, Tunnel Ridge Cliffs Natural Resources, Pinnacle Mining Co. Team, Team, West Virginia West Virginia Alpha Natural Resources, South West Regional Team, Consol Energy Inc., Buchanan Red Team, Virginia Kentucky Consol Energy Inc., Buchanan Black Team, Virginia Jeff Clark with the preshift first place honor. Alpha Natural Resources, Maxxim Shared Services Team, Consol of PA, Enlow Fork Green Team, Pennsylvania Virginia Consol of PA, Enlow Fork Gold Team, Pennsylvania 600 individuals, as well as the crowds of Alpha Natural Resources, Brooks Run South Black Team, Consol of PA, Bailey Blue Team, Pennsylvania guests and busy exhibit hall participants West Virginia Consol of PA, Bailey White Team, Pennsylvania that mine rescue competitions of all sizes Alpha Natural Resources, Rockspring Development, Inc., Consol of PA, Harvey Blue Team, Pennsylvania are crucial to keep skills polished. Rockspring Gold Team, West Virginia Consol of PA, Harvey Grey Team, Pennsylvania “Until a day when serious mining acci- Alpha Natural Resources, Cumberland JC Team, Drummond Company Inc., Shoal Creek Black Team, dents are problems of the past, we will be Pennsylvania Alabama meeting like this — honoring your selfless Alpha Natural Resources, Cumberland RD Team, Drummond Company Inc., Shoal Creek Red Team, Alabama dedication that has been on impressive Pennsylvania Excel Mining LLC, Excel Mine Rescue Team, Kentucky display this week,” he said as he recog- Alpha Natural Resources, Emerald Team, Pennsylvania Gibson County Coal, Gibson County Rescue Rhinos Team, nized the competition winners at a cere- Alpha Natural Resources, Southern West Virginia Team, Indiana mony that officially concluded the event. West Virginia Hopkins County Coal, Sebree Mining, Elk Creek/Sebree Arch Coal Inc., Leer Mine Blue Team, West Virginia Team, Kentucky NMA was also on hand to detail the lat- Arch Coal Inc., Sentinel Complex Mine Rescue Team, West KY Coal Academy, MCC Team, Kentucky est with its CORESafety program, which it Virginia Knight Hawk Coal, Black Team, Illinois calls a systems approach to mine safety. Arch Coal Inc., Mountain Coal Co., West Elk Team, McCoy Elkhorn Coal, McCoy Elkhorn Blue Team, Kentucky Launched to the mining industry in 2011, Colorado Mettiki Coal WV, Mettiki Team No. 2 Team, West Virginia it now claims more than two-thirds of its Arch Coal Inc., Viper Red Team, Illinois Mine Rescue Services, Southeast KY Team, Kentucky association membership as active partici- Arch Coal Inc., Lone Mountain Processing, Lone Mountain Patriot Coal Corp., Central Appalachia Team, West pants. Team, Virginia Virginia Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Arch Coal Inc., Mingo Logan Coal Co., Mountain Laurel Patriot Coal Corp., Northern Operations Federal No. 2 Safety and Health Joseph Main added that, Green Team, West Virginia Team, West Virginia while everyone hopes real-life disasters Arch Coal Inc., Beckley Complex – Beckley Gold Team, Peabody Energy, Gateway Mine Rescue Team, Illinois that the competition tests represent will West Virginia Peabody Energy, Francisco Mine Rescue Team, Indiana never happen, preparation at such events Bevill State Community College, State of Alabama Blue Peabody Energy, Wildcat Hills Mine Rescue Team, Illinois will keep members sharp. Team, Alabama Peabody Energy, Twentymile No. 1 Team, Colorado “Having been on the ground during a Bevill State Community College, State of Alabama Green Prairie State Generating Co., Lively Grove Mine Rescue number of mine disasters and emergen- Team, Alabama Team, Illinois cies, I understand the importance of the BHP Billiton, San Juan Mine Rescue Team, New Mexico Revelation Energy, Kentucky skills competition that took place this Blackhawk Mining, Blackhawk Mine Rescue Team, River View Coal, River View Team, Kentucky week in Lexington,” he said. “I know first- Kentucky Sunrise Coal Co., Sunrise Coal Mine Rescue Team, hand what it means to call upon our mine Blue Mountain Energy, Inc., Deserado Black Team, Indiana rescuers at a moment’s notice after a fire, Colorado TECO Coal, TECO Gray Team, Kentucky explosion or roof collapse, to travel miles Bowie Resources Partners, Canyon Fuel Co. – Skyline Mine Tri-State Coal Operators Association, Tri-State Mine underground to find and rescue missing Black Team, Utah Rescue Team, West Virginia Bowie Resources Partners, Canyon Fuel Co. – Sufco Mine, Walter Energy, JWR Team No. 4, Alabama miners. Sufco Black Team, Utah Walter Energy, JWR No. 7 Team, Alabama “Our hats go off to those volunteers Bowie Resources Partners, Black Mine Rescue Team, Walter Energy, JWR Blue Creek Team, Alabama who worked hard to make the 2015 Colorado Warrior Coal, Cardinal Team, Kentucky national contest a real success — from the Bridger Coal Co., Bridger Blue Team, Wyoming Webster County Coal, Dotiki Team, Kentucky competitors to the trainers, companies, Buckingham Coal Co., Team Red, Ohio Wellmore Coal Co., Wellmore Red Team, Virginia vendors — and, most importantly, to the Cliffs Natural Resources, Oak Grove Resources, Oak Grove Wellmore Coal Co., Wellmore Grey Team, Virginia families who have supported the teams. Blue Team, Alabama White County Coal, Pattiki Mine Rescue Team, Illinois We are a better industry as a result.”

October 2015 www.coalage.com 25 u.s. prep plant census 2015 2015 U.S. Prep Plant Census While a number of plants changed hands, the total number remains relatively stable

BY STEVE FISCOR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The U.S. operates the largest fleet of coal Bledsoe and Shamrock prep plants These market conditions have per- preparation plants. The beneficiation were sold to Revelation Energy. McCoy sisted on and off for many years and work that these plants perform allows Elkhorn operates the Bevins Branch prep most of the plant operators have harvest- electricity generators to burn coal clean- plant. Appalachian Mining & Reclama- ed the low hanging fruit as far as opti- ly and cost effectively. The state of the tion operates the Ivel prep plant in mization. However, Phillips explained coal prep business is a direct reflection Kentucky. that there are still a few plant operators of the industry itself. During the last year Two Arch Coal prep plants (Buffalo that don’t know what they don’t know. or so, the coal business has slowed con- and Patriot) were removed in West “At most plants, anything that can recov- siderably and, even though several prop- Virginia. Arch Coal also listed its Eastern er enough coal to pay for the investment erties changed hands, no new plants prep plant (formally known as Birch is still being considered, although the were reported. River) as idle. The company also added financial payback threshold is much Overall, the total number of prep two idled plants in Kentucky that Coal shorter than before,” Phillips said. In the plants listed in Coal Age’s U.S. Prep Plant Age had overlooked last year: Raven last year, he has seen operators add flota- Census remained steady at 269 vs. and Supreme. Alliance Coal’s WOR tion, install two-stage sieves and replace 268 last year. Of those plants, 46 (or Processing in Illinois is now listed as existing heavy-media cyclones with large 17%) reported their status as idle. Hamilton County. Last year, Alpha’s cyclones. Geographically, the story remains pretty Green Valley plant in West Virginia was One of the promising new technolo- much the same. Most of the prep plants listed twice and the duplicate has been gies for prep plants that Phillips sees is are located in West Virginia (79) and removed. the use of membrane plate presses for Kentucky (57), followed by Pennsylvania With a raw feed capacity of 8,200 tons dewatering froth flotation product. (43), Virginia (18), Indiana (16) and per hour (tph), CONSOL Energy’s Bailey “These presses have the ability to recover Illinois (15). prep plant is the largest. Two plants have all of the super-fines that are lost by As far as prep plant operators, Alpha a raw feed capacity of 3,000 tph, the screen bowl centrifuges, and the mois- Natural Resource remains the undisputed Galatia prep plant in Illinois and the tures are usually better than disk vacuum leader with 29 plants, followed by Murray Century prep plant in Ohio. Both are filters,” Phillips said “However, they also Energy (19), Patriot Coal(16), Arch Coal controlled by Murray Energy. In addition recover the high-ash clays in the froth (15), Alliance Resource Partners (12), to those plants, another 14 plants have product, so one has to do a better job at Rosebud Mining (10), Peabody Energy (8) raw feed capacities of 2,000 tph or ash removal in flotation. To prevent and Blackhawk Mining (8). Murray Energy greater. degrading the total product for steam has grown quickly in the last few years coals, the as-received Btu value of the and, with its acquisition of controlling Processing Trends super-fines has to be as good as the next interest in Foresight Energy, it technically While no new plants are currently being lump to float in heavy media. Some of controls four more plants in addition to its built, existing prep plants are still mak- the new thermal drying techniques have existing fleet of 15 plants. ing upgrades if they can justify the an application here.” Blackhawk Mining’s presence grew investment. “There are a few upgrades Readers can reach Dennis Phillips at: substantially last year with the James taking place, but not many,” said Dennis [email protected]. Coal Age makes River Coal acquisition and, as it inte- Phillips, president, Phillips Process every effort to contact as many prep plant grates the Patriot assets, it will add sever- Engineering. “Some plants are consider- operators as possible when it conducts its al more plants. Last year, Coal Age ing plate presses for fine refuse due to annual Prep Plant Census. The Mine wrongly assumed that all of the plants lack of impoundment/pond space and Safety and Health Administration also listed under the control of James River for better compaction.” Many plants are contributes along with some of the firms rolled over to Blackhawk. Six of those unsure of their future so they are holding that build and upgrade prep plants. Coal plants, all in Kentucky, were sold to other off on upgrades, Phillips explained. He Age would like to express its gratitude to coal operators. The F.M. Burke prep said he knew of only two projects put out all of those who contributed. If a plant plant was sold to Booth Energy. The Bell, for bid this year in the U.S. was omitted, please contact us.

