May 10, 2012

A 61-year-old contractor died Wednesday, April 25, after falling 20 feet while working at the inactive McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corp.’s KC #1 mine in Knott County, Ky. Delmer Miller a demolition contractor with around 20 years of experience was dismantling a conveyor belt on the surface of the underground mine. After cutting the last support beam on the elevated belt, the structure crashed into the catwalk breaking a section of the walkway where Miller was working. Miller fell an estimated 27 feet to his death.

This is the seventh fatality reported in calendar year 2012 in the coal mining industry. This is the first fatality classified as a Slip or Fall of Person accident in 2012.

Read reports at http://www.msha.gov/fatals/2012/FAB12c07.asp and http://www.msha.gov/FATALS/2012/2012C07prelim.pdf

May 8, 2012

After the closure of the Big Mountain mining complex in West Virginia, announcing the closure of its Freedom Mine and racking $61 million in expenses and restructuring charges, Patriot Coal Corp. saw its first-quarter losses grow as coal demand continues to decline in the U.S. The company lost $75.3 million or 82 cents a share in the quarter.

A year ago, its loss was $15.9 million, or 17 cents a share. The company has responded by idling or closing mines while laying off 1,000 people since the start of 2012.

Patriot recorded $17.5 million in asset retirement expenses related to the closure of the Big Mountain mining complex in Boone County, W.V.
The company also said it was restating financial results from the past two years following a Securities and Exchange Commission review of its accounting for water treatment facilities at two mining complexes.

Read article at http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/patriot-coal-s-loss-widens-on-weak-demand-mine-closure/article_6c2cedaa-9916-11e1-91bd-0019bb30f31a.html

May 2, 2012

Portland General Electric (PGE) denied an initial proposal for a coal export terminal at the Port of St. Helens, referencing the negative effect of coal dust on the companies nearby air intake for its natural gas plants. The export terminal proposal submitted by Houston-based Kinder Morgan, seeks to build on part of 850 acres along the Columbia River leased to PGE essentially giving them veto power over land-use proposals.

PGE spokesperson Steve Corson said coal dust from nearby coal piles could foul air used for combustion inside the natural gas plants, which cost hundreds of millions to build. PGE is considering building a third plant along the Columbia River but has concerns about train and truck traffic to the export terminal blocking needed access to the gas plants.

Read article at http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/05/portland_general_electric_veto.html

May 2, 2012

Three coal mining companies in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin are cutting back operations due to a decline in coal demand from a warm winter and utilities moving away from coal to cheap natural gas. Peabody Energy Corp., which operates the North Antelope Rochelle, Caballo and Rawhide mines in the Powder River Basin, reduced its contact labor and temporary workers last week, totaling less than 2 percent of its Powder River Basin workforce. According to reports referring to federal employment data, cuts are estimated to be around 40 workers.

Cloud Peak Energy, the operator of the Cordero, Antelope and Decker mines in the Powder River Basin, stated they are closely managing overtime and reducing use of contractors while trying to avoid buying new equipment. St. Louis-based Arch Coal announced Tuesday it would further curtail production for the year by idling three draglines by the middle of the year. It’s not yet clear how the decrease in production cut will affect jobs, said Kim Link, spokeswoman for Arch Coal.

Read article at http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming-coal-mines-cut-production-jobs-due-to-weak-demand/article_fa73046f-6b0c-5f60-8ebb-9e0ce00b0141.html

April 25, 2012

Oregon’s governor sent a letter to federal officials Wednesday, April 25, asking federal agencies to study the environmental impacts of mining coal in Montana and Wyoming, shipping it to the West Coast and burning it in Asia.

Gov. John Kitzhaber said the expansion of coal-export projects in the Northwest risk locking Asian countries into further dependency of fossil fuels. Six ports in Oregon and Washington have proposed projects at hand which could expand Asian coal exports by 100 million tons per year. Expanding Asian access to American coal could slow progress toward developing cleaner energy sources, the governor wrote.

Read article at http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Ore-governor-wants-study-of-coal-export-impacts-3510132.php

April 24, 2012

The recent domestic decline of coal among the nation’s power generators impacted railroad companies in the first quarter of 2012, as coal is one of the biggest single items the U.S. ships every year.

Railways CSX, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and BNSF all saw a drop in coal volumes, CSX experiencing the worst decline by 16% and BNSF the smallest decline at 5%. Coal freight typically accounts for 21% to 24% of the nation’s total railway volume.

Stronger environmental regulations and the decline of natural gas prices are to blame for the weakening demand for domestic coal.

Read article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/ycharts/2012/04/24/nice-job-warren-buffetts-railroad-hauls-cleaner-coal-sidesteps-ugly-downturn/

April 20, 2012

Patriot Coal Corp. will shut down its Freedom underground coal mine in Henderson, Ky. this summer due to continued weak market demand, according to a company statement released Friday, April 20.

The closure is expected to result in around 200 total layoffs.

St. Louis-based Patriot said that demand for thermal coal remains weak after the mild winter cut heating needs, and some utilities shifted to cheap natural gas to produce electricity. Natural gas prices are at 10-year lows.

Patriot also idled three smaller central Appalachian thermal coal mines this quarter and its Big Mountain mining complex in Boone County, W. Va earlier this year.

Read article at http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/apr/20/no-headline—ev_coalmine/

April 18, 2012

The Sierra Club and the Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, April 17th, over a proposed coal mine expansion in Montana. The two environmental groups argue, the state needs to consider potential future damage to water supplies of nearby property owners.

The lawsuit targets a pending application to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) by Colorado-based Westmoreland Coal Co. for its Rosebud Mine near Colstrip. The plaintiffs are seeking a court order requiring MDEQ to make Westemoreland address water quality issues before approving the mine expansion.

The MDEQ said, the agency attempted to meet with plaintiffs before the lawsuit but any negotiations were avoided.

The plaintiffs said, they would rather negotiate with the backdrop of litigation.

Read article at http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120418/NEWS01/204180302/Montana-conservationists-say-water-quality-near-coal-mines-needs-protection

April 11, 2012

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released a report Wednesday, investigating the death of a miner last October working for the Shoemaker Mine in Dallas, W. Va. Charles McIntire, a 62-year-old employee of Consol Energy suffered fatal injuries when he dismounted the piece of equipment he was operating to reconnect its power source. McIntire was operating a ditch digging machine that runs on electricity along rail system. As he connected a power source the vehicle lunged forward and pulled him underneath amputating his leg.

The report states, McIntire did not place the machine controls in the proper positions to prevent movement of the machine after he dismounted. Additionally, Consol Energy failed to implement controls to prevent the machine from sudden starts. Labels and other markings to identify machine functions were also missing.

Read report at http://www.msha.gov/fatals/2011/FTL11c17.asp

April 10, 2012

In 2011, U.S. coal exports reached their highest level since 1991, according to statistics from U.S. Department of Energy. Increasing demand in Europe and Asia are driving the energy resource abroad.

The statistics revealed that the nation exported 107 million tons of coal valued at $16 billion last year, which is double where it stood only five years prior.

According to the AP, U.S coal is going to,

• South Korea: Up 81 percent to more than 10 million tons.
  India: Up 65 percent, to 4.5 million tons.
• Japan: Up 119 percent, to almost 7 million tons.

The surge in Japan’s need for coal is seen as a result of its difficulties with its nuclear and electrical grid following last year’s earthquake and tsunami. Other top destinations for American coal were China, Brazil, Britain, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Read article at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=150359891