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THE AMERICAN COAL COMPANY RECEIVES SAFETY AWARD FOR LOWEST
INCIDENT RATE IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
The American Coal Company is the proud recipient of an Award
for Mine Safety from the John E. Jones Council of the Joseph A.
Holmes Safety Association. The honor is given quarterly for the
best safety performance in the southern Illinois region and
recognized The American Coal Company's incident rate of only
3.99 for 401,325 man-hours worked (during third quarter 2009).
Subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation, The American Coal
Company's Galatia complex consists of two underground mining
operations the New Era Mine and the New Future Mine as well
as a preparation plant, and employs 732 people. The operation
produced more than five million tons of bituminous coal in 2008.
"We strive daily to keep our focus on safety in all aspects of
the operations," said Steve Willis, health and safety manager at
The American Coal Company. "However, it is ultimately up to each
individual and their team members to work safely. This award is
a credit to the working men and women at The American Coal
Company and at all Murray Energy facilities."
"The American Coal Company's success in safety is no secret,"
said Jim Rusher, lead MSHA inspector at the Galatia mining
complex and regional safety coordinator for the Holmes Safety
Association. "People at this operation clearly work together for
a common goal to eliminate accidents through mutual respect. It
is a pleasure to work with them toward this goal."
STUDY SUPPORTS NEW COAL ELECTRIC GENERATION WITH CARBON CAPTURE
A new study backed by major labor unions concluded that clean
coal technologies
could help usher in a U.S. economic boom, boost the nation's
energy security and successfully manage carbon dioxide
emissions.
The study, Employment and Other Economic Benefits from Advanced
Coal Electric Generation with Carbon Capture and Storage
Technologies, found that constructing up to 100 gigawatts of new
coal-fueled generation would create nearly 49,000 new jobs,
generate more than $45 billion in direct economic benefits and
produce more than $100 billion in direct and implied benefits,
given multiplier effects.
Prepared by BBC Research & Consulting, using a U.S. economic
model, the study illustrates enormous economic gains under
multiple deployment scenarios. According to the study, the
construction, manufacturing and professional services sectors
would see the largest economic gains.
The Industrial Union Council of the American Federation of Labor
and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the International
Brotherhood of Boilermakers, the International Brotherhood of
Electric Workers, the United Mine Workers of America and the
American Coalition commissioned the study for Clean Coal
Electricity. Contact the National Mining Association at
202/463-2600. (American Resource Review)
The families of Robert E. Murray,
founder, chairman and president of Murray Energy Corporation and
subsidiary companies have donated $1 million to West Virginia
University for energy research. It marks the largest
contribution that the University has received for use with the
West Virginia Resource Trust Fund. The contribution will be
matched dollar-for-dollar by the State of West Virginia, making
the total value of the gift $2 million. Murray added that:
"All
I wanted to do was give back to the people and the institution
that have helped my family and me. I am just giving back a
little bit of what you have given me." The money will support
all aspects of coal research from extraction to utilization. In
honor of Murray's gift, WVU has established the Robert E. Murray
Chairmanship of the Mining Engineering Department, for which a
bronze plaque was unveiled.
Coal production in 2008 reached a record 1.17 billion tons, a
2.2 percent increase over 2007,
according to preliminary reports from the US Energy Information
Administration. According to its Annual Coal Report 2008, 58
percent of last year's production came from the western
coalfields, while 42 percent of output was from eastern mines.
The number of producing operations in 2008 rose 6 percent to
1,458 compared with 1,374 in 2007. Kentucky had 469 active
mines, followed by West Virginia with 301 and Pennsylvania with
266. The average sales price per ton overall was $31.26, while
the average prices for continuous mining operations and
longwalls were $56.95t and $45.92t respectively. Estimated on
remaining US reserves shows 261 billion tons of recoverable
reserves remaining, or about 235 years based on current annual
consumption. Wyoming contains more than 7Bt while West Virginia
has more than 1.9Bt remaining. The US is the top global reserve
holder, with 27 percent of the world's reserve base.
In mid-October America West Resources, Inc., a domestic
compliant coal producer with mining operations in Central Utah,
announced that the company has received a spot price coal
contract, valued at approximately $1 million, from a
co-generation power plant based in the western U.S. The
one-time contract provides for America West to immediately
supply the co-gen facility with compliant coal produced from the
Company's Horizon Mine located in Carbon County, Utah. Dan
Baker, CEO of America West Resources, stated, "Production from
Horizon continues to be outpaced by global customer demand for
our compliant thermal coal. Consequently, we are delighted
to be in a position to take advantage of selling our coal at
favorable spot prices, thus optimizing our margins and driving
greater revenue performance."
West Virginia mines are now equipped with emergency rescue
shelters and are fully compliant with regulations,
according to the WV Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
Training. It was noted that more than 180 mines in the state
are now equipped with over 300 shelters that could supply food,
water and oxygen to crews in the event of an emergency.
Regulations require that all units be placed with 1,000 feet of
working faces. Companies approved to provide the shelters are
A.L. Lee, Carbonoks, Draeger Safety, Kennedy Metal Products,
MineArc Systems, Strata Products and Modern Mine Safety Supply.
L-3 Global Security and Energy Solutions, Chantilly, VA, has
received four contracts to install its ACCOLADE Wireless Mesh
Mine Communications System
in 16 different mines throughout West Virginia, Western
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky. Three of the contracts from
Rosebud Mining Company, the International Coal Group (ICG), and
Green River Collieries, are new system installations. An
additional contract from ICG will complete the extension of the
existing ACCOLADE System at their Sentinel Mine in West
Virginia. The contracts are valued in excess of $6 million
combined. The L-3 ACCOLADE System is a wireless communications
system for day-to-day and emergency operations use,
incorporating voice, data, and locating capabilities into a
single system.
Consol Energy's Blacksville operation has re-opened for
production. The operation had been idled in June due to low
demand.