26 www.coalage.com October 2015 u.s. prep plant census 2015 — — — IR 1995 IR 1992 Co 2002 Co 2005 — — — Mc 1983 Mc 1974 Mc 1970 Tag 2012 Tag 2010 Tag 2010 Tag 2008 Tag 2000 Tag 2005 DanDan 2011 1990 Dan 2004 Dan 1997 Dan 2000 CPE 1982 R&S 1951 R&S 1993 R&S 1982 R&S 1982 CDGCDG 2011 2006 CDG 2011 R&S 1981 FMC 1982 GMC 2014 GMC 2013 Ram 2001 Mc/Tag 1974 Mc/Tag 1976 Mc/Tag 1978 Contols • —— • —— • •— • —— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— Man. PLC DCS Builder Year —•• — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — •— — •— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — •— — —— — —— — • — R&S/Tag 1976 — Online EM A • •— • —— • •• • —— • —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— — —— — —•• ——• — —— — —— —•• — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • — — — — — — — — Centrifugal Analyzers Fine Coal • •— • —— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— —•— —•— —•— ——— —•— —• • —• • —•— —•— —•— —• • —•— ——— —•— ——— —•— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— Intermediate Sep. — •— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — •— — —— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— HM WO Cycl. Cycl. Tables Froth Spiral Column Dryer(s) •• HM LD Primary Sep. • —— • —— • —— • —— ••• • —— • —— Jig Ves. Cycl. —•— ——— —— • —— • —• • —— • —— • —— • —•— —— • —— • ——— ——— —•— —•— —— • —— • —•— —— • —— • ——— —•— —• • —• • —• • —— • —— • —•— —— • —— • Plant •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •• •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •• •— •— •— •— •— •— •— —• —— —— —• —— —— —• Last — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 2010 — • 1999 2010 2008 1996 2000 — • 1997 2008 2003 2015 2009 2014 2012 2003 1998 Year of Type of — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — > 2.5 — — — — > 2.5 — — — — — — — — — > 2.5 — — — — —— 1.2-2.5 1.2-2.5 2014 — — 8.00% > 2.5 8.50% > 2.5 5.50% < 1.2 8.00% < 1.2 7.00% > 2.5 7.50% 1.2-2.5 2014 9.00% > 2.5 7.80%8.00% 2.5 > 1.2 9.00% 2.5 12.00% < 1.2 13.00% > 2.5 10.50% > 2.5 — — Raw Product 300 250 250 400 600 400 650 400 900 700 650 700 750 550 850 950 250 Feed Ash % Quality Upgrade HM WO 1,000 2,220 1,300 1,000 1,200 1,300 1,300 1,600 2,000 1,200 2,000 3,000 2,000 2,000 4,000 1,200 1,400 2,000 1,000 Plant Name Concord Shoal Creek Piney Woods GTM Modular Plant Augusta JWR No. 4 Freelandville No. 2 Terror Creek JWR No. 5 Log Creek Patoka River (Idle) Kindill No. 2 (Idle) JWR No. 7 Sycamore (Idle) Bowie North River (Idle) Deserado West Elk Bear Run Twentymile Francisco Wabash (Idle) Galatia Viper Deer Run Pond Creek (Mach) Shay Sugar Camp Creek Paum Prairie Eagle Red Hawk Crown III (Idle) Willow Lake (Idle) Gateway Company Alabama (8) Cliffs Natural Resources Drummond Co. Southern Coal Jesse Creek Mining Blackhawk Mining Walter Energy Blackhawk Mining Walter Energy Blackhawk Mining Blackhawk Mining Lexington Coal Holdings Oxbow Mining Walter Energy Lexington Coal Holdings Walter Energy Bowie Resources Ltd. Colorado (5) Arch Coal Peabody Energy Peabody Energy Blue Mountain Energy Peabody Energy Illinois (15) Alliance Resource Partners Pattiki Alliance Resource Partners Hamilton County Alpha Natural Resources American Coal Co. Arch Coal Foresight Energy Foresight Energy Foresight Energy Foresight Energy Knight Hawk Coal Knight Hawk Coal Knight Hawk Coal Springfield Coal Co. Indiana (16) Alliance Resource PartnersAlliance Resource Partners Gibson County North Gibson County South Peabody Energy Peabody Energy

October 2015 www.coalage.com 27 u.s. prep plant census 2015 — — — — — — — — — — — — Kil 1979 Liv 1980 Liv 1977 Liv 1974 — — — — — — — — — — — Tag Tag 2000 Tag 2007 Dan 1972 Dan 1985 Dan 1978 A&T 1980 Dan 1989 A&T 1997 Pow 1979 R&S 1989 Pow 2008 R&S — R&S 1990 GMC 2009 GMC 2008 GMC 2010 GMC 2004 GMC 1998 GMC 2006 GMC 2008 GMC 2009 GMC 2009 Contols • —— • •— • •— • •— • •— • —— • —— • —— — —— — —— — •— — •— — •— — —— — — — Dan/ACS 2007 — —— — •— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— •— — GMC/Mc 2011 — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — •— Man. PLC DCS Builder Year Online • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— EM A — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • — — — — — — — — — — — — Centrifugal Analyzers Fine Coal • —— • •— ••• • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— ——— —•— —•— ——— —•— —•— ——— ——— ——— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— —• • —•— —•— —•— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— —• • —•— • •— • —— • —— • —— • •— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • •— • •— • —— • —— — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— Intermediate Sep. HM WO Cycl. Cycl. Tables Froth Spiral Column Dryer(s) HM LD Primary Sep. • —— ——— —•— —•— —•— ——— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— ——— ——— ——— —•— ——— ——— ——— —— • ——— —•— —— • —•— —•— —— • —— • ——— ——— —— • —•— —— • —— • ——— ——— ——— ——— —• • —•— —• • Jig Ves. Cycl. •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— Plant —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 2007 2015 —2002 — 1991 1985 — • 1991 — — 1990 — — 2010 1991 2011 2008 Last Year of Type of — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — > 2.5 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 10% < 1.2 10% < 1.2 8.50% 1.2-2.5 1994 7.50% 1.2-2.5 9.00% 1.2-2.5 2009 8.00% < 1.2 2.00% < 1.2 8.00% < 1.2 8.00% > 2.5 8.00% > 2.5 7.00% 1.2-2.5 2010 7.00% 1.2-2.5 2006 — — — 500 550 650 900 875 400 300 400 800 250 500 650 400 700 450 600 375 600 800 450 600 900 900 Raw Product 1600 Feed Ash % Quality Upgrade HM WO 1,350 1,400 1,100 3,000 1,200 1,500 1,500 1,000 1,200 2,000 1,200 1,200 1,400 F.M. Burke (Idle) Martin County (Idle) Enterprise - Roxana Carlisle Oaktown Long Fork (Idle) Sidney - Big Creek Levi Carbondale Colonial Grays Knob (Idle) Four Rivers Wild Boar Armstrong Dock Parkway Manchester Big Creek Supreme (idle) Midway Somerville North Somerville Central Raven (idle) Highsplint Big Elk Blue Diamond No. 64 Spurlock Leatherwood Blue Gem (Idle) Plant Name Booth Energy (fomerly Teco) Perry County Booth Energy Booth Energy (fomerly Teco) Clintwood Elkhorn Booth Energy (fomerly Teco) Premier Elkhorn Alliance Resource Partners Warrior Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Appalachian Mining & Reclamation Ivel Sunrise Coal Sunrise Coal Alliance Resource Partners River View Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Cobra Coal Co. Four Rivers Coal Co. Alliance Resource Partners Dodge Hill (Idle) Solar Sources Alliance Resource PartnersAlliance Resource Partners Onton No. 9 Pontiki (Idle) Colonial Coal Corp. Dixie Fuel Co. Peabody Energy Kentucky (57) Alliance Resource PartnersAlliance Resource Partners Dotiki Alliance Resource Partners Elk Creek MC Mining Armstrong Coal Co. Armstrong Coal Co. B&W Resources Apex Energy Arch Coal Armstrong Coal Co. Peabody Energy Arch Coal Peabody Energy (UMI) Harlan Cumberland Coal Big Elk Mining Blackhawk Mining Blackhawk Mining Blackhawk Mining Blue Gem Mining Company

28 www.coalage.com October 2015 u.s. prep plant census 2015 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Co 1997 — — — — — — —— 1968 1980 — — — — — — — — — — — Mc 1982 Mc 1978 Tag 2009 Tag 2009 Tag 2009 LCE 2007 Chil 1997 DanDan 1976 1987 Dan 1980 R&S 1981 Pow 1990 R&S 1992 Bays 2004 Erwin — Peters 1985 Liv/Dan 1972 NH/ACS 1984 Contols • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— — •— — —— — •— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — •— — —— — —— — •— — —— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — •— — • — A&T/LCE 2002 — —— — •— Man. PLC DCS Builder Year Online EM A • •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Centrifugal Analyzers Fine Coal • —— • •— • •— • •— —•— ——— —•— —• • ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —• • ——— —•— —• • ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— —•— —•— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— —• • ——— —•— • —— • —— • •— • •— • —— • •— • —— • •— • —— • •— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • •— • —— • —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— Intermediate Sep. HM WO Cycl. Cycl. Tables Froth Spiral Column Dryer(s) HM LD Primary Sep. • —— • —— • —— Jig Ves. Cycl. —•— ——— —— • ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— —•— ——— —•— —•— —•— ——— ——— ——— —— • ——— —— • ——— ——— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —— • —— • ——— —— • Plant •— •— •• •— •— •• •— •— •— •— •• •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Last 2015 2009 — • 1997 2006 2011 2004 — — 2012 Year of Type of — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 9.50% > 2.5 8.00% > 2.5 6.50% < 1.2 2.00% < 1.2 8.00% — 8.50% 1.2-2.5 2010 8.00% > 2.5 9.50% > 2.5 8.50% 1.2-2.5 2009 8.00% 1.2-2.5 2009 8.50% 1.2-2.5 2010 8.00% < 2.5 8.50% > 2.5 10.00% 1.2-2.5 — — — — — — — — 200 425 800 300 900 575 600 300 800 300 500 800 650 650 950 600 750 250 150 10.0%-18.0%1.2- 2.5 2010 700 800 Raw Product Feed Ash % Quality Upgrade HM WO 1,600 1,200 1,500 1,100 2,000 1,800 1,350 2,000 3,000 Plant Name East Fairfield Powhatan No. 6 Star Ridge (Idle) Conesville Oxford Stonecreek Nelms Sands Hill Totz Bigler Brookside (Idle) Sapphire Coal Essence Appolo Fuels Red Bird Schoate Bevins Branch (Idle) Martiki (Idle) Bear Branch (Idle) Pleasant View (Idle) Pevler Paradise No. 9 Highland (Idle) Bell County (Hignite) Bledsoe No. 1 (Idle) Cave Branch Shamrock Beechfork (Idle)1,400 Deane (Mill Creek) Rob Fork Sequoia Vision No. 9 (Idle) Dobbin Ridge (Idle) Black Otter Century Orange Buckingham Buckeye East Fairfield Coal Co. Ohio Valley Coal OhioAmerican Energy Inc. Oxford Mining Co. Oxford Mining Co. Penn Ohio Coal Co. Rhino Resources Rhino Resources Harlan Cumberland Coal Rosebud Mining JW Resources JW Resources Manalapan Mining McCoy Elkhorne Coal Metinvest NewLead Holdings IBCS Mining Oxford Mining Co. Lexington Coal Co. KenAmerican Resources Kentucky Proc. & Equp. Pinnacle Processing Prairie Mining Company Revelation Energy Revelation Energy Revelation Energy Revelation Energy Rhino Resources Rhino Resources Sequoia Energy Company Vision Mining Western Kentucky Minerals Joe's Run Processing Maryland (2) Alliance Resource Partners Mettiki Arch Coal Montana (1) Signal Peak Energy Ohio (19) American Energy Corp. B&N Coal Buckingham Coal Cline Resources

