Coal Age

JUL 2013

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news continued are excited to be a part of the ground breaking research on improved safety," said Fromal, who is also a Virginia Tech alumnus. Work on the new facility was developed via a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-funded project for enhanced ventilation controls and emergency responses. "This has allowed us to carry out cutting edge work in mine gas and tracer gas detection," said Luxbacher. "We can detect and quantify routine mine gases, along with novel and traditional tracer gases." In addition to the equipment donated by Shimadzu, the lab supports two gas chromatographs: one mine gas analyzer and another GC-ECD. The new lab also provides experimental capability beyond ventilation, with equipment enabling inter-departmental cooperation with other Virginia Tech colleagues for improved gas sensing technology. Future research, according to university officials, may include tracing of hydraulic fracturing fluids in shale reservoirs and carbon dioxide plumes associated with carbon sequestration in coal reservoirs. Luxbacher and McNair, university representatives added, see the lab having teaching capacity, too, allowing students hands-on exposure to gas analyses and monitoring. Columbus Will Host National Mine Rescue Event The 2013 National Coal Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench and PreShift Competition will be held September 9-12, at the Greater % 2 0 1 3 Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. A national coal mine rescue competition has not been held since 2011. The fourday competition includes a team competition for Mine Rescue and First Aid and individual competitions for Bench and Pre-Shift. To date, 76 teams have registered. For more information, go to: www.coalminerescuecontest.com. SunCoke Energy to Acquire Lakeshore Coal Handling SunCoke Energy has reached an agreement in principle to acquire Lakeshore Coal Handling Corp. for $29.6 million. This is expected to be an all cash transaction anticipated to close on July 31. "The acquisition of Lakeshore is consistent with our overall vision to grow SXCP by increasing our presence across the steel value chain," said Fritz Henderson, chairman and CEO, SXCP. "We expect this acquisition will be immediately accretive to SXCP's cash flows and earnings, supporting future increases in distributable cash flow per unit." Lakeshore, located in East Chicago, Indiana, is a unit of privately held Beemsterboer Corp. and provides coal handling and blending services to SunCoke Energy Inc.'s Ind. Harbor cokemaking operations. SXCP intends to maintain Lakeshore's current operations and anticipates retaining its current staff. As a result of the Lakeshore acquisition, distributable cash flow per unit is expected to increase by approximately 6% on an annualized basis. A W A R D S Rawhide Mine Earns Safety Honors Cumberland River Named Virginia's Safest Underground Operator Peabody Energy's Rawhide mine has earned the Small Surface Operation Safety Award from the Wyoming Mining Association and the Wyoming State Inspector of Mines for the best 2012 safety performance among operations of comparable size. The award marks the second consecutive year Rawhide has received the honor. The Wyoming Mining Association annually recognizes mines that have worked at least 10,000 hours and have the lowest lost-time incident frequency rates. Rawhide mine employees logged more than 442,000 hours without a lost-time incident and shipped 14.7 million tons of coal this past year. "This award is a tribute to the more than 200 Rawhide employees who collaborate daily to maintain a safe culture emphasizing teamwork and best practices," said Peabody Energy–Americas President Kemal Williamson. "I'm proud of Rawhide employees for consistently setting a standard of leadership in safety." Arch Coal Inc. announced its Cumberland River Coal Co.'s Pine Branch No. 1 mine earned the distinction of Virginia's safest large underground mine for working more than 168,000 employee-hours without a lost-time safety incident in 2012. Pine Branch was recognized by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and the Virginia Coal Mine Safety Board. "We're very proud of our Virginia employees for demonstrating strong leadership in mine safety," said Charles Snavely, president of eastern operations. "Achieving the best mine safety record in the state is a reflection of Arch's unwavering commitment to the safety of our employees and our mines." The Cumberland River mining complex and its approximately 240 employees operate two coal mines, Pine Branch in Wise County, Va., and Trace Fork in Letcher County, Ky. Cumberland River's top-ranked mine rescue team earned the Grand Championship at the Virginia Mining Institute Contest in 2011 and 2012. Coal Creek Mine Earns Second Consecutive RMCMI Safety Award Antelope Mine Wins Wyoming State Reclamation Award Arch Coal Inc. announced that Thunder Basin Coal Co.'s Coal Creek mine has received the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute's (RMCMI) 2013 Safety Award for exceptional safety performance. This is the second consecutive year Coal Creek has earned this recognition. "I want to commend the employees of Coal Creek for their unwavering focus on best-in-class safety," said Jim Opfer, general manager, Coal Creek. "Coal Creek is a great example of Arch's philosophy that safety and productivity go hand-in-hand." The award identifies Coal Creek as the safest small-operator surface mine among industry peers in the RMCMI's eight-state region. The U.S. national coal industry average is 2.35 lost-time incidents per 200,000 employee-hours. Coal Creek had zero lost-time incidents in 2012. In all, Coal Creek's 145 employees have surpassed 2.3 million employeehours without a lost-time incident and have operated the mine for more than three years without a reportable safety incident. Cloud Peak Energy's Antelope mine has been recognized by Wyoming state officials through their 2013 Reclamation Award from Wyoming's Environmental Quality, Land Quality Division. Cloud Peak CEO Colin Marshall said he was grateful for the acknowledgement. "The company is honored to receive this award," he said after its presentation at the Wyoming Mining Association's Annual Safety and Reclamation Banquet. The award acknowledged control of cheatgrass, an undesirable introduced species readily invading disturbed landscapes in native rangeland. Cloud Peak accomplished this, according to state regulators and company officials, through advanced dual husbandry and custom seeding techniques for native cool and warm season plant communities. In all, the Antelope project has transformed more than 400 acres of cheatgrass-lands into sustainable native stands allowing for livestock grazing and wildlife, said the company. These efforts demonstrate Cloud Peak Energy's commitment to environmental stewardship, according to Wyoming environmental officials. 20 www.coalage.com July 2013

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