Consol reported that the 440,000-ton monthly Blacksville
operation was not yet out of the woods. Circumstances are still
considered tentative and future idling could be possible.
Blacksville, which extracts from the Pittsburgh 8 seam with
longwall and continuous miners, produced 5.1 million tons in
2007.
The process of integrating Continental Crushing & Conveying into
Joy Mining Machinery has begun.
Mike Sutherlin, president and CEO of Joy Global Inc., Warrendale,
PA, said, "We have always intended that crushers and conveyors
would become seamless extensions of our P&H and Joy Mining
product lines, and therefore sold and supported just as any
other product in these divisions. This integration will
accelerate our progress in having Joy Mining Machinery and P&H
Mining Equipment be the face to the customers for crushing and
conveying systems." P&H will become the exclusive dealer for
all surface mining and industrial applications which includes
the management of current Continental above-ground
distributors. Ted Doheny, president of Joy Mining Machinery,
will be responsible for all aspects of the crushing and
conveying business. Doheny said, "This integration is a
critical step in the long-term achievement and financial
contribution of the crushing and conveying products, and is
crucial to Joy Global's success as a full systems supplier."
Whayne Supply Co., Louisville, KY, has established the Whayne
Technology Division
that will be working with other Caterpillar dealers to help
mining and construction companies reduce diesel engine
emissions, fuel consumption, and component contamination.
Whayne Supply Co. and The CAT Rental Store is the dealer for
Caterpillar Inc., Reedrill, Trail King, Mirenco, Magnom, Thomas
Built Buses, Challenger, Lexion, Ag Leader, Sullair, Allmand,
and other lines of construction, industrial, mining, paving and
agricultural equipment. In addition to its home office in
Louisville, Whayne has branches in Ashland, Bowling Green,
Corbin, Dry Ridge, Hazard, Lexington, Paducah, and Pikeville,
KY, and Evansville, IN.
Approximately 200 coal industry supporters rallied in
Charleston, WV, to send a message to Congress and the
Environmental Protection Agency
to stop holding up surface mining permits. Coal miners,
industry officials and others sent the message during a rally at
the state Capitol. The West Virginia Conservative Foundation
organized the event to protest the EPA's decision to delay 79
applications for surface mine permits in West Virginia,
Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. The EPA says it wants changes
before the permits are issued. More rallies are planned.
American Equipment and Machine Inc. (AEMI) has opened a
manufacturing facility in Centralia, IL.
The approximately 460,000 square foot machine shop at 2400 South
Wabash Ave. will rebuild and manufacture longwall mining
equipment for parent company Murray Energy Corporation's coal
mines. Murray Energy has worked with various vendors for more
than a decade to manufacture custom mining equipment for its
mines. Now, with its own machine and equipment facility, the
company will produce a proprietary longwall mining system it has
engineered to meet the exacting specifications of Murray
Energy's production processes, and which will be integrated into
all of its mining operations over the next five years. AEMI
currently employs a skilled workforce of 102. The company
expects to add up to 34 additional jobs over the next two years
as it ramps into full production and expands into the
manufacture of hydraulic components for its longwall mining
systems. Billy Williams, a veteran longwall equipment manager
who has worked with Murray Energy, and founder CEO Robert Murray
for 44 years was instrumental in developing the factory.
Phoenix Coal has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the
company's ongoing surface mining business
and reserves primarily in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, to a
privately owned Ohio coal producer. Upon completion, Phoenix's
assets will include a significant cash position and the Gryphon
Mining Complex. The Acquirer will pay Phoenix USD 5.7 million
in cash at closing and will assume all debts associated with the
equipment being sold, reclamation liabilities for ongoing coal
mining operations, coal sales contracts and other obligations
associated with the Assets.
The new General Motors Volt vehicle will go 40 miles on
electricity stored in its battery
before its internal combustion engine kicks in. The Volt takes
16 kilowatt-hours to charge the battery, and coal produces
0.92-kilowatt hours of electricity per pound. That means it
would take a little more than 17.3 pounds of coal to drive the
Volt for its first 40 miles, which is about 2.31 miles per pound
of coal.
Elgin National Industries' Centrifugal & Mechanical Industries (CMI),
St. Louis, MO, has partnered with Minco Tech to supply
classifying, water-only and heavy media cyclones to the U.S.
market. Minco Tech supplies over 85 percent of the Australian
coal industry's cyclones. Minco Tech cyclones are available in
a wide range of materials, but most often are manufactured from
91 percent alumina ceramic pre-engineered tiles. CMI sales and
service staff are available to determine the right mix of
cyclones to fit any operational need.
Ramgen Power Systems LLC, Bellevue, WA, has been awarded $20
million from the Department of Energy
to further develop a device that uses supersonic shockwaves to
compress carbon dioxide for capture and storage. The device,
known as a Rampressor, employs a fundamentally new technology
that reduces the cost of compressing CO2 to achieve
affordable carbon capture and storage.
Mincom, one of Australia's largest software companies, has
opened headquarters in Silicon Valley, CA.
Mincom helps customers ensure around-the-clock operations,
maintain heavy equipment, manage inventory and costs, and
support staff in the most remote places. Recently Molycorp
implemented the Mincom software system to increase production at
its Mountain Pass, CA, facility, the world's most abundant "rare
earth" ore deposit outside of China. Mincom developed the
world's first ERP software for the mining industry and 18 of 20
of the world's top mining companies use Mincom software.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR),
Columbus, OH, Division of Mineral Resources Management has
received national recognition for a mine land reclamation
project that has improved land and water resources of a
previously mined area in Carroll County. The award is for ODNR
work on the Belden Acid Mine Drainage Reclamation Project within
the Huff Run Watershed, which improved the quality of 4.8 miles
of stream. The restoration benefits fish and aquatic insects,
improves water recreation and ultimately reduces costs incurred
by municipalities for public water treatment. Approximately
70,860 cubic yards of earthwork and 24,900 cubic yards of
re-soiling materials were moved to reclaim 15 acres within the
project site.
