PITTSBURGH (PRESS RELEASE) -- CONSOL Energy's (NYSE:CNX) Buchanan mine, near Oakwood, Va., set a new production record in 2011, mining 5.7 million tons of high grade metallurgical coal. The previous production record at Buchanan – achieved in 2006 -- was 5 million tons.
"The production record achieved at the Buchanan Mine in 2011 is notable for a variety of reasons and speaks to our commitment to safety and compliance, the caliber of employee we have and the quality of the reserve we have in Buchanan County," said CONSOL Energy President Nicholas J. DeIuliis. "The continued investment we have planned in Buchanan County for the coming year, coupled with recent investments we have made through the construction of a new state of the art water treatment facility illustrate the importance of Buchanan County to our overall operation.
"That said, however, recent market downturns and the barrage of constantly changing regulations we face as an industry throughout the states in which we have operations continue to make it increasingly important to us that Virginia and the localities which depend upon the coal industry for severance taxes help it to maintain a level playing field in Virginia," DeIuliis continued. "That level field is a critical component in the business decisions we make as a company.
"For Buchanan County, the production number we achieved in 2011 is also notable since it translates into additional severance taxes we paid which the county in turn uses in order to provide services to its citizens," DeIuliis said.
"We're proud of the production record we achieved in 2011," said Jack Richardson, vice president of Central Appalachia Operations. "Even more importantly, however, we are proud to have set the record while at the same time completing several safety improvement projects."
Improvements included the installation of mesh roof support enhancing the safety of miners during longwall moves, a change-out of the service hoist cage and controls at Page Portal; and a rebuild of the Grassy Underground Bunker system to accommodate 5,000 tons. The bunker was concreted, lighted and the feeder doors were changed out. All of those improvements were made in an effort to meet CONSOL Energy's top values of safety, compliance and continuous improvement.
"The record we set in 2011 was accomplished even with us taking two to three complete belt maintenance days each month to work on the 17 miles of belt we have," Richardson said. "By doing that, we kept safety at the forefront and achieved a 2011 incident rate at Buchanan of less than 1.0. We want to reach zero, so we are not yet where we want to be. One accident or injury is one too many; however, the rate achieved at Buchanan in 2011 is notable as the rate is one of the lowest incident rates in the industry.
"We also improved our compliance numbers, working with regulatory agencies to identify and address the potential for problems in a proactive manner," Richardson said. "Safety and compliance remain our top values."
Additional improvements are underway at the mine and include the construction of a new portal to be located on Horn Mountain in Buchanan County. The new portal will reduce travel times underground to active sections by 14 miles round trip, augmenting safety and saving time in getting miners and supplies in and out of the mine. Earthwork is well underway; a temporary headframe has been set up in anticipation of shaft steel erection beginning this month; a sediment pond has been completed; and work on the bathhouse foundation has also started. The new portal project is expected to be complete in September 2012.
Once the new portal is opened, the existing portal facility at Contrary will still be used to move equipment in and out of the mine and the office building on site will be used as a warehouse facility. CONSOL Energy will also continue to use the Page portal service hoist.
Buchanan coal also played a part in a new record announced by Norfolk Southern in January when the railroad loaded the largest volume cargo in the history of its Pier 6 coal transloading facility at Lamberts Point in Norfolk, Va. Some 159,941.45 net tons of metallurgical coal carried in 1,561 railroad coal cars was loaded into the M/V Cape Dover, destined for China. The coal loaded was enough to be used to make about 207,000 tons of steel – enough to build 230,000 automobiles.
