Coal Age

JUL 2015

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n e w s c o n t i n u e d 10 www.coalage.com July 2015 tional information in support of the company's Bulldog application. On March 20, the DNR asked the company to respond to more than 60 questions relating to a host of issues including sediment ponds and federal endangered species. The original application was sub- m itted to the state agency in June 2012. I f the application for Bulldog is ultimately approved, the mine is expected to begin producing coal in 2016 or 2017. Alcoa Seeks Permit to Expand Liberty Coal Mine Indiana state mining regulators are expected to decide before the end of this year whether to issue a permit to Alcoa to expand its Liberty steam coal mine near Lynnville in Warrick County, Indiana, that supplies high-sulfur steam coal to the giant aluminum maker's W arrick Operations near the Ohio River a dozen or so miles away. T h e p e r m i t a p p l i c a t i o n c a m e u n d e r h e a v y c r i t i c i s m f r o m retired miners and union officials during an Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) public hearing in late June. Liberty is in the same general area as Peabody Energy's former Squaw Creek surface mine that operated for more than three decades before closing in 1998. For several years, Alcoa deposited toxic waste in Squaw Creek from its aluminum-manufacturing process. Bill Musgrave, a for- m er Squaw Creek miner and member of the United Mine Workers o f America (UMWA), and Roger Myers, a retired UMWA official in Indiana, told the DNR they were concerned that Liberty's expan- sion might bring miners into contact with the toxic wastes. However, both the DNR and Alcoa officials denied that would be the case. Alcoa is seeking to add 1,413 acres to Liberty's cur- rent mine plan, a move that should give the mine several more years of life although it is unlikely to increase overall production. "The proposed mining plan will improve overall efficiency while m aintaining the same distance from the identified sites," said Alcoa spokesman Jim Beck. If the permit is granted, some areas of Liberty will be switched from highwall to surface mining. Vigo Coal Co., based in nearby Evansville, Indiana, operates Liberty as well as Alcoa's Friendsville surface mine near Mount P E O P L E I N T H E N E W S Peabody Energy named financial executive Amy Schwetz to executive vice president and CFO. She replaces Michael Crews, who has announced plans to step down by the end of July to take the top financial position at a major industrial firm. Patriot Coal CEO Ben Hatfield has joined the board of direc- tors of Foresight Energy. Todd Julian has recently joined Huesker as the vice president of sales and marketing for their North and Central Americas operations. Shawn Rasey recently resigned as president of the heavy construction and mining tire division for BKT Tires. Mike Aguon, associate vice president, will now lead the company's sales and mar- keting efforts related to its mining tires. Kevin Hambrice has joined Syntron Material Handling as vice president of sales. Most recently, he served as the global sales and marketing manager for K-Tek Products, a division of ABB. Marilyn Treacy has been named commercial manager for Solvay Chemicals in the SOLVAir division. The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum has announced its 2015 inductees. A surprising number of the inductees represent or are well-known within the coal business. Dr. Frank F. Aplan is among the most influential mineral processing leaders in both industry and academia. His stud- ies of the processes involved in the preparation of coal and mineral ores are acknowledged worldwide for their broad applicability. An authority on flota- tion, Dr. Aplan is especially known for his studies of the wetting of solids and their control through the adsorption of surfactant films, and for his work on atomic defects on properties and behavior of solid-liquid interfaces. T. S. Ary was a leader in mineral exploration and a cham- pion of economically and environmentally sustainable miner- al policies. A prolific author and advocate for the mining industry, Ary was a recognized authority on mineral policy who served on the U.S. State Department Task Force to the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea and on the Mineral Advisory Committee to the Department of Commerce. In 1988, Ary was sworn in as the 18 t h director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Ralph E. Bailey is a distinguished veteran of the coal industry regarded not only for his impressive accomplish- ments as a mining industry executive, but also for his staunch commitment to safety, engineering and improving mine operations. Bailey was also responsible for implement- ing many effective new concepts, including the first longwall system to operate in eastern bituminous coal and the implementation of a program to improve the health and safety of both underground and surface miners. Bailey is the namesake for the largest longwall coal mining complex in the U.S. Edward Steidle was an influential visionary leader of U.S. mineral education who recognized the need to bring under one roof all of the sciences and technologies needed to dis- cover, extract, process, utilize, and conserve mineral wealth for the benefit of humanity. Accordingly, Steidle created the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences while dean at Penn State, where he taught and shared his ideas and philosophy on mineral edu- cation and conservation. The 2015 Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held on October 23, at the Omni William Penn Hotel ballroom in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Full biographies and photographs of all current and past inductees can be accessed at www.mininghallofame.org along with addi- tional information about the museum and its facilities. Located in Leadville, Colorado, the National Mining Hall of Fame serves as the showcase of American mining. m Todd Julian Ben Hatfield Amy Schwetz Kevin Hambrice Marilyn Treacy T. S. Ary Frank Aplan Edward Steidle Ralph Bailey

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