Keystone Coal plans to construct a $100 million marine terminal
that will handle shipments of bulk materials such as products
for road building. Plans are to start construction this year at
the 67-acre site, which is near the Talleyrand Port area, and
the terminal hopes to begin shipping in 2010. Construction of
the terminal would occur in stages, starting with a dock for
ships.
Talbert Manufacturing, Inc., Rensselaer, IN, manufacturer of
specialty-built trailer and transport systems,
announces Talbert Advantage Credit, a comprehensive and complete
financing program available to qualifying customers for new
trailer purchases made through participating dealers. Offering
a full array of financing programs from customized loans to
finance leases and TRAC leases, Talbert Advantage Credit will
work with customers to structure a payment and a term that will
meet cash flow and/or seasonal requirements.
Canadian producer Compliance Energy and its Comox joint venture
have approval to start environmental evaluation for the Raven
underground coal project, located on Vancouver Island.
According to technical reports, Raven contains 39.09Mt of
measured and indicated reserves and inferred resources of just
over 59 Mt. Compliance is developing Raven as part of a joint
venture signed early this year with Japanese firm Itochu
Corporation and Korea-based LG International.
American Electric Power has applied for $334 million in funds
from the U.S. Department of Energy Clean Coal Power Initiative
Round 3 to pay part of the costs of installing the nation's
first commercial-scale carbon dioxide capture and storage system
on its Mountaineer coal-fired power plant in New Haven, WV. The
fund is about half the estimated cost of installing the system
that will use a chilled ammonia process to capture at least 90
percent of the carbon dioxide from 235 megawatts of the plant's
1300 megawatts of capacity. The capture carbon dioxide,
approximately 1.5 million metric tons per year, will be treated
and compressed, then injected into suitable geologic formation
for permanent storage, approximately 1.5 miles below the
surface. The system will begin commercial operation in 2015.
Alliance Coal has created hundreds of jobs at the new River View
Mine in Union County, KY,
on State Route 1179, Waverly and Uniontown. "It's probably the
biggest boost to Union County in 20 years," mining foreman Don
Rowley said. Two years of planning and preparation paid off as
the belts successfully carried the first load of coal from the
River View mine in mid-August. "When we're at full production,
we expect 600 people to work here by next July," GM Heath
Lovell said.
Electric Transmission America (ETA),
a transmission joint venture of American Electric Power and
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, has joined with American
Transmission Company, Exelon Corporation, NorthWestern Energy
and MidAmerican Energy Company, a subsidiary of MidAmerican
Energy Holdings Company, to sponsor a comprehensive energy
development and to transport that energy to consumers in markets
to the east. Quanta Technology LLC has been retained to
evaluate extra-high voltage transmission alternatives and
provide recommendations for new transmission development in the
Upper Midwest, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa,
Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Universal Lubricants, Wichita, KS, has opened a new plant
that is 10 times more energy efficient at producing motor oil.
The new refinery, which uses post-consumer lubricants to create
new motor oil with the same or better performance
characteristics as conventional motor oil. The facility will
process 12 million gallons of lubricant annually, resulting in a
90 percent energy use reduction and 36 percent reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions. The local economic impact to the
region is approximately $40 million and adds 40 new skilled jobs
in Wichita.
Richard Bass, who owns the Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in
Utah,
has partnered with William H. Hunt to form PacRim Coal LLC, and
to develop a proposed surface mine in Alaska. Permit
applications have been submitted to build a giant coal mine that
will be the largest in Alaskan history. The coal mine on the
Chuitna River, about 45 miles west of Anchorage, would be the
third largest surface mine in the United States. PacRim Coal, a
Delaware corporation backed by Texas investors, hopes to extract
300 million tons of coal over 25 years. Nearly all the coal
excavated from the mine would be exported to coal markets in
China and other Pacific Rim countries.
A proposal that would allow four coal mines to lease 8,800 acres
of federal land
includes more than 800 million tons of minable coal, adding 10
to 15 years of life to a coal mine. The mines could bring in
1.8 billion dollars in state revenues over the lifetime of the
mine. The proposal is out for the public to review and make
comments.
The Lewis Clark Boone Company has changed its name to The Boone
Group.
"We are still the same great company, same personnel and staff
with the knowledge, expertise and commitment to our clients that
we have been providing since 1983. We will continue to be
developing quality market research for associations,
publications, universities, and businesses of all kinds," says
President Brace Boone III. Address and phone numbers remain the
same.
A grant request for The Demonstration of Advanced Carbon Capture
and Storage
at the Dominion Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center in Wise
County, VA, has been submitted to the U.S. Department of
Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
The grant request was filed by the Virginia Tech Foundation and
is led by VPI's Virginia Center for Coal and Research (VCCER);
Marshall Miller & Associates (MM&A); Dominion Virginia Power;
and the Southern States Energy Board. MM&A and VCCER will lead
the carbon storage aspect of the project and undertake the
characterization, design, construction, injection, and pre-and
post-injection monitoring, verification, and accounting phases
of the storage task. Dominion will lead the carbon capture
effort in the research. In total, the estimate is for $583
million to be implemented over 11 years. The proposed Clean
Coal Power Initiative Virginia will meet the goals set by the
DOE to achieve, at minimum, 50 percent CO2 capture efficiency
and make progress towards a target goal of 90 percent CO2
capture efficiency. The project will demonstrate a
cost-effective and energy efficient means to capture and manage
CO2 for a coal-fired power plant.
AEP Ohio, Columbus, OH, has applied for $75 million in federal
stimulus funds
to support the AEP Ohio gridSMART Demonstration Project.