October 2015 www.coalage.com 29 u.s. prep plant census 2015 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Co 1976 Co 1980 — — — — — — 2008 — — — — — — — — 1963 — — — — — — — — Mc 1980 Wil 1962 Wil 1962 LIN 1997 Tag 1995 Tag 2011 Tag 2009 Tag 2008 Tag 1966 Dvo 1978 F&P 1996 R&S 1977 R&S 1983 H&P 1978 In/SE 1982 Contols • •— • —— • —— • —— Man. PLC DCS Builder Year — —— — •— — —— — —— — •— — •— — —— — —— — —— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — •— — —— —•• — —— Online EM A • •• • —— • •• • •• • •• • •• — —— —•• — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Centrifugal Analyzers Fine Coal • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— ——— —• • ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— —•— ——— —•— —•— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— ——— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • •— • —— Intermediate Sep. — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— — •— — •— — •— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— HM WO Cycl. Cycl. Tables Froth Spiral Column Dryer(s) HM LD Primary Sep. • —— • —— • —— Jig Ves. Cycl. ——— —— • —— • ——— ——— —•— —•— ——— —•— ——— —• • —— • —— • —• • —— • ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— —•— ——— —•— ——— Plant •— •— •— •— •— •• •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— —— —— —— —— —— —• —• —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— Last — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1996 1995 1995 2008 2004 1996 2003 2013 Year of Type of — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 7.00% < 2.5 8.00% < 2.5 8.25% > 2.5 8.00% > 2.5 8.00% < 2.5 <9.0% <1.2 12.00% < 2.5 12.50% < 2.0 27.00% < 1.2 10.00% < 2.5 6%-9% < 1.2 <12.0% < 1.8 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Raw Product 400 800 650 200 600 335 425 250 300 650 500 375 300 350 7.5%-16.5% < 1.2 350 Feed Ash % Quality Upgrade HM WO 1,200 1,000 1,000 1,600 1,850 8,200 Plant Name Maple Creek (Idle) Homer City Wilson Creek Tipple 4J Cunnard Eighty Four (Idle) Keystone Original Fuels Cambria Tusky Negley (Idle) Mine No. 78 Kensington Shade Creek Benedict DiAnne Shamokin Dundas Stockton Lattimer Lenig Hudson L&K Coal Washery Greenwood Jeddo No. 8 Mid Valley New St. Nicholas Carbon Alden Auburn Oaks Mount Penn Superior Cumberland Emerald Dunkard Bailey Central Girardville (Idle) Company High Quality Homer City Processing ICS Energy Group LLC Jericho Fuels Jill Mining Murray American Energy Murray American Energy Original Fuels PBS Coals Inc. PBS Coals Inc. Waterloo Coal Co. Rosebud Mining State Line Resources Rosebud Mining Rosebud Mining PennAmerican Anthracite Coal Waterloo Coal Co. Pennsylvania-Anthracite (17) Atlantic Coal Blaschak Calvin V. Lenig Coal Prep Lenig & Kosmer Hudson Anthracite Jeddo Coal Co. Lehigh Anthracite Coal Mid Valley Coal Sales Reading Anthracite Co. Schuylkill Coal Processing Schuylkill Shamokin Filler Co. Silverbrook Anthracite Stoudt’s Ferry Stoudt’s Ferry Stoudt’s Ferry Superior Coal Prep Pennsylvania-Bituminous (26) Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Cobra Mining CONSOL Energy Girard Estate

30 www.coalage.com October 2015 u.s. prep plant census 2015 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — IE 1984 Co 1990 Co 1978 Liv — — — — — — 1976 — 2005 — 1976 — 2001 — — — — — — — — — Mc 1972 Mc 1988 Tag 2010 Tag 2012 Pow 1981 Pow 1978 Pow 2008 R&S 1992 A&G 1980 R&SPow 1979 Pow 1992 1978 Pow 1995 Pow 1981 Centry 2005 Contols • —— • —— • •— • •— • •• • •— • •— • —• • •• • •— — —— — •— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — •— •— — Dan/Tag 1980 — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— Man. PLC DCS Builder Year Online EM A • •• • —— • •• • —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Centrifugal Analyzers Fine Coal • •— • —— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— ••• ••• • —— • —— • —— ——— ——— —• • ——— ——— ——— —• • ——— —• • ——— ——— ——— ——— —•— ——— ——— ——— —• • ——— ——— ——— ——— • —— • —— • —• • —— • —— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— —•• — —— ——• — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — —— — —— — —— — —— Intermediate Sep. HM WO Cycl. Cycl. Tables Froth Spiral Column Dryer(s) HM LD Primary Sep. Jig Ves. Cycl. ——— —•— ——— —•— ——— —• • —• • —•— ——— ——— ——— —— • ——— ——— —— • — Drum — ——— —•— ——— ——— ——— —— • ——— ——— ——— —•— ——— —•— —•— —• • —• • ——— —•— —•— ——— ——— —•— ——— Plant •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Last 2011 2004 2005 — — 2008 2005 2005 — — 1988 2010 2010 2005 2004 1998 Year of Type of — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 8.00% — 7.00% — 8.00% 8.00% < 1.2 8.00% < 1.2 8.20% < 1.2 6.00% < 1.2 5.00% < 1.2 5.00% < 1.2 6.80% < 1.2 10.00% < 1.2 11.00% — 6%-14% < 1.2 7%-12% 1.2-2.5 2004 — — — — — — — — — — — — 400 800 800 8.5%-14.5%1.2-2.5 2002 175 350 300 250 6.5%-8.75%300 < 1.2 6.5%-8.75%1.2-2.5 2010 200 250 500 600 825 600 650 750 600 900 Raw Product Feed Ash % Quality Upgrade HM WO 1,400 1,000 1,800 1,800 6.2%-9.1% < 1.2 1,100 6.75%-12% < 1.2 1,100 1,150 1,300 Plant Name Pigeon Creek Sigmon Nora Wellmore No. 8 Piney Creek Admiral Black Bear (Idle) Brooks Run - Erbacon Lady Jane Logansport McVille Amfire-Clymer Amfire-Portage Dutch Run Tosco Unitmix No. 1 Mountainside Turner New River (Idle) Castle Valley Cottonwood West Ridge McClure River Moss No. 3 (Idle) Knox Creek Tom’s Creek Lone Mountain Cheyenne (Idle) Pardee Amonate (Idle) Buchanan Donna B. No. 1 Blackwood No. 2 Stoker Red River No. 1 Revelation Energy Sigmon Coal Co. Metinvest Metinvest West Virginia (79) Alliance Resource Partners Tunnel Ridge Piney Creek Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Company Rosebud Mining Rosebud Mining River Hill Coal Robindale Energy Services RES Plant Rosebud Mining Rosebud Mining Rosebud Mining Rosebud Mining Unitmix Cumberland Coal Co. Tennessee (3) Mountainside Coal Co. Ranger Energy Utah (3) Bowie Resources Energy West UtahAmerican Virginia (18) Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Arch Coal Cheyenne Processing Arch Coal CONSOL Energy CONSOL Energy Donna B. Processing Elite Tipples Jewell Smokeless Coal Co. Coronet Jewell Red River Coal Red River Coal

October 2015 www.coalage.com 31 u.s. prep plant census 2015 — — — — — — — — — IR 2006 Co 1992 Co 1967 Liv 1980 Liv Liv 1970 — — — — 1974 — — — — — Mc 1980 L-A 1994 Far 1970 Tag 2006 Tag 1997 Tag 2007 Tag 2008 Tag 2007 Tag 2009 Tag 2009 Dan 1978 Dan 1978 Dan 1992 R&S 1981 Pow 1994 PowR&S 2009 1985 Pow 2010 Pow 2007 F&P 2006 Pow 1997 F&P 2002 Pow 2012 R&S 1979 R&S 1972 A&G — H&P 1968 Peters — Contols • •— • —— • —— • —— • •— • —— • •— • —— • —— — •— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — •— — •— Man. PLC DCS Builder Year Online EM A • •• • •• • •• • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • •• — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • — — — — — Centrifugal Analyzers Fine Coal • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— ••• • •— • •— • •— • —— • —— • •— ••• • •— • •— ••• • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • —— • •— • •— • •— • —— —•— —•— —•— ——— ——— —• • —• • —•— —• • —•— —•— ——— —• • —•— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • •— • •— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • •— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — •— — •— — —— — •— Intermediate Sep. HM WO Cycl. Cycl. Tables Froth Spiral Column Dryer(s) HM LD Primary Sep. • •— ••• ••• • •— Jig Ves. Cycl. —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— ——— —•— —•— —•— —•— ——— —•— —•— —— • —• • —•— —•— —— • —•— —•— —•— —— • ——— —•— —•— —• • —— • —• • —•— —•— —— • —•— —• • —•— ——— —•— —•— —— • Plant •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— —— —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Last 2000 2006 1998 2001 1999 2010 2010 2002 2012 2000 2011 1996 2013 2015 2005 2012 2000 2015 Year of Type of — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 6% 6.50% — 6.50% — 6.00% < 1.2 6.00% <1.2 7.00% < 1.2 7.00% < 1.2 8.00% > 2.5 12.00% < 2.0 12.00% < 1.2 10.00% > 2.5 10.00% > 2.5 12.00% > 2.5 10.00% 1.2-2.511.00% 2001 < 1.2 10.00% > 2.5 <4.00% < 1.2 7%-18% .08-2.5 2012 — — 800 800 550 600 600 400 900 700 450 5.5%-6% — 600 800 300 450 330 500 500 300 600 6.0%-10.0% < 1.2 300 800 550 700 9.0%-15.0%1.2-2.5 2007 575 9.0%-12.0%1.2-2.5 2013 600 900 Raw Product Feed Ash % Quality Upgrade HM WO 1400 2,200 1,400 2,400 1,200 1,400 1,200 1,400 1,500 1,400 2,800 1,500 1,600 1,250 1,000 Plant Name Miller Creek Delbarton Camp Creek - Rockspring (Idle)1,800 < 10.5% > 1 Peach Orchard (Idle) Elk Run Terry Eagle (Idle) Goals Green Valley (Idle) Deep Water Kepler Kingston Litwar Mammoth Greenbrier Marfork Moore (Idle) Licking River Power Mountain Sprouse Creek (Idle) Stirrat (Idle) Pocahontas Zigmond Coresco Eckman Baybeck (Idle) Harrison County Beckley Cardinal Dobbin Ridge Marion County Marshall County Eastern (idle) Holden 22 Leer Monongalia County Sawmill Run (idle) Ohio County Sentinel Big Creek Hampden Pinnacle Saunders Gatling CONSOL Energy Alpha Natural Resources CONSOL Energy Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources CONSOL Energy Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Frasure Creek Mining Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Greenbrier Minerals Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Licking River Resources Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources Mammoth Mining Alpha Natural Resources Mepco Arcelor Mital Arch Coal Murray American Energy Arch Coal Arch Coal Arch Coal Murray American Energy Murray American Energy Arch Coal Arch Coal Arch Coal Murray American Energy Arch Coal Murray American Energy Company Arch Coal Bay Star Coal Co. Blackhawk Mining Cliffs Natural Resources Cliffs Natural Resources Cline Resources

