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coal prep preview 2013 Coal Prep Celebrates 30 Years The annual event broadens its scope to dig deeper into what's happening in the coal business BY STEVE FISCOR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GINA TVERDAK-SLATTERY, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, AND JENNIFER JENSEN, ASSISTANT EDITOR It's spring time and, of course everyone in the coal preparation business knows what that means. It's time to head to Lexington, Ky., for the annual Coal Prep show. What many may find hard to believe is that Coal Prep is turning 30 this year. The annual trade show for professionals who process coal has been delivering information on equipment and technology for three decades and Coal Prep 2013 is no exception. The technical program for this year's conference remains essentially the same with a new feature bolted onto it. The technical session opens with a keynote speech on Tuesday morning (April 30) followed by four technical sessions—Froth Flotation, Energy Today, Plant Operations and Specific Gravity. Each session will have three to five presentations by experts in those respective areas. Before the official program opens, professors from two leading mining schools will host an educational workshop on advanced coal preparation on Monday, April 29. Also on Monday, Coal Prep has teamed up with the Kentucky Coal Association (KCA) to offer a symposium that addresses issues facing the coal industry and promotes networking among the group of lobbyists, coal producers, and the manufacturers and service providers who support the industry at large (see sidebar below). In addition to the technical program, Coal Prep also hosts the largest exposition for coal handling and processing technology. The number of companies exhibiting will be just shy of last year's record 300+. While the numbers aren't nearly as large as last year, the size of the exhibits has grown and there is plenty for delegates to see. The 2013 Coal Prep Technical Program In an effort to further educate prep plant managers, Virginia Tech's Jerry Luttrell and University of Kentucky's Rick Honaker will conduct a workshop, Advanced Coal Preparation—Performance, Predictions & Monitoring. The training short course discusses methods used to evaluate separation performances achieved by coal cleaning processes. The five-hour workshop is a supplement to the Introduction to Coal Cleaning workshop held during the last conference. The professors will review the tools used to assess plant performance. Prior to the exhibits official opening on Tuesday, April 30, Nick Carter, president and CEO, Natural Resource Partners (NRP), will deliver the keynote presentation: Coal Industry: Past! Present. Future? Readers should note the punctuation in the title. A master limited partnership, NRP is principally engaged in the business of owning and managing mineral reserve properties. All Coal Prep delegates are invited to attend the session and the exhibits open following the speech. Technical Session I: Froth Flotation takes place Tuesday afternoon, April 30 at 2:00 p.m. The session has three presentations: Innovative Design of Fine Coal Cleaning Circuits for Improved Sulfur Rejection—an enhanced sulfur rejection circuit that was designed and implemented on an industrial scale in the Illinois coal basin. This describes the rationale for the design of this new fine coal circuit and the data obtained from the sampling program. Coal Flotation – The Next Generation will discuss new alternatives, such as feed pre-aeration, short column-like cells and unique circuit designs that are providing significant reductions in capital and operating costs while offering improved metallurgical performance. KCA Coal Symposium (Monday, April 29) Kentucky Coal Association (KCA) and Coal Prep are proud to bring their audiences together on Monday, April 29 to discuss issues facing the coal industry and promote networking among the group of lobbyists, coal producers, and the manufacturers and service providers who support the industry at large. Highlights include: 8:30 a.m. Opening Session: Emerging Environmental Regulatory Issues from the Appalachian/Illinois Coal Basins—A panel of representatives examine the environmental regulatory landscape and what it means to the mining sector within both the Appalachian and Illinois coal basins. 10:00 a.m. Innovative Mining Techniques-Surface Mining— • Blasting Optimization to Improve Mining Operations • Highwall Monitoring Using State-of-the-Art Instrumentation and Software 11:00 a.m. Federal and State Official's Viewpoints of the Regulatory Assault on Appalachian/Illinois Coal Basins—Federal and state elected officials give their insights on how President Obama's federal regulatory onslaught is affecting the coal industry and how it continues to plague a once-vibrant industry now stifling its very existence. Noon Luncheon: Long Term Future of the U.S. Coal Industry—Hal Quinn, president of the National Mining Association, will speak about the future of coal mining. 32 www.coalage.com 1:10 p.m. Innovative Mining Techniques-Underground Mining— • Real Time Comprehensive Atmospheric Monitoring of Underground U.S. Coal Mines: Developments and Implications for Health and Safety • Production Experience and Safety Impact of New Proximity Detection Technology 2:10 p.m. Emerging Health and Safety Issues for the U.S. Mining Industry— An engaging conversation about the current legislative and regulatory environment in and around Capitol Hill in regards to health and safety. 3:30 p.m. Examination of Environmental Activist Groups and their Effect on the Domestic Energy Market— Hear about the ramifications environmental activist groups have on the domestic energy market. 5:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception 6:30 p.m. Dinner 7:30 p.m. CEO Panel Discussion: Where Does U.S. Coal Go from Here?—Hear from leaders within the U.S. coal industry about daily decisions they make to ensure America maintains coal as a dominant player in the nation's energy portfolio. Panelists to date include: • Steve Wunning, CEO Mining Division, Caterpillar • Peter Socha, CEO, James River Coal Co. • Ben Hatfield, President & CEO, Patriot Coal Co. April 2013