Designed to improve electricity distribution efficiency and
reliability, the project will cut energy consumption and
emissions, while at the same time creating at least 500 jobs
over a three-year period. AEP Ohio's $150 million project will
be deployed in northeast central Ohio starting in 2010 and will
include installation of approximately 110,000 advanced
electricity meters; new distribution grid technology;
distributed energy sources; plug-in hybrid electric vehicles;
smart appliances; and consumer systems and products to help
customers manage electricity use and costs. The project will
potentially reduce energy consumption by 18,000 megawatt-hours,
peak demand by 15 megawatts and consumer cost by $5.75 million
over the length of the project.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is reviewing a proposal to
expand three coal mines in the Powder River Basin
Arch Coal's Black Thunder Mine; Rio Tinto's Jacobs Ranch mine;
and Peabody Energy's North Antelope Rochelle Mine. According to
BLM, the proposed expansion would open up some 22,000 acres to
surface mining to uncover an estimated 2.4 billion tons of coal
over about 10 years. BLM recently issued a final environmental
impact statement covering proposed expansions of 4 other mines
in the Powder River Basin that would open up an additional 8,800
acres to surface mine an estimated 835 million tons of coal.
Blackrock Resources Inc., Reno, NV, has filed a request to
change its name to Black Mountain Resources Inc.
The name change is subject to approval by FINRA and the Nevada
Secretary of State. In anticipation of the name change, the
company has registered a new domain name at
www.blackmountainresources.com and has
deactivated its old website.
Kentucky's Quest Minerals and Mining is adding a Joy 14-9 miner
to its fleet,
capable of extracting 1300 to 1500 raw tons of coal per
eight-hour shift. Doubling the proficiency output, it will work
in conjunction with the mine's existing Joy 14-10 miner. Quest
began renovation work on the Cedar Grove and Pond Creek
operations in 2008. Whitestar has been retained as the contract
miner for the operations.
The FutureGen Alliance and U.S. Department of Energy have signed
a cooperative agreement
to ensure the Illinois facility's continued development. The
agreement includes preliminary design activities through the end
of this year. It states that the Alliance and DOE will work
with others to continue necessary tasks such as electric grid
interconnect studies, obtaining environmental permits,
identifying operational activities and other milestones such as
plant design updates and project cost estimates. Upon
completion, it is hoped that the final design and construction
will begin in early 2010.
GasTech Inc., Casper, WY, has a contract with Linc Energy of
Australia
to launch an underground coal gasification demonstration project
in the Powder River Basin. The estimated 7 billion tons of
state coal has an energy equivalent of about 20 billion barrels
of oil, GasTech says. Underground coal gasification involves
drilling surface wells into the coal and injecting air into a
water-sodden coal seam. Under pressure, the steam and oxygen
gasifies the coal, producing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane,
carbon dioxide and other gases. The pressurized gases are
brought to the surface through a production well and separated
for a variety of potential uses.
The Arch Coal Foundation has donated $116,000 to Missouri
University of Science and Technology,
Rolla, MO, to update its mine rescue and safety laboratory.
The foundation provides support to organizations that engage in
improving the quality of life in the communities in which Arch
Coal operates. Focus is in education, including contributions
to schools, as well as through sponsorship of its signature
program the Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Awards that
recognizes top classroom teachers in West Virginia, Wyoming and
Utah.
The Signal Peak Coal Mine, near Roundup, MT,
is up and running, along with a 35-mile spur that provides the
mine with access to Burlington Northern Santa Fe's main rail
line at Broadview. The Boich Group and First Energy invested
almost $400 million to resurrect the mine, once known as the
Bull Mountain Mine. The mine currently employs about 200
workers with that number expected to increase. Coal production
at the mine is estimated at 12.5 million tons a year, nearly one
quarter of Montana's annual coal production.
The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable, Palmyra, NY,
has honored Garlock Sealing Technologies with its 2009 MVP2
Award for the Best P2 pollution prevention project. The
project, which eliminated use of a volatile organic compound and
hazardous air pollutant from production of Garlock's industrial
sheet gaskets, has recently garnered similar awards from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Business
Journal and the Rochester Business Journal.
Utah's American West Resources has new underground mining
equipment
that will open a two-section mine development plan with a
production estimate of 30,000-plus tons of coal per month. A
new continuous miner and related equipment allows the company to
re-start the Horizon mine in a second section. Horizon holds
12.4 million tons in recoverable coal reserves.
CONSOL Energy, West Virginia University, and the National Energy
Technology Laboratory
have begun a $13 million field trial in Marshall County, West
Virginia, to enhance coalbed methane recovery with simultaneous
carbon dioxide sequestration in an unmineable coal seam. In
advance of CO2 injection, horizontal coalbed methane wells were
drilled in a modified five-spot pattern over a 200-acre area
into the unmineable Upper Freeport coal seam, 1200 to 1800 feet
below ground, and separately into the overlying mineable
Pittsburgh coal seam. Many factors are expected to affect the
field test, including coal swelling. It is believed that
horizontal wells will help minimize the negative effects of coal
swelling.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Division of
Reclamation
is turning a long abandoned Enoco coal mine near Bruceville,
into a wetland. The site will be covered with a mixture of
compost, hay, and lime to soak up pollutants. It will then be
planted with wetland plants, shrubs and prairie grasses.
BASF's Meyco Equipment unit and Sandvik Mining and Construction
have signed an agreement on global co-operation in the fields of
tunneling and mining. BASF's Construction Chemicals division is
the leading supplier of chemical systems and formulations for
the construction industry. Sandvik is a global industrial group
with advanced products and world-leading positions in selected
areas tools for metal cutting, machinery and tools for rock
excavation, stainless materials, special alloys, metallic and
ceramic resistance materials as well as process systems.
Cemex hopes to expand its limestone quarry in Davenport, Santa
Cruz County, CA, by 17 acres.