32 www.coalage.com October 2015 u.s. prep plant census 2015 — — — — — IR 1979 Co 1979 Co 1992 Co 1975 — — — 1996 — 1975 — 1991 — — — MP 1981 Ind 1998 Ind 2006 Tag 2009 Tag 2000 Tag 2013 Tag 2007 Tag 2006 Tag 2011 Tag 1980 ACS 2013 Dan 2010 Dan 2013 R&SR&S 1968 1968 R&S 1978 R&S 1986 Brooks 1994 Contols • —— • •— • •• • •• • • — R&S/Pow 1952 — •— — —— —•• — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— — • — Dan/Pow 1995 — •— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — •— — •— — •— — •— — •— Man. PLC DCS Builder Year Online EM A • •— • •• • —• • •• — —— — —— —•• — —— —•• — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— ——• — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— ——• — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • — — — — — Centrifugal Analyzers Fine Coal • —— • —— • —— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— • •— —•— ——— —•— —•— ——— —• • —•— —•— —•— —•— —• • —•— ——— —•— ——— —•— —• • —•— ——— ——— —•— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— • •— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— — —— — —— — •— — •— — •— — —— — —— — •— — •— — —— — —— — —— Intermediate Sep. — —— — —— — —— HM WO Cycl. Cycl. Tables Froth Spiral Column Dryer(s) HM LD Primary Sep. • —— • —— Jig Ves. Cycl. ——— —• • —— • —•— —•— —— • —— • —•— —• • —•— —•— —•— —— • —•— —— • —•— ——— —— • —— • —— • —— • ——— ——— —— • —— • ——— —•— —•— —— • —— • Plant •— •— •• •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— •— —— —• —• —— —— —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Last 2001 2004 2005 2005 1995 2005 1998 2007 2006 2008 Year of Type of — — — — — — — — — — — /mmBtu (<1.2, low sulfur; 1.2-2.5, medium and >2.5, high sulfur), HM=Heavy Media; WO=Water Only, LD=Large Diameter (gr eater than 30 inches), Cycl=Cyclones, 2 — — — — — — — — — — — 6.00% < 1.2 6.70% 1.2-2.5 1998 8.00% 1.2-2.5 2000 9.00% 1.2-2.5 2000 7.00% > 2.5 6.50% 1.2-2.5 8.00% — 8.00% 6.75% — 9.00% — 8.00% < 1.2 10.50% 1.2-2.5 2003 12.00% 1.2-2.5 1983 10.00% < 1.2 10.00% < 1.2 12.00% < 1.2 13.50% — 13.00% 1.2-2.5 2004 12.00% < 2.5 — — — — 900 600 700 650 800 400 600 700 900 150 250 600 300 500 300 500 600 500 600 450 <4.0 & <8.0 < 1.2 300 300 Raw Product Feed Ash % Quality Upgrade HM WO 1,400 1,300 1,200 1,750 2,000 2,800 Plant Name Black Wolf (Idle) Beth Station Blue Creek Harris (Idle) Jupiter (Idle) Fanco Federal (Idle) Kanawha Eagle Panther Remington Rensford Wells Big Mountain Rocklick Toms Fork Tug Valley Jesse's Run Roblee Slaughter Creek Bishop Coal Mountain K2 (Idle) Red Fox (Idle) Superior Affinity East Gulf Star Bridge Gauley-Eagle Katie Clearco Bull Creek Mine Contracting, H&P=Heyl & Patterson, H-S=Holmes-Shaney, Ind=Indiana Steel, IN=Industrial, IR=Industrial Resources, Int=Inter state, Jef=Jeffrey, KHD=KHD Humboldt Wedag, Jam=F.F. Jameson, Kai=Kaiser, Kil=Kilborn Engineering, L-B=Link-Belt, Engineers, Co.=designed by the mining company, Cyc=Cyclone Machine, Dan=Daniels, Dvo=Dravo, EIW=Eagle Iron Works, EIM=Eimco, En v=Envirotech, Erw=Erwin Industries, F&P=Farnham & Pfile, FMC=FMC, Far=Fairmont GMC=General Lin=Lincoln Contracting, Liv=J.O. Lively, L-A=Long-Airdox, Mc=McNally Systems, MP=Minerals Processing, NH=Norton Hambleton, Nor =Norwest, Pet=Peters Equipment, Pow=Powell Construction, PM=Process Machinery, Ram=Ramsey, R&S=Roberts & Schaefer, Rol=Roller, See=Seeco, Sim=Simon Carves, Tag=Taggart (Forge acquired Taggart in 2013), Wil=Wilmont, Wem=Wemco Key to plant designers: A&G=Allen & Garcia, A&T=A&T Manufacturing, AIR=AIRC, Bri=Bristol Steel, CDG=Coalfield Development Group, CEE=CEE Engineering, C hil=Childress Services, CLI=CLI, Corn=Cornette CPE=Coal Processing Key to header : Raw feed = capacity (tons per hour), Quality lb-SO Ves. = Vessel, Analyzers: ash, A; elemental, E; and moisture, M. Controls: Man Manual, PLC Programmable logic controller, DCS Distributed control system Key to coal companies : Alliance = Coal Co., AMCI American Metals & Int’l, CONSOL Enegry XMV Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Company Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Pine Ridge Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Patriot Coal Roblee Coal Co. Roblee Coal Co. Siata Equipment Co. Southern Coal Southern Coal Southern Coal Southern Coal Superior Processing TMR Loading & Processing Edna Ruth United Coal United Coal United Coal Walter Energy Walter Energy Xinergy Xinergy

October 2015 www.coalage.com 33 safetyblasthole equipment drilling A Different Perspective NIOSH researchers learn from CM operator responses to proximity detection systems

BY EMILY HAAS AND JOSEPH DUCARME

detailed discussion of the results summarized in this article can be found by referring to Haas and Rost (2015).

Perceived Influence of PDS on Operators’ Hazard Recognition, Comprehension, Response Prior to having a PDS equipped on their CMM, operators communi- cated that they had the confidence, training, and experience to mit- igate hazards in their mine and make decisions quickly, if necessary. Due to their perceived ability to make these safe and quick deci- sions, CMM operators discussed times they had previously chosen to stand in the red zone (e.g., increased visibility or production). Broadly, one operator said, “It’s really all about balance — what makes my job easier between not. When I’m standing in the red zone I always think about that [it being risky]. You’re always weighing the pros and cons when you’re doing it or thinking about doing it.” In contrast, since the installation of the PDS, operators noted Researchers collect some of their information in the field. standing in the red zone much less or not at all. As one operator said, “Honestly, I was surprised when we started using this. I Given the consistent increase in the number of proximity detec- eventually learned to do things different. I learned what I should- tion systems (PDSs) being used in underground coal mines, it is n’t be doing, but was. I was surprised how many times it shut off critical to understand ways that PDS technology influences on me at first.” mineworkers’ assessment of their environment and subsequent In the interviews, the operators often discussed the process of behaviors. Regardless of the particular PDS model, it is important retraining themselves to regularly stand outside of the red zone to document these general responses to the technology and any again once using the PDS. As one CMM operator said, “It is frustrat- changes in workers’ ability to perceive, understand and make safe ing and you’re learning all over again.” Also, because operators decisions on the job. started to place themselves in different, more unfamiliar positions, More specifically, being able to anticipate certain behavioral they discussed needing to be more aware of additional hazards responses may help minimize preventable incidents and guide including visibility of other equipment and mineworkers. One oper- future safety training and communication related to the PDS. To ator explained, “I’m not in the red zone, which is safer. But at times I this end, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and have to stand too far away to tram and I don’t want to be that far Health (NIOSH) recently completed a preliminary assessment to away because I can’t see as well.” In response to being in different understand continuous mining machine (CMM) operators’ per- placement positions around their CMM, operators discussed the ceptions and behaviors in response to the PDS. importance of re-acclimating themselves with certain place-change In its preliminary assessment, NIOSH researchers interviewed scenarios and maintaining heightened awareness on the job. nine CMM operators during January and February 2014. The nine Although changes in CMM operator comprehension and CMM operators represented five mine sites in the Appalachian behavior occurred mainly in response to operating from a differ- region. Six of the operators had been using PDS between seven ent place in relation to their CMM, they also discussed other risky months and two years. The other three had knowledge of, but no decisions they made while learning how to operate their CMM experience using PDS. with the PDS such as “cheating” the technology and working The mining experience for the nine operators ranged from faster to meet production goals. Despite these initial frustrations three to 33 years (mean = 20.8 years) and their experience as with the PDS, most CMM operators recognized the positive out- CMM operators ranged from 1.5 to 33 years (mean = 11.8 years). comes of using the technology and eventually felt they were able In the interviews, the operators discussed participation in high- or would be able to safely identify and mitigate project workplace risk behaviors, hazard identification, mitigation strategies and hazards while using the technology. the impact of PDS in relation to these topics. The following offers these mineworkers’ perspectives, and Assisting With Safe Technology Integration highlights how their job tasks and environment could be and are These discussions with CMM operators indicate that mine affected when learning how to use PDS technology. A more operators and mine health and safety personnel play a key role

