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the Cat HW300, the unit was manufactured in Beckley through this past spring; it is now constructed at Cat's Houston, Pennsylvania, manufacturing campus just outside of Pittsburgh. Growing the HWM Market Most of the HWMs are operating in the U.S., but that footprint is something Cat is hoping they can grow using their worldwide dealer network and support capability. Many of its domestic and international customers have multiple units in use, from three to as many as seven. With average estimates of 40,000 tpm to more than 100,000 tpm, the potential of a highwall — particularly from a seam long forgotten and written off as having no value — makes the option an attractive one for many miners. There are currently 76 machines operating in the U.S., and there are units cutting coal currently in Russia, Colombia and India. Cat also has a second HW300 going to a producer in India in the first quarter of 2015 with a brand new order for a customer in South Africa scheduled to ship in the third quarter of 2015. In the U.S., Appalachia is the pre- ferred highwall home — there are approxi- mately 62 active machines working in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio and Maryland. Still others are cutting coal at operations in Alabama and Utah. Is Highwall Mining the Right Choice? Another common question by prospective highwall miners, according to Fairchild, is how a company knows when the highwall option is a feasible one. The response is something into which Cat has put much thought. As a result, the OEM has developed a Web-based site evaluation tool to help min- ing companies determine if the geology and physical characteristics of a mine site can comfortably accommodate a Cat HW300 highwall miner. Using a site's geological data, including the strength of the immediate overburden, coal strength, dip, methane content, water inflow, average highwall angle and a series of other factors, the tool can aid in the highwall deci- sion. A resulting grid will indicate whether the site is ready for a miner or if more infor- mation is needed. Cat stresses that it is a guide only and is not intended to be a defini- tive determination. The tool is available in multiple languages on its website. There is, of course, a reason Oxford was so open to putting the Cat HW300 into service at East Canton. The highwall mining method has offered enviable records for safety as well as great returns for the producer. In fact, recovery at the Stark County site is expected to be about 64% when the miner takes its last tons next year. Additionally, neither Cox nor Hendrick are new to the highwall sector; both know the advantages of the method as well as how to keep a miner running at its best. "The overall average hole depth [the com- pany's mine depth exceeds 1,000 ft] has been better than any Cat highwall miner to date, and we've been able to mine a low-ash coal seam successfully using gamma detection," Cox said, adding that the mine has had zero lost-time accidents since its start. "Our commitment to teamwork and safety motivates our employees to perform to the highest standard in the industry," Hendrick added. "Common-wealth Mining has, in my opinion, the best people in the industry." December 2014 www.coalage.com 29 h i g h w a l l m i n i n g c o n t i n u e d