A report by the county planning commission, however, recommends
Cemex take measures to reduce the flow of sediment toward
Liddell Spring no matter what the source should the company
expand. Recommendations include installing drains in the quarry
to capture and filter runoff as well as constantly monitoring
the underground water conditions. The Planning Commission had
scheduled a final public hearing this past September 23 on the
proposed expansion.
Maptek I-Site laser scanning software technology is being used
to map the geology and layout of the deepest underground
laboratory
to be established in the U.S.A. The Deep Underground Science and
Engineering Lab (DUSEL) in the former Homestake gold mine in
Lead, SD, will provide for scientific studies in particle and
nuclear physics, geology, hydrology, geo-engineering, biology,
and biochemistry. Geoscientists and engineers will research the
behavior of subsurface rock, minerals, water and energy sources.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Foundation, Des
Plaines, IL,
announces the availability of more than $100,000 in scholarships
and professional development grants for the 2010 academic year,
including one new scholarship and one new grant. Deadline for
submitting applications is December 1, 2009. Scholarships are
for students pursuing a degree in occupational safety and
health, safety engineering, safety management, occupational
health nursing, occupational medicine, risk management,
ergonomics, industrial hygiene, fire safety, environmental
safety, environmental health or other safety-related fields.
Contact Joanna Climer at 847/768-3404.
Darling International Inc., Irving, TX, has joined with a
subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation
to build a facility capable of producing over 10,000 barrels/day
or 135 million gallons per year of renewable diesel on a site
adjacent to Valero's St. Charles refinery near Norco, LA. The
proposed facility will convert waste greaseprimarily animal
fats and used cooking oil supplied by Darling and potentially
other feedstocks that become economically and commercially
viable into renewable diesel. Darling and Valero will jointly
seek a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy under
the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
KenAmerican Resources has idled its Paradise Mine in Kentucky
due to roof conditions in the No. 9 and No. 11 seams.
Construction of a new mine is continuing. The company will
return Paradise to eventual full production on completion of the
new access, ventilation, conveyor and power systems, and portal
facilities. KenAmerican is owned by Murray Energy and produces
3.3 million tons a year.
Future Power PA is seeking funds from the U.S. Department of
Energy for a proposed 270-megawatt Good Spring clean coal plant
in Pennsylvania at a cost of $1 billion over a three-year period
of construction. Good Springs would be an Integrated
Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant that will gasify
local anthracite coal. The plant will have carbon dioxide
sequestration capabilities. Future Power will use gasification
technology expertise from China's Thermal Power Research
Institute.
ARCH Environmental Equipment, Inc., Paducah, KY, has launched a
new Web site
that makes research and buying conveyor components easier. The
new website,
www.archenv.com
has been revamped to minimize time taken to
research products, find a distributor, and procure ARCH
products. Features include instant access to installation
guides, exclusive ARCH web promotions, links to relevant sites,
interactive forms and one-stop shopping for conveyor belt
cleaners, belt scales, metal detectors, safety devices, dust
control products, skirt seals and more.
Cliffs Natural Resources has raised its production and sales
forecasts for both its coal and iron ore
businesses as steel markets continue to improve. The company
recalled more than 200 workers recently at its coal operations.
Cliffs has lifted production guidance 38 percent to 1.8 million
tons. Its iron ore division is expected to produce 17Mt, 13
percent higher than the previous expectation.
Natural Resources Partners has signed a definitive agreement to
acquire approximately 200 mt of coal reserves
related to the Deer Run mine in Illinois from Colt LLC, an
affiliate of the Cline Group, at a cost of $255M. Construction
of the new longwall mine has begun, with initial production
expected in 2010 and longwall production expected to commence in
2011.
Four Liebherr (Newport News, VA) T 282 B Ultra Class Mining
Trucks have been commissioned at ASARCO Ray Copper Mine.
Trucks are equipped with MTU/DDC 20V4000 diesel engines and
Michelin 56/80R63 low profile tires. The 400 short ton payload
trucks will be utilized to move higher quantities of material
more efficiently at the Ray open pit mine. Liebherr offers 24/7
technical support, parts warehouse and an office on site, in
addition to three service trucks.
Anvil International, Portsmouth, NH, a subsidiary of Mueller
Water Products, Inc., has launched a new Web site
with the same address:
www.anvilintl.com The new site was developed
to provide more information on Anvil's line of products and
services. Features a variety of tools for customers and end
users to quickly and easily access the more than 1,200 pages of
technical content.
Warrior Coal's Cardinal team won first place in the two-day mine
rescue competition of the 2009 U.S. National Coal Mine Rescue,
First Aid, Bench and Preshift Competition. Warrior Coal won for
having the least total penalties under the competitions rules.
Warrior also took top spot in the Combination Competition. For
the Day 1 Mine Rescue Competition, Consol Energy's McElroy
operation came first with a completion time just 18 seconds
faster than the blue team of Cliffs Natural Resources' Pinnacle
operation. The "green team" from Consol Energy's Enlow Fork
mine won the Day 2 Mine Rescue Competition and received no time
penalties. Peabody Energy's Twentymile Coal Company won the
Bench BG4 competition, while International Coal Group's white
team from Knott County won the Bench Biopak 240R competition,
and Gibson County Coal won the Bench Biopak 240S competition.
Patriot Coal's Magnum team won the first aid contest. The
Preshift Competition was won by Eastern Associates Coal's
Federal No. 2 operation.
AK Steel, West Chester, OH, has reached an agreement with
SunCoke Energy, Inc.
to provide AK Steel with metallurgical-grade coke from SunCoke's
Haverhill facility in Scioto County, OH. The agreement has a
12-year term with two five-year renewal options. SunCoke
Haverhill will provide AK Steel with up to 550,000 tons of coke
annually.
Hardy Instruments, San Diego, CA, has partnered with Saturn
Scale Systems
to service Hardy customers throughout Canada. Hardy will be
able to provide field service in all Canadian provinces,
including start-up, installation, emergency, maintenance, scale
calibration and verifications.