34 www.coalage.com October 2015 safety equipment continued in helping the workforce anticipate and safely respond to Although no technology is foolproof, providing operators the changes in their environment upon operating a mining opportunity to notice and adapt to additional hazards of which machine that is equipped with proximity detection. Based on they may not be aware of may continue to enhance their aware- these discussions, the following considerations are offered for ness on the job. mine operators and safety personnel to support workers’ ability to continue making safe decisions on the job: Progress in Intelligent Proximity Detection Systems Based on the results of several field performance tests, • Introduce and discuss PDS technology as a learning tool. feedback from stakeholders and comments from the CMM CMM operators commonly said that mine technologies, operators throughout our interviews, NIOSH researchers have including the PDS, helped them to recognize and avoid been working on the development of a more advanced version emerging hazards and learn or relearn about safety rather of PDS technology. They have recently created an intelligent than change their behaviors. This learning-oriented commu- proximity detection system (iPDS) using Mine Safety nication approach to framing the technology, rather than and Health Administration-approved electromagnetic proximi- characterizing it as a tool that “does not let an operator stand ty detection hardware (for more information, see DuCarme in the red zone,” may encourage a more positive response et al., 2015). This technology contains efficient software that toward the technology. determines the real-time position of any worker relative to • Be mindful of potential complacency. Regardless of the the CMM. technology being used, it is possible for anyone to become The system then intelligently responds with visual signals complacent and momentarily lose focus while completing a and disables only machine motion that could cause striking or job task. To help maintain worker awareness, communica- pinning — thus greatly reducing the frequency of false alarms. tion and safety meetings related to PDSs should not end By blocking only dangerous machine functions while allowing once the technology is fully integrated. Rather, dialogue other motions to continue, the iPDS would be less interruptive should continue beyond initial on-the-job awareness and to the CMM operator’s work. As a result, the incorporation of training to ensure that operators stay alert for potential haz- this technology into commercially available PDSs may lead to ards on the job. greater acceptance by the mining workforce while continuing • Acknowledge changes in the mine environment after intro- to maintain the safety of mineworkers. ducing the PDS. Realistic dialogue with CMM operators about how the PDS technology is affecting their work environment References and ability to make safe, quick decisions may be needed. One DuCarme, J.P.; Carr, J.L.; and Jobes, C.C. (2015). Proximity barrier referenced by CMM operators after using the PDS was Detection With Selective Machine Shutdown. Print proceedings a loss in production time. Perhaps at first use, discussion of a of 144th Annual Society for Mining, Metallurgy, & Exploration balance between production and safety during the introduc- Conference held in Boulder, Colorado, February 15-18, 2015. tion of this safety device should be considered. (Preprint 15-083). Despite potential barriers when first introducing a PDS into Haas, E.J., & Rost, K.A. (2015). Integrating technology: a mine, operator feedback revealed that if the technology is Learning from mine worker perceptions of proximity detection working properly and individuals receive realistic training and systems. Print proceedings of 144th Annual Society for Mining, communication about how the technology should function, it Metallurgy, and Exploration Conference held in Boulder, can be a useful device to help call attention back to hazards in Colorado, February 15-18, 2015. (Preprint 15-083). the mine environment. As one operator said, “In my opinion, I Emily Haas and Joseph DuCarme are part of the National think it can be easy to get distracted, there is so much to watch Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Office for, you can always watch for the wrong thing one time.” of Mine Safety and Health Research in Pittsburgh. Seeing Machines, Caterpillar Go Global Australian-based Seeing Machines announced in mid-September it had inked a The price tag for the deal is $17.5 million; Caterpillar will pay that total over new global agreement with equipment manufacturer Caterpillar for product four years as well as royalty fees for DSS hardware, software licensing, moni- development, licensing and distribution. toring and analytics services. The OEM will also purchase existing inventory of The deal is the final phase of an alliance the two initially made in May 2013. DSS units from Seeing Machines. In the new agreement, Cat will take over responsibility for the manufactur- Current DSS customer agreements will be transitioned to Caterpillar and ing, marketing and sales of Seeing Machines' DSS rugged off-road product. supported by the company’s dealers. Caterpillar Safety Services will offer addi- Both Seeing Machines and Caterpillar will work together to develop new tional consulting services, system monitoring and data analysis. products, and Caterpillar will market DSS and Seeing Machines Fleet products “This is a pivotal moment in the history of Seeing Machines; the realization for in-cab operator fatigue and distraction monitoring solutions in the agreed of several years of hard work for both companies,” Seeing Machines CEO Ken Caterpillar industries. Kroeger said. “Caterpillar is capable of maximizing the return on the DSS tech- Caterpillar will also have distribution rights for Seeing Machines Fleet prod- nology; their reputation, reach, capability, and commitment will deliver great uct, according to the deal’s terms, exclusive within agreed Caterpillar indus- outcomes for both companies and for the world’s mining and construction tries, as well as non-exclusive outside those industries. related companies.”

October 2015 www.coalage.com 35 safetyblasthole report drilling Third Quarter Fatality Overview Industry marks fairly quiet June-September period

BY DONNA SCHMIDT, FIELD EDITOR

Following eight deaths in the first half of the year, the nation’s coal plete tasks involving large objects, massive weights or where the segment seemed off to quite a deadly start. Then came the third release of stored energy is a possibility. quarter, and July and August passed by silently before there was bad “Ensure that all stored energy is released or fully controlled news once again. The single coal fatality reported during the quarter before initiating repairs,” the fatalgram stressed, adding that power occurred just two weeks before the end of the period. should be off and equipment should be securely blocked against The nation’s mine fatality total at the end of September was 24, hazardous motion at all times, as should assemblies that rotate to with nine recorded in coal (at press time, no further incidents had prevent rotation. been confirmed). The latest of those came on September 16 at “Do not proceed until all safety concerns are adequately Alliance Resource Partners’ Onton No. 9 operation in Webster resolved, especially if potential hazards or prescribed procedures County, Kentucky. are unclear,” it added. “Treat the system as unblocked until the The incident, which has been classified by federal investigators blocks or jack stands are fully loaded and equipment stability has as a machinery death, involved 29-year-old electrician Rickey been verified.” Thorpe. Thorpe was no stranger to the task at hand — replacing con- Finally, MSHA highlighted training and proper work space tinuous miner (CM) load locks — having spent nearly six of his nine around equipment, along with determining if hydraulic hoses are years in the mining industry at this activity. trapping pressure or supporting something before they are loos- Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) officials, in a pre- ened for work. liminary report released in the hours post-incident, said the victim had been replacing a load locking valve on a cutting head support jack Lack of Support Cited in Marshall County Death on the operator’s side of the mine’s Joy 14CM15 continuous miner. The third quarter was also a quiet one on the front of MSHA’s inves- “[He] had removed the load locking valve…when the blocking tigative team; the agency released just one final report of findings material under the CM’s head failed, which allowed the cutter for a fatal coal death. On July 22, the agency posted the results of its boom to collapse onto the gathering arm deck, causing crushing probe into a March underground fatality at the Marshall County injuries to the miner,” the report said. complex in West Virginia The mine is now owned and operated by Thorpe was pronounced dead upon being transported to the Murray Energy, which purchased the longwall operation from surface. Of the mine’s 288 workers, 45 were working at the time of CONSOL Energy. the accident. On March 8, 13-year mining veteran and assistant longwall While a final investigation report on the event is still pending, coordinator for the mine’s West Side, John “Mike” Garloch, was MSHA did release its initial fatalgram findings in the final days of fatally injured while shoveling loose material between the longwall September. In its best practices, the agency urged pre-work face and the panline. The accident occurred in the area near the No. reviews of the manufacturer manual for safety precautions and 4 shield on the 12 East Longwall face. blocking procedures; it also urged mines to ensure blocking According to federal investigators, Garloch received crushing material is competent, substantial, and adequate to support and injuries when a section of coal and rock fell from the face area, strik- stabilize the load and to use the original equipment manufactur- ing him and pinning him against the mine floor. Three other miners er’s (OEM) securing safety devices/features. sustained lost-time injuries as a result of the accident. Investigators, in hopes of preventing similar incidents in the MSHA noted that, in the days before the event, the operation future, also have asked operations to devise safe methods to com- was undergoing a power move at the 12 East longwall section; specifically, the electrical and hydraulic components for the long- wall face were being moved outby to allow the longwall to continue retreating. Investigators looked at many facets of the operation as it relat- ed to the fatal incident, including the 1,400-ft-wide, 6,800-ft-long longwall panel in which crews were working. It was noted that, at the time of the accident, the 12-East Longwall headgate overbur- den thickness was 1,008 ft. An Analysis of Longwall Pillar Stability (ALPS) determined the pillar stability factor in the area of 2.83 at the headgate. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends pillar stability factors for retreat longwall mining of 1.30; thus, the pillar design was adequate for handling the overburden weight and exceeded the recommended stability factor. The scene of a September fatal machinery incident in Sebree, Kentucky, that killed an experienced miner. MSHA also noted increased face height in its report; throughout the day shift and afternoon shift the day of the incident, the face

36 www.coalage.com October 2015 safety report continued height increased from 7 ft to approximately 12 ft due to the removal of the material in front of and under the panline. “The increased face height caused the heavier shale rock (approximately 170 lb/ft2) to put pressure on the weaker, uncon- fined coal face (approximately 80 lb/ft2),” officials said. “The pres- sure caused the coal face to slough off during the afternoon shift.” As the shift progressed, it added, the shale strata movement cre- ated a crack in the face at the No. 5 shield; a separation was ulti- mately formed that could only be seen from the tailgate side. “The rock fell from the face from the same area where the crack was seen,” the agency noted in the report. “MSHA investigators, however, cannot definitively say that the crack caused the fall. The material that fell from the face measured approximately 12 ft long, 5 ft wide and up to 2 ft thick. The piece broke and the material that MSHA said the operator was at fault for a March fatal rock fall accident in north- struck the victim measured approximately 10 ft long, 5 ft wide and ern West Virginia. up to 2 ft thick.” In a review of mine examination records, the investigators also panline and the longwall face. Additionally, the mine operator did found that, despite additional reviews of the area at the time of the not have effective policies, procedures, or training programs in place crack’s appearance, it was not identified in the completed exams. As to ensure miners are taking proper actions that would limit or pre- a result, MSHA issued a noncontributory violation for 30 CFR vent the longwall from mining out-of-seam.” 75.1326 because of the examinations. To correct the issues, the operator revised its roof control plan to It ultimately concluded that the operator was at fault for the address out-of-seam conditions and also outlined procedures and incident. equipment needed to protect miners from falls of roof and face if min- “[It] occurred because the mine operator failed to adequately ers are required to be on the face side of the panline for any reason. support the roof, face, and ribs of areas where miners work or travel,” Marshall County also established a training program for all min- the federal probe said. “The mine operator did not have procedures ers that work on the longwall. The training program outlines the pro- or controls in place to protect miners from a fall of the longwall face cedures or actions that should be taken to limit or prevent the or ribs while miners are positioned on the panline or between the longwall from mining out-of-seam.

