September 23, 2004

Arch Coal says work to begin in two weeks on new underground mine

Associated Press

LOGAN, W.Va. - Site preparation work will begin in two weeks on a new $190 million underground coal mine near Blair on the Logan-Boone county line, executives of Arch Coal Inc. announced Thursday.

The operation, which will include a new preparation plant, railroad loadout and other facilities, is expected to reach full production of 5 million tons per year by 2007, when installation of longwall equipment is completed, said Ken Woodring, vice president of operations for Arch, which is based in St. Louis. The operation ultimately will include some surfacing mining as well.

"We like doing business in West Virginia," Woodring said. "We're going to be in West Virginia for a long time."

Most of the work force will be transferred from Arch's existing Mingo-Logan complex, but the operation is expected to produce as many as 200 new jobs as well. At full staffing it will employ 380 people and generate $12 million in annual taxes to state and local governments.

The mine will produce coal from two seams, the Cedar Grove and the Alma seams. The low-sulfur, high volatility coal in those seams will find buyers in both electricity, or steam, markets and in metallurgical coal, used in the manufacture of steel.

"The met coal market is better than it has been in years," said executive Ben Hatfield.

"The outlook is tremendous right now," he said.

Hatfield said the project has been designed to minimize disruption to local residents.

The mine's above-ground facilities will be located at the head of Seng Camp Creek of Spruce Fork hollow, at least three miles from the communities of Blair and Sharples.

In addition, the coal will be shipped by rail and will never see a public highway, Hatfield said. State Route 17 will be relocated to avoid railroad crossings, and Seng Camp Creek will be channeled through culverts at the mine to avoid any contamination by blackwater or other mine waste. Water used by the plant will be recycled.

Arch is also establishing a community advisory panel of local residents.

"We don't want residents to get their information through the rumor mill," Hatfield said. "If we're doing something wrong, we want to know about it."

The new mine will be producing coal from reserves that were formerly mined by mountaintop removal methods at what was then Arch's Dal-Tex mine.

There are still some 200 miners on a layoff panel from that mine, which was closed during a moratorium on mountaintop removal mining that was imposed by the late U.S. District Judge Charles Haden. It was not immediately clear whether those miners will be rehired by Arch, although the company's contract with the United Mine Workers of America attaches rehire rights to particular properties.