World steel production this past August reached the highest
monthly
level since the global financial crisis set in a year ago,
Macquarie analysts note. Macquarie said crude steel output
reached 106.5 million tons in August, the highest level since
September 2008, and 30 percent above December 2008.
Joy Mining Machinery and Matrix Design Group have partnered to
develop and distribute continuous miner proximity protection
systems.
The agreement gives Joy the rights for sales, installation and
service of the systems while collaborating with the Kentucky
supplier on additional development and efforts to continually
refine the system.
Southern Co., Houston, TX, reports that a Chinese utility will
utilize its coal-gasification technology at an existing power
plant to produce low-emission electricity.
Called Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG), the company
will provide Beijing Guoneng Yinghui Clean Energy Engineering
Co. Ltd with licensing, engineering and equipment to use the
TRIG design at a 120-megawatt power plant operated by Dongguan
Tianming Electric power Co Ltd in Guandong Province. This will
mark the first commercial implementation of the TRIG technology,
which converts coal into synthetic gas that can be stripped of
pollutants before being burned in a combustion turbine to
produce electricity. Mississippi Power Co. also plans to use
the T RIG technology at a 582MW IGCC plant proposed in Kemper
County, MS.
River View coal mine in Western Kentucky is a $270 million
facility in Union County
that brings 600 coal mining jobs to the tri-state. The mine
began operations in August and will produce 40,000 tons of coal
each day. River View should be fully operational and fully
staffed by July of 2010.
Researchers at MIT have shown the benefits of a new approach
toward eliminating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at
coal-burning power plants.
The system, called pressurized oxy-fuel combustion, provides a
way of separating all of the carbon dioxide emissions produced
by the burning of coal, in the form of a concentrated,
pressurized liquid stream. This allows for carbon dioxide
sequestration: the liquid CO2 stream can be injected into
geological formations deep enough to prevent its escape into the
atmosphere.
Evolution Fuels, Inc., Dallas, TX, has an agreement with Informa
Economics, Inc.,
to jointly publish a series of articles regarding renewable
fuels through the company's affiliate, Big Star Informative
Media, LLC. Informa will work with the company to help educate
and inform the public with fact-based inputs regarding renewable
fuels via the company's website at
www.evolution-fuels.com
The website contains a blog that will be
updated weekly with current news, policy matters, facts, and
opinions regarding the evolution for the renewable fuels
industry.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has presented Peabody
Energy's North Antelope Rochelle Mine
with an Industry Reclamation and Wildlife Stewardship Award for
best practices to restore essential habitat for big game,
mammals, birds and raptors over the past quarter century.
Restored lands in the Powder River Basin create habitat for elk,
deer, antelope, sage grouse and many other species. Multiple
studies have been conducted to refine land restoration practices
for wildlife habitat and advance the understanding of regional
wildlife populations. Peabody's Power River Basin mines are safe
and productive, with a strong track record of environmental
excellence. NARM achieved record production of nearly 100
million tons of coal in 2008, alongside a record safety rate
that was 88 percent better than the industry average. The U.S.
Department of the Interior and the state has recognized NARM for
good neighbor practices and land restoration. Peabody has
restored nearly 6,200 acres, planted more than 250,000 trees and
recycled more than 19,000 tons of materials this past year while
creating $14 billion in direct and implied economic benefits in
communities around the world.
Production is underway at River View coal mine in Waverly, KY.
Alliance Resources Partners reports that production began in
August and full capacity is expected by mid-2010. All of the
mine's eight room-and-pillar mining units will be in place next
year. Running at full capacity, the mine will produce 6.4
million tons of coal per year. The mine has estimated coal
reserves of 105.4 million tons.
ARCADIS, an international design, consulting, engineering and
management services company,
has been awarded two major GRIP contracts for environmental
remediation, with a total worth of almost $170 million, from
Atlantic Richfield Company, a BP affiliate, and the U.S. Army.
Future Fuels, Houston, TX, has entered an agreement to exchange
and share technical information with China's Thermal Power
Research, Inc.
(TPRI), which includes a consortium of electric utilities and
Huaneng Power Group. Future Fuels will offer access to all
relevant information from its Good Spring, PA, Integrated
Gasification Combined Cycle ((IGCC) facility, while TPRI will
share information from its GreenGen IGCC facility in Tianjin,
China. GreenGen is a 250-megawatt electrical plant designed to
be China's most efficient and environmentally friendly coal
consuming project with carbon sequestration, and is expected to
commence operations in 2011. The Good Spring IGCC project
expects to deliver 270-megawatts of electricity while capturing
over 50 percent of the CO2 output initially and nearly 100
percent by 2020.
Radar Acquisitions Corp., Calgary, Alberta, (RAC) has entered
into an agreement to create a U.S. coal mining company called
RAC Mining
in partnership with a group of private investors in Alabama.
Radar will own 40 percent of RAC mining. The transaction is
subject to regulatory approval and was expected to close this
past October. RAC will hold one active mining permit covering
130 acres and two other permits covering 240 acres. Both
permits are adjacent to an active mining permit and all lands
are in Jefferson County, Alabama, in the Warrior Coal Basin.
Red Cliff, CO, approved a first reading of an application that
would annex property owned by Paul Moltz
into the town and allow the operation of a stone quarry for up
to 15 years, and then the construction of as many as 10
residential homes after the quarry stops operating. The
property features an exposed outcropping of Sawatch quartzite
a construction stone that is good for landscaping. The stone is
used for home exteriors, fireplaces, retaining walls and
drainage way stabilization.
CST Industries Inc. (CST) has acquired Temcor of Gardena, CA.
Temcor designs, manufactures and erects clear-span aluminum
domes and specialty covers and is the largest aluminum dome
provider in the world with over 7,500 structures installed in 72
countries. CST designs, manufactures and installs storage tanks
and covers.