Connecting Global Competence

Unearth the innovation potential.

What technologies and innovations will define, change and revolutionize the global mining industry in the future? Find out at bauma 2016. You can expect: 700 exhibitors with mining products Secure your ticket Halls B2, C2 and C3 and the bauma Forum now at: www.bauma.de/tickets/en all focus on mining 605,000 m2 of total exhibition space with plenty of other products and components for mining

31st Edition of the World’s Leading Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines, Construction Vehicles and Construction Equipment www.bauma.de bauma Official April 11–17, Munich

October 2015 www.coalage.com 37 operating ideas

Innovative Rock-Dusting System to Assist with Respirable Dust Compliance

BY STEVE FISCOR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DSI Underground Systems has developed a noncombustible, non- respirable rock dust mixture (DYWIDust) and an application system (DYWIDuster). Coal operators can use the technique to convert their dry rock dust into a wet-dusting system that is dependable and user- friendly. The DYWIDuster is a hydraulically powered unit that sits in the bucket of a scoop. At the beginning of the shift, miners prepare a batch by mixing the dust with water and a polymer, and then set the system aside. They can apply the DYWIDust as needed as the contin- uous miner moves between headings without having to withdraw the crew from the section. Knowing the situation with dust compliance in the U.S., DSI began to research different wet and foam dust technologies. In 2011, the company partnered with a U.S. underground coal operator and began a development process. “After several months of work, we understood that we needed to have patents filed as far as protecting The 160-gallon capacity DYWIDuster sits on one side of the scoop. Powered by the intellectual properties,” said Jim Pinkley, president and general scoop’s hydraulic system, the machine mixes and applies DYWIDust. manager, DSI Underground Systems. “We filed two patents, one for the batching composition and the second for the applicator equip- Dispensing DYWIDust ment.” DSI now holds patents for the machines and the polymers in The mine supplies the rock dust and adds the water and DSI the U.S. and South Africa, and patents are pending in Australia. polymer using the DSI dispensing machine, the DYWIDuster. The company then engaged the Mine Safety and Health “The mine uses their own C737 ASTM rock dust and we provide Administration (MSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational them with a set of batching instructions and a best practices Safety and Health (NIOSH). The NIOSH protocol for evaluation sheet,” McDonnell said. “They add water and dust and then the involved underground testing at the Bruceton facilities and working polymer concentrate additive, and then they agitate it to develop with another underground coal operator in the U.S. DSI completed the DYWIDust.” several underground tests at their site. All of the data was evaluated Applying DYWIDust is a two-man job, one scoop operator and by MSHA tech support and NIOSH. The evaluation process was one miner manning the applicator wand. The miners load the completed in July 2013. DYWIDuster into the bucket of a scoop and the mixing process Part of the protocol involved building a blast canister that could begins. They roll it up to the face and apply the DYWIDust. For a face operate in complete coal dust explosions. Working with the application, where the mine is taking a 40-ft cut, depending on roof University of Kentucky, DSI built a canister and completed a series of height, Rusty Linn, technical sales and strategic business manager, inerting tests with coal dust explosions. “To date, the DSI DYWIDust DSI Underground Systems, estimates that they will cover four or five product, when dry, has never failed a coal dust inerting test,” Pinkley cuts from each batch they mix, depending on seam height. said, “At that point, we felt pretty good about the product as far as Miners can load the unit and mix a batch in 15 to 20 minutes. The how well it would perform underground.” DYWIDuster has two hydraulic lines with quick disconnects. It can This is an allowed version of MSHA wet dust product in 75.403, be quickly offloaded into a crosscut and the scoop can still be used Pinkley explained. “We place a good amount of rock dust on the roof for other jobs. Essentially the applicator is similar to any other and ribs compared to MSHA’s wet dust,” Pinkley said. “It appears we hydraulically powered accessory for a scoop in a coal mine. have better rock dust application.” From a production standpoint, the continuous miner crews do “The allowance in 30 CFR is for an application of foam rock dust not have to shut down for a whole shift and evacuate the section to followed by a dry dust application,” said John McDonnell, technical rock dust. “The big advantage, however, is once they pull the director, DSI Underground Systems. “The foam dust, when any has bolter, they can start dusting while other people are working in the tested similarly to dry dusting with inerting explosions and noncom- next entry,” Linn said. “The system doesn’t dust the other miners bustible material compliance. At the very least, we believe it should off the section.” reduce the amount of dry dust.” The polymer keeps the dust in suspension. “We have let a batch In July, 30CFR 75.403 was updated with the allowance for the sit for 24 hours and then re-agitated it and sprayed it,” Linn said. application of foam rock dust. “For any mine using the MSHA wet “They can mix the batch first thing at the beginning of the shift, leave dust now, this is a similar process that reduces the splash back and it in the crosscut and then use it when it’s needed.” makes the coverage more efficient,” McDonnell said. “It reduces the One of the things that hinders the MSHA wet dust program time it takes to wet dust a section.” was the need to clear the machine at the end of the shift. If the

38 www.coalage.com October 2015 operating ideas continued

Miners apply DYWIDust: a specially developed polymer helps disperse and suspend water, and also helps the mixture stick to the roof and ribs. miners left material in the wet duster, after a day or two, it became plugged. The DSI polymer technology — the air bubbles and the foam composition mass, according to Pinkley, eliminates those concerns. DSI is currently marketing three DYWIDuster models. The 160-gallon unit typically fits into one side of the scoop and was designed for a mid-coal application. They also have a 250-gallon applicator that is more suited to low-profile work, fitting all of the way across the scoop bucket. They also have a 500-gallon unit that is more suited to mid- to high-seam applications. “By having multiple multigallon units, we can match the system with the company’s mining cycle,” Pinkley said. As far as maintenance, Linn explained that miners simply hose the tank out and spray some of the water through the applicator. “They can even leave some water in the tank and it will be ready for the next day. Anywhere that we have performed demos under- ground, the operators all seem to like the process and the machine,” Linn said. “It’s easy to use. The miners feel that this system puts more dust on the roof than any other system. They see dry dust fall all of the time.” The polymer does two things, he explained, it helps dissipate the water and it also helps it stick to the roof and ribs. In February, mine operators will be required to use continu- ous personal dust monitors (CPDMs) to sample for respirable coal mine dust on working sections of underground coal mines. “With the new CPDMs coming out in December, we believe this will be another tool to help with respirable dust by reducing rock dust application at the working face and/or wherever else it’s needed,” Pinkley said. “This will also help operators comply with the new proposed rules that come into play in 2016.” As far as eventually replacing dry dust, moving to that next step would be driven more by coal operator’s demand and a facility being available to complete the testing. “DSI looks for- ward to that opportunity when it is available,” Pinkley said. “DSI really appreciates the various personnel and leadership at NIOSH and MSHA that have worked on this technology with DSI. This group effort introduced a system that will lower over- all respirable dust through low respirable rock dust application in U.S. underground coal mining.”

October 2015 www.coalage.com 39 suppliers news Cat Restructures Mining Business

and Innovation Division; and Sustainable, Work Tools and Industry Solutions, which brings together the sustainable busi- nesses of Cat Reman and Caterpillar Safety Services with the com- pany’s machine attachment business. Cat said it is placing added executive emphasis on three strate- gic initiatives — data analytics, digital and innovation capabilities; Lean Transformation; and the Across the Table initiative, designed to improve its dealer performance and collaboration. These restructuring and cost reduction actions are expected to lower operating costs by about $1.5 billion annually once fully imple- mented. The cost reduction steps will begin in late 2015. For 2015, the company’s sales and revenues outlook has weakened, with 2015 sales and revenues now expected to be about $48 billion, or $1 billion lower than the previous outlook of about $49 billion. For 2016, sales and revenues are expected to be about 5% below 2015. The company will offer a voluntary retirement enhancement program for qualifying employees, which will be completed by the For 2015, Cat expects revenues to be $1 billion lower than its previous outlook. end of 2015. Slightly less than half of the $1.5 billion of cost reductions is Caterpillar announced on September 24 that, in response to con- expected to be from lower selling, general and administrative tinued weakening market conditions and the changing nature of its (SG&A) costs. The reduction in SG&A will largely be in place and global dealer relations, it is reorganizing several divisions and plan- effective in 2016 and occur across the company. The remaining ning to permanently reduce its salaried and management work- cost reductions are expected to come from lower period manufac- force by 4,000 to 5,000 people between now and the end of 2016. turing costs, including savings from additional contemplated facil- This is part of a total possible workforce reduction of more than ity consolidations and closures, which could impact more than 20 10,000 people, along with contemplated consolidation and clo- facilities and slightly more than 10% of its manufacturing square sures of manufacturing facilities occurring through 2018. footage. The company’s reorganization plan will include major changes This year is the company’s third consecutive down year for in its mining business structure. Chris Curfman, vice president sales and revenues, and 2016 would mark the first time in with responsibility for Cat’s Mining Sales and Support Division, is Caterpillar’s 90-year history that sales and revenues have retiring, effective December 31. His division will be integrated into decreased four years in a row. Since 2013, Caterpillar has closed or the existing Global Mining machine business divisions. The surface announced plans to close or consolidate more than 20 facilities, mining sales and support teams will join the Hauling and impacting 8 million ft2 of manufacturing space. The company has Extraction Division, which will be renamed the Surface Mining and also reduced its total workforce by more than 31,000 since mid- Technology Division. The underground mining sales and support 2012. teams will join the Material Handling and Underground Division. Outside the mining business, other changes will occur, includ- KSB Inaugurates New Foundry at GIW Industries ing a reduction in Distribution Services Divisions. This is the com- GIW Industries, a leader in the design, manufacture, and appli- pany’s primary interface with its dealers, and will be reduced to cation of heavy-duty, centrifugal slurry pumps, held a grand two from three. The two new divisions will include the Asia Pacific, opening for its new foundry during early October in Grovetown, CIS, Africa and Middle East Distribution Division, covering dealers Georgia. The foundry is part of a large expansion that includes a in Asia Pacific, CIS, Africa and the Middle East; and the Americas new distribution center, additional heat treat and casting clean- and Europe Distribution Division, which will include dealers in ing facilities, as well as CNC machines and an assembly center. North and South America and Europe. This expansion is one of the largest in the company’s history Four other divisions will be created: Global Aftermarket and is the biggest project ever undertaken by GIW. This is all Solutions, to accelerate the growth of aftermarket sales and service just one step in a path of continuous investment for the compa- solutions, combining the aftermarket sales and marketing ny. Phase one included the new foundry, which features 72-ft resources; Wear Components and Aftermarket Distribution, which ceilings and is about the size of a football field. These new facili- merges the design and manufacturing of components and after- ties will more than triple the company’s current manufacturing market distribution into one division to enhance the company’s capability. focus on components availability and inventory improvements; Long term, this expansion will give GIW/KSB a significant Marketing and Digital, which will build on the current Analytics advantage in the mining market. This investment will allow for bet-