Peabody Energy has opened an office in Singapore that will serve
as the new hub for Peabody Coaltrade International activities in
Southeast Asia,
expanding the company's access to high-growth seaborne coal
markets. The new office expands sourcing and shipping
capabilities to China, India, Indonesia and other key Asian
markets. Peabody's Singapore office will be headed by Phillip
Smith, who has been named managing director of Asian Trading
overseeing international trading activities in Singapore and
China.
Alpha Natural Resources' Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte mines in
Gillette, Wyoming, have marked notable safety achievements.
Eagle Butte has two years without a lost-time accident, while
producing 44 million tons of coal with more than 1 million hours
logged. Belle Ayr reached one year without a lost-time
accident, working 770,000 hours and producing more than 28Mt in
that time.
Energy Information Administration (EIA) data shows 2008 U.S.
coal production at a record level
of approximately 1.17 billion short tons, up 2.2 percent from
2007. Fifty-eight percent of the production was from the West
and 42 percent from the East. The number of mines increased from
1,374 in 2007 to 1,458 in 2008, a 6 percent increase. The
average sales price per ton was $31.26, up 21 percent from the
previous year. EIA's Annual Coal Report 2008 also shows that
the U.S. has more than 261 billion tons of recoverable coal
reserves, about 235 years at today's consumption rate of 1.1
billion tons annually. America has more coal reserves than any
other country, with 27 percent of the world's reserve base.
The Cap-and-Trade law could cost American taxpayers up to $200
billion a year.
At that upper end, Treasury officials report, the per household
cost could rise to $1,761 annually equivalent to a 15 percent
tax increase. Activist groups who argued the analysis did not
weigh benefits from slower global warming.
Sepro Mineral Systems has been awarded a project to supply a
2.4m x 4.2m 110kW Sepro Scrubber to Lehigh Materials,
a division of Heidelberg Cement. The unit will be installed in
their largest sand and gravel site in Canada, where they produce
over five million tons per year of construction aggregates.
Massey Energy Co., Charleston, WV, has acquired 23 million tons
of coal reserves and several mines from a bankrupt Kentucky
company.
Massey said the acquisition includes a preparation plant and
some equipment from Appalachian Fuels in Ashland, KY. The deal
covers reserves and mines in Fayette County and more than half
the reserves can be sold for making steel.
The Sandy Creek Energy Associates L.P. has clearance to begin
construction on a coal-fired power plant at Riesel, TX.
The facility will open in 2012 as scheduled, it is reported.
Sandy Creek is one of 11 coal-powered plants around the state
that are either under construction or in the permitting
process. Texas is the nation's leading producer of greenhouse
gases and consumes more coal than any other state. The
900-megawatt plant, a joint venture owned primarily by LS Power
Group, would employ about 100 people when constructed.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission announces phase one
hearings for a proposed new clean coal power plant in Kemper
County, MS.
Mississippi Power is seeking necessary approvals for a proposed
$2.4 billion electricity-generating plant and associated
transmission facilities, associated gas pipeline facilities,
right-of-ways and related facilities in Kemper, Lauderdale,
Clarke and Jasper counties. The phase one hearings will
establish a need for the plant and if a need exists, when it
will appear.
The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority (OAQDA) has
authorized an Ohio Coal Development Office
(OCDO) grant of up to $158,459 to assist in the study of the
"syngas chemical looping process." The funds will help move the
project from the research stage to a small pilot-sized
demonstration project. The project demonstrates a method to
produce hydrogen and a sequestration-ready stream of carbon
dioxide from coal syngas.
ARCH Coal has completed the $764 million purchase of Rio Tinto's
Jacobs Ranch mining complex in Wyoming's Powder River Basin.
The Jacobs Ranch open cut thermal coal operation produced 42.1
million tons last year. The transaction gives Arch 381Mt of
coal reserves that are contiguous to Black Thunder. Coal
reserves for the combined operation are estimated to be 1.6
billion tons with output capacity of more than 140Mt per year,
if required.
Canada's Western Coal plans to expand output from all its
operations to bring total production up to 10 million tons a
year by 2013.
Projects include the expansion of the Brule mine to 2 million
tons per annum, while an underground operation at Perry Creek
will be developed to help expand Wolverine to almost 3Mtpa.
Western also plans to recommence pulverized coal injection and
hard coking extraction from the Willow Creek complex, which will
be expanded to 1.8 Mtpa. Output at Energybuild Group will be
expanded to 750,000 tpa.
Evergreen Resources has outlined plans to mine frac sand, a
high-grade silica used in drilling, on 1,300 acres off Highway
56, six miles east of Calico Rock.
ER plans to create a limestone quarry by blasting with
dynamite. Processing the sand involves using 390,000 gallons of
water a day that will come from wells 2,000 feet deep. Ten
permits are required before the work can begin.
Hexagon, parent company of Leica Geosystems, Norcross, GA, has
entered into an agreement to acquire the Spatial Systems
division of Loyola Enterprises Inc.
in Richmond, VA. Spatial is a distributor and service provider
for Leica Geosystems measurement technology products in the
states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC.
The division also operates its own GPS Reference Station Network
RTK-NetTM.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Capitol lawn in Lansing, MI,
to protest the delayed construction of two new coal plantsa
Consumers Energy coal plant in Bay City and a Wolverine Power
supply Cooperative Inc. plant in Rogers City, MI. The two
plants Cadillac-based Wolverine's two 300-megawatt units and
Jackson-based Consumers' 830-megawatt plant would employ about
3,600 during construction and involved about 100 permanent jobs
at each plant. Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state's
Department of Environmental Quality have stalled plans.
The Midwest Governor's Association announces its Midwestern
Energy Infrastructure Accord,
which includes a framework for creating a geologic storage
utility for sequestering carbon dioxide, with approval from the
Clean Air Task Force (CATF). The resolution highlights the need
to house, inject and transport carbon dioxide captured from
power plants. The CCS utility concept will provide an important
CO2 outlet for power producers, giving them the means to sell
CO2 for enhanced oil recovery efforts, or to inject it deep
underground for permanent storage.