40 www.coalage.com October 2015 suppliers news continued

GIW hosts a grand opening for its news foundry (left). To the right, from the left: Tamara Lopez (executive assistant), Robert Visintainer (VP engineering); Enrico Handrick (VP finance); Gary Holley (director HR); Dennis Ziegler (president and CEO); Charlie Stone (VP sales and marketing); and Thomas Mueller (VP operations). ter handling of the sizeable castings needed by GIW’s customers. client devices to run on the network without compromising Some produced by GIW can weigh well more than 40,000 lb and transmit speed or throughput. These nextgen access points offer are bigger than a cement truck. This expansion will allow GIW to the latest in 802.11n technology, providing higher bandwidth and keep up with current market demand and to be able to quickly more volume of data to be transferred. Applications requiring adapt to support future growth. high speed, volume data, such as HD video, real-time monitor- GIW Industries Inc. was established as a small, family-owned ing, Vehicle Monitoring Systems (VMS) and VoIP can now be pro- foundry and machine shop in 1891 — known then as Georgia Iron vided with an additional level of confidence. The new model Works. By 1914, the company was supplying slurry pumps to the AM1000 nodes can be configured with up to four radios to allow Florida phosphate industry. Over the years, GIW became known for increased coverage areas underground and for communica- for its severe abrasive handling pumps and began a century of tion along multiple roadways from a single access point. facility expansion and technology growth. In 1996, GIW became a Ultimately, this will result in major cost savings for mines. wholly owned subsidiary of KSB, and in 2014, the GIW Minerals brand was established. The newly expanded Grovetown foundry is now the No. 1 white-iron foundry in the world, boasting state-of-the-art equip- ment, highly efficient workflows, top safety features, and signifi- cantly greater capacity for both output and storage of very large slurry pump parts. “There are places around the world that make a high-chrome iron, but not anything like our proprietary alloys. It’s these alloys that make GIW products unique and enable us to deliver incredibly long wear life for our products,” said Richard Sterzen, manager industrial engineering. Work on the new distribution center is currently under way and is slated to be completed in mid-2016. The building will initially be 59,000 sq.-ft but it was designed with options for increased capabil- Filter Presses ities to allow for future expansion.

NLT Acquires ActiveControl Technology Belt Filter Presses Northern Light Technologies (NLT) has acquired the assets of ActiveControl Technology’s mining division, namely ActiveMine, ActiveTracker, ActiveVoice and ActiveMesh. Located in Ontario, Canada, ActiveControl developed robust certified IS (intrinsically safe) network and wireless solutions for harsh and demanding mine environments, while offering redundancy, easy mainte- nance, and improved safety and productivity enhancements. “This acquisition allows us to combine the best of both our technologies to bring even more solutions to end users in mining markets around the world,” said Heidi Levitt, president and CEO 2402 Watterson Tr, Louisville, Kentucky 40299 of NLT. p: 502.499.6198 f: 502.499.1079 [email protected] www.dewater.com With the newly acquired technology, NLT can now offer Gigabit Ethernet speeds, which allow for a multitude of Wi-Fi

October 2015 www.coalage.com 41 product news

Aftermarket Cabs Provide Climate Control Underground

shuttle cars. “We’re talking about cramped conditions, where the AC unit has to be out of the way both for comfort and to preserve the operator’s visibility. You can’t just make a generic unit and bolt it on anywhere," Detloff said. Detloff added that his hydraulics-driv- en Kenway Series 9043 features a spark- less motor. “We provide hydraulic heating and AC units to a lot of industries that operate in explosive environments requir- ing a no-spark motor,” he said. “That’s another significant advantage to this kind of air conditioner.” It is too soon to say that the success of American Hydraulics and Rebuild and of Kenway Engineering will translate into a These custom cabs for shuttle cars have two self-contained, hydraulic air conditioning systems (see the black larger trend in underground coal mining boxes in the inset photo). and broader underground mining indus- tries. However, over the span of his career, The shuttle cars and scoops used in so you can’t really enclose the cab with- Detloff has seen the same general tenden- underground coal mines are not typically out providing air-conditioning.” cy in other industries to make work spaces equipped with operators cabins, at least Air conditioning does more for the cab safer and more comfortable. nothing that compares to equipment on environment than cool the air. It also con- www.kenwayengineering.com the surface — let alone air conditioners. trols humidity and particulate matter. “A Specific conditions, however, at some regular part of maintaining the AC unit is Low-voltage Floodlights longwall mines are making this modifica- changing the air filters,” Winkler said, for Mobile Equipment tion more popular. referring to the improvement in air quali- In the 1940s, Phoenix introduced the Jim Winkler, owner of American ty as well as comfort in the cab. Sturdilite and transformed the mining Hydraulics and Rebuild of West Logan, A water spray controls dust at the cut- market, providing a level of durability nev- West Virginia, and vice president of the ter heads at the front of the continuous er seen before in lighting. Many genera- Logan (West Virginia) Coal Vendors miner and at the feeder, yet shuttle car tions of this fixture have demonstrated Association, has seen a spike in his sales operators are still exposed to dust kicked continuous improvement over time. Now, of the Kenway Series 9043 self-contained up by the shuttle car itself. Conditioned seven decades later, Phoenix has reinvent- hydraulic air conditioner recently, espe- air in an enclosed cab is the answer, ed the Sturdilite again to incorporate the cially to coal mine operators in Illinois. according to some mine operators. highest level of LED lighting technology, “Some mines are adding aftermarket Winkler’s company provides valving the same durability always known of enclosed cabs to shuttle cars,” he said. and hydraulic components as well as the Phoenix, and a compact, economic design. “These are to protect the shuttle car oper- Kenway hydraulic air-conditioning units ators from the dust they would otherwise used by the shops that actually modify the be exposed to during the drive between shuttle cars for the mines. “There’s not a lot the continuous miner and the feeder- to the installation,” he said. “Once the cab breaker. And of course, once you enclose is enclosed, you just need six bolts to attach the operator in a cab, you have to deal the unit, you run your hydraulic fluid lines with a jump in temperature, plus the win- to the car’s existing hydraulic system, and dows can fog up. Underground tempera- you’re pretty much ready to go.” tures are worse in the Illinois mines I’m Ken Detloff, owner and president of dealing with than the mines I’m familiar Kenway Engineering of Fairmont, with in the Appalachian area. I’m told that Minnesota, they are building versions of in some of the Illinois mines, ambient the Series 9043 hydraulic AC units that are temperatures are in the 70s or even 80s, customized to fit particular models of

42 www.coalage.com October 2015 product news continued

The Sturdilite E-DC Series offers three DC line of pneumatic, radial piston powered models for haul trucks, hydraulic excava- hoists to its Columbia product line. The ini- tors, dozers and other mobile equipment. tial introduction of these HS hoists includes Each version is available at a highly models with line pull ratings of 3,500, 8,800 competitive price with a short lead time: and 16,500 lb with hoisting speeds in excess E36 (36 watts) up to 2,400 lumens, $131; of 100 ft per minute. These units feature E56 up to 4,500 lumens, $211; and the E90 heavy-duty cast construction and precision up to 7,100 lumens, $299; (90W). planetary reductions with all moving parts The Sturdilite E-DC series uses LEDs internally sealed to ensure full lubrication with a 50,000-hour rated life and are capa- while minimizing service requirements. ble of operating in a wide temperature Rated to lift loads vertically, the HS Series of range. Spot and flood optics minimize hoists utilize an automatic spring-set, glare and provide precise optical control. pneumatically released brake. When used The 90° aimability allows for increased in conjunction with an optional counter- functionality and versatility. balance valve, operators can move loads www.phoenixlighting.com quickly and smoothly with precise control. range, and time-saving tuning technolo- www.alliedpower.com Split Roller Bearing Reduces Downtime gy. Used in place of multiple servo drives, Timken recently introduced its full this next-generation platform can help Revolvo split cylindrical roller bearing machine builders reduce cabinet-space housed unit line to the North American requirements by up to 70%, reduce wiring marketplace. The company added the requirements by as much as 60%, and Revolvo line, which is well-known across achieve easier configuration and commis- Europe, to its bearing and power trans- sioning. www.rockwellautomation.com mission product lineup when it acquired the assets of Revolvo Ltd. late last year. Pneumatic Hoists The split design allows the bearing to be Allied Power Products added a new model assembled around the shaft, which reduces downtime because drive compo- nents can remain in place during installa- tion or for maintenance. Compared with standard bearings, Revolvo-housed units can reduce installation time particularly in tight spaces and trapped locations com- monly encountered in such applications as fans, convey- ors, long shafts, crushers, New EH3500AC-3 and EH4000AC-3 etc. The product’s design rigid-frame haul trucks deliver United Mining Equipment accommodates misalign- efficiency, reliability and durability ment up to +/-1.5° and is Since 1993, United Mining Equipment has been servicing the mining industry. United Mining available in a number of Hitachi’s newest rigid-frame haul trucks – the EH3500AC-3 and the EH4000AC-3 – are equipped Equipment Inc. and United Mining Equipment housing configurations with Hitachi’s newest and most efficient Advanced (Baotou) Co. Ltd., offer a wide range of valves used including special pillow IGBT AC-Drive system, which includes the Hitachi in the mining industry. Through a network of blocks, flanged, take-up Drive Control System that reduces tire slippage on acceleration and tire lock-up during braking. distributors in North America, UME has become and hanger assemblies. the largest aftermarket supplier of replacement www.timken.com The EH3500AC-3 and EH4000AC-3 have a nominal valves in the United States. UME is also a payload with standard equipment of 200 tons and single-source supplier to the only roof support Servo Drive Offers Faster 243.6 tons, respectively, and an operating weight of 709,888 lbs. and 846,575 lbs. manufacturer in North America. UME has an Commissioning for Large Machines excellent reputation and is known for high quality Machine builders that traditionally have The new haulers are two of the most technologically craftsmanship at reasonable prices. used separate servo drives to meet high advanced mining trucks in the world, and help raise profits by lowering fuel and maintenance costs. axis-count and power requirements for 885 Pittsburgh Road large custom machines can now consoli- For more information, visit Butler, PA 16002 date to a single platform with the new www.HitachiConstruction.com. Ph: +1 724 586 0195 Allen-Bradley Kinetix 5700 servo drive F: +1 724 586 0197 from Rockwell Automation. It offers dual- www.umeinc.com axis servos, a large 1.6-60 kilowatt power