Peabody Energy, St. Louis, MO, has opened an office in Jakarta,
Indonesia,
to expand business development and coal sourcing opportunities
to serve the Pacific markets. Peabody's presence in Jakarta
expands the company's ability to serve India, China and other
Asian markets. The Pacific markets are driving global demand
for coal and are expected to achieve 5 to 10 percent compound
annual growth over the next five or more years. Reynard Hanoppo
will lead the Jakarta office, which joins Peabody after more
than a decade of managing sales for PT Kideco Jaya Agung,
Indonesia's third largest coal producer.
JADCO, Inc., Zelienople, PA, fabricator and supplier of impact-,
wear- and abrasion-resistant steel plate,
is now selling its products through DAYJON, Inc., McCalla, AL,
to Alabama companies that manufacture, maintain or operate
equipment used in mining, steel production, automotive and pulp
& paper manufacturing and other heavy industries. DAYJON is a
full-line distributor and maintenance service supplier.
IMPO Magazine
has selected Garlock Sealing Technologies, Palmyra, NY, in its
"Top 15 IMPOvation" product technology award
for its Flange FreeTM anti-stick gasket coating.
Winners were chosen from a field of 100 nominees. Flange Free
reduces the time and effort required to remove treated gaskets.
Phoenix Coal has sold its surface mining operations to Oxford
Mining Company, LLC,
primarily in Muhlenberg County, KY. The assets include four
operating surface mines, surface mining equipment, a preparation
plant facility, the Island Dock barge loading facility, and coal
properties containing the coal reserves of the surface mining
business.
The Asphalt Institute celebrates its 90th anniversary
in 2009 as the international trade association of petroleum
asphalt producers, manufacturers and affiliated businesses.
The Asphalt Institute is the oldest asphalt association in the
world. Founded in 1919, the Institute has served as the center
of excellence for asphalt supplier issues. It is the focal
point for applications of new technology and is a leading source
of technical, educational and promotional programs for the
industry.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has created the
Concrete Sustainability Hub,
a research center established at MIT in collaboration with the
Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC)
Research & Education Foundation. The Concrete Sustainability
Hub (CSH), established with the goal of accelerating emerging
breakthroughs in concrete science and engineering and
transferring that science into practice, will provide $10
million of sponsored research funding during the next five
years. CSH research will initially be organized around three
focus areas: concrete materials science, building technology and
the econometrics of sustainable development.
An appeal to block a $2 billion coal-fired Longleaf Energy Plant
in southwest Georgia
has been rejected by the Georgia Supreme Court. The plant is
expected to create at least 100 full-time jobs and generate
millions of dollars in tax revenues for southwest Georgia's
Early County. It would power more than a half-million homes
through utilities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
Joy Mining Machinery has donated a continuous miner to the Rend
Lake College Coal Mining Training Center.
The 40-ton continuous miner, which has been completely
refurbished for use at the center, has an estimated value in
excess of $250,000. "It's going to jump-start the program," says
RLC President Charley Holstein, "and, provide much-needed,
hands-on training. It allows us to move grant funding to other
areas of need for the program."
TJS Mining is proposing a new operation in Manor Township, PA,
and plans to mine about 688 underground acres of the Upper
Freeport coal seam.
TJS plans include an underground mine, a coal preparation plant
and/or a coal refuse area. Above-ground operations will
encompass about 25 acres. The mine's life expectancy is about
five years and anticipated annual production is about 500,000
tons of coal.
America West Resources expects to double monthly production by
the year's end at Horizon mine.
By the end of the year, a second section at Horizon will be in
full production, doubling monthly output to 60,000 tons. The
company plans to develop the Columbia asset, located close to
the Horizon mine in Carbon County. The Columbia property holds
about 50 million tons of raw, recoverable, metallurgical grade
coal. America West plans to begin developing Columbia as early
as the fourth quarter of 2010 with production to start in early
2011.
The fourth episode of the "The Bring It On Show" an SSAB
marketing campaign for Hardox wear plate
is now being launched. The four films show fierce attacks on
a container made of Hardox 450 and, so far, the container has
survived them all. In the first film, Sweden's strongest men
used a variety of tools in an attempt to demolish the
container. The second shows how a crazy crane driver drops
boulders, metal scrap and even a whole car onto the container.
In the third episode, the container is attacked and thrown down
a steep slope by a monster bulldozer. In the fourth attempt,
the "Demolition Man" makes every effort to destroy the container
with his wrecking ball. The container made out of Hardox 450 has
survived all of these attacks without damage. For more details
of the marketing campaign and a photo competition or to view the
three previous episodes at
www.hardoxinmybody.com
River Consulting, Columbus, OH, has partnered with Loesche
Energy Systems to serve the North American power generation
industry.
River's engineering expertise for power industry solutions
complement Loesche's excellence in classifiers and coal mill
application and pursuit of energy saving processes. Loesche
has the capacity to design, plan and construct everything from
individual machines to turnkey dry-grinding installations for
coal, cement, lime and other minerals.
Trolex Ltd introduces a Sentinel system that is certified for
use underground
and the first to be able to differentiate between methane and
other non-methane hydrocarbons and accurately measure methane
content. It does this from a sample gas on a continuous basis
and uses infra-red detection coupled with other special
processes. Contact Brenda Christopher at
Brenda@vantage.uk.com
PCB Piezotronics, Depew, NY, has acquired substantial portions
of assets and property from RS Technologies Ltd.,
a supplier of load cells, torque transducers, wheel force
transducers, and fastening/assembly test equipment, through PCB
Load & Torque, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary. PCB Load &
Torque will operate out of the existing RS Technologies world
headquarters in Farmington Hills, MI. A new website has been
launched.
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