October 2015 www.coalage.com 43

COAL PREPARATION CONSULTANTS AND SERVICES

CONSULTANTS AND SERVICES

TARGET YOUR MARKET WITH CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING!

For more information contact: FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TARGET YOUR MARKET WITH CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING! CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Kirk Carbo at For more information contact: VISIT WWW.COALAGE.COM Kirk Carbo at (225) 363-6271 or (225) 363-6271 or [email protected] [email protected]

October 2015 www.coalage.com 45 CONSULTANTS AND SERVICES

TARGET YOUR MARKET WITH CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING!

For more information contact: Kirk Carbo at (225) 363-6271 or [email protected]

TARGET YOUR MARKET WITH CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING! FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING For more information contact: Kirk Carbo at VISIT WWW.COALAGE.COM (225) 363-6271 or [email protected]

46 www.coalage.com October 2015 CONSULTANTS AND SERVICES

TARGET YOUR MARKET WITH CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING!

For more information contact: Kirk Carbo at (225) 363-6271 or [email protected]

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING VISIT WWW.COALAGE.COM

ADVERTISING INDEX PAGE Afton Chemical ...... IFC CCC Group ...... 9 Draeger Safety ...... 7 Coal Age Website ...... 22 Eickhoff Corp ...... 3 Hitachi ...... 11,43 Innovative Wireless Technologies ...... 21 Jennmar ...... IBC Joy Global ...... BC Leco Corp ...... 19 Matrix Design Group...... 13 Messe Muenchen ...... 37 MMI Ownership Statement ...... 39 Phoenix Process ...... 41 Preptech Inc...... 17 Subscribe to Coal Age ...... 44 United Mining Equipment...... 43

This index is provided as an additional service. The publisher does not assume liability for errors or omissions.

October 2015 www.coalage.com 47 legally speaking

MSHA Takes Round Three in POV Fight

BY R. BRIAN HENDRIX

On September 29, the Federal Mine Safety and Most importantly, the commission decided to define the phrase Health Review Commission issued its latest deci- “pattern of violations.” It held that a pattern of violations “is estab- sion in a pattern of violations (POV) saga of cases, lished by an inspection history of recurrent S&S violations of a Secretary of Labor v. Brody Mining LLC. Not sur- nature and relationship to each other such that the violations prisingly, the commission has now made it far demonstrate a mine operator’s disregard for the health or safety of easier for the Mine Safety and Health miners.” It remanded the case, instructing Moran to apply this new Administration (MSHA) to establish a pattern of definition. violations under Section 103(e) of the Federal Only one of the five members of the commission, Commissioner Mine Safety and Health Review Act. The commission’s most recent Althen, dissented. While Commissioner Althen agreed with the decision will likely be appealed, and other litigation challenging the commission about how to handle future cases, he felt that the new validity of MSHA’s pattern rule is already pending in federal court. In process only underscored the extent to which the operator was prej- the meantime, MSHA will likely be emboldened by the commis- udiced by MSHA’s refusal to explain itself prior to trial. He said the sion’s latest decision. commission treated MSHA like a “school child failing to complete To date, the only real surprise in the Brody litigation has been the his homework rather than as a cabinet officer failing to accord the considered and quite remarkable opinion of Judge Moran. Moran’s operator due process protections in seeking the most severe sanc- task at trial was to determine whether MSHA had established a POV by tion available.” the operator, which citations/orders MSHA relied on to support its Commissioner Althen made three other important points. First, pattern allegations were established as violations, and which of those he noted the context in which pattern notices are issued. also qualified as significant & substantial (S&S) violations. The hearing Specifically, he recognized the fact that MSHA issues a significant lasted three weeks and by the end, only 28 of the original 54 S&S cita- number of S&S citations to almost every operator each year. In light tions and orders remained S&S. of that fact, he questioned whether the pattern process could discern Describing MSHA’s position as “antithetical to due process,” between S&S citations and orders that actually show a pattern Moran dismissed MSHA’s POV claims against the operator. Moran reflecting a disregard for safety and those that do not. used clear, strong language to rebuke the approach MSHA took and Second, he pointed out the arbitrary nature of MSHA’s pattern the claims it made. He was surely correct, but his decision was head- process by asking the obvious question. Specifically, if MSHA “could ed for review by the commission — a commission that viewed the not explain the relationship among the alleged violations that led to case through an entirely different lens. [the pattern notice] until after a hearing, how did MSHA make the The commission determined Moran was wrong to dismiss the [pattern] determination in the first place?” pattern order. Prior to trial, MSHA had refused to promulgate a Finally, he found it ironic that the “dilemma” of when MSHA regulatory definition of the phrase “pattern of violations.” At tri- must disclose its theory of a pattern in a case is the result of MSHA’s al, MSHA refused to “identify the basis” for its claim that the mine decision to “base POV determinations on unproven allegations.” operator qualified as a pattern violator, even after Moran directed Allowing MSHA to wait until after a hearing to explain the basis of a MSHA to explain itself. Moran recognized that MSHA’s refusal to pattern notice “allows the secretary to refuse to explain the basis of explain the basis for its allegation that the operator had engaged the decision until after he arrives at the place where he could have in a POV made it very difficult for the operator to mount a defense begun — a set of proven violations.” against that allegation. Commissioner Althen’s reasoning was strong, but he could The commission’s decision evinced much less concern for due not attract any of the other four members to join him. The com- process. It held that Moran acted prematurely in dismissing the pat- mission’s decision will likely face an appeal. The industry has also tern order and requiring MSHA to explain the basis for its pattern filed suit in federal district court that challenges MSHA’s statuto- allegation. MSHA had offered generic lists of possible factors that ry authority to promulgate the pattern of violations rule, argues could support a pattern finding, and the commission seized on these that MSHA’s rule was promulgated in an arbitrary and capricious lists as “helpful interpretive tools.” The commission claimed Moran manner and maintains that MSHA’s rule violates mine operators’ improperly required MSHA to identify a minimum number of cita- due process rights. As all of this litigation plays out, the commis- tions to qualify for a pattern, and it held that MSHA could establish a sion’s decision in Brody will surely make it easier for MSHA to pattern with as few as two citations or orders. establish a pattern, and it is safe to assume that it will embolden The commission suggested that if Moran had not dismissed the MSHA. pattern order at the beginning of the hearing, the parties could have developed and argued their theories during the course of the hear- R. Brian Hendrix is a shareholder in the Washington, D.C., region ing. Likewise, the commission found that the operator could not office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He advises clients on matters involving show it was prejudiced by MSHA’s refusal to explain the basis for its environmental, health, and safety law, focusing on litigation, inci- claim, because MSHA would have to show how it would have litigat- dent investigations, enforcement defense and regulatory compli- ed its case differently with that definition in hand. ance counseling.

48 www.coalage.com October 2015 With more than thirty locations worldwide, our network of affiliates includes engineering services, resin manufacturing, rolled-steel and drill-steel manufacturing, custom steel fabrication, chemical roof support and sealing products, and even includes staffing solutions and our own trucking company. This ability to provide a complete range of complementary products and services ensures quality, efficiency and availability resulting in reduced costs, reduced lead times and increased customer satisfaction!

JENNMAR GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS Pittsburgh, PA USA • (412) 963-9071 • www.jennmar.com MMiningining iiss hhereere ttoo sstay.tay.

BButut thatthat ddoesn’toesn’t mmeanean iitt hhasas ttoo ststandand ststill.ill.

JJoyoy GlobalGlobal iiss ccommittedommitted ttoo pproductiveroductive mminingining aandnd alalwaysways wworkingorking oonn nnewew wwaysays ttoo hhelpelp oourur customerscustomers ooptimizeptimize pperformance,erformance, lolowerwer ccostsosts pperer ttonon aandnd iimprovemprove eeffciency.ffciency. OOurur pprovenroven ssolutionsolutions andand wworldwideorldwide ppartnershipsartnerships aarere hhelpingelping ccustomersustomers acachievehieve rrecord-settingecord-setting pproductionroduction lelevelsvels aandnd solvingsolving mining’smining’s ttoughestoughest cchallengeshallenges.

JoyGlobal.comJoyGlobal.com JoyJoy Global,Global, Joy,Joy, P&HP&H andand “Solving“Solving mminingsinings ttoughestoughest cchallenges”hallenges” aarere ttrademarksrademarks ooff JJoyoy GGloballobal IInc.nc. oorr oonene ooff iitsts aaffliates.ffliates. © 20152015 JoyJoy GlobalGlobal Inc.Inc. oror oneone ofof iitsts affliates.affliates.