Coal Age Magazine - For nearly 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.
Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/82345
news continued CALEN DAR OF EVENT S September 11-12, 2012 3rdCoaltrans Colombia—will be held at the Bogota Plaza Summit Hotel, Bogota, Colombia. Contact: Coaltrans Conferences Ltd. (Email: coal- trans@euromoneyplc.com; Web: www.coaltrans.com/Colombia). September 12-13, 2012 Water Management for Mining—will be held at the Denver Marriott Tech Center in Denver, Colo. Contact: Infocast (Tel: 818-888-4444; Fax: 818- 888-4440; Email: mail@infocastevents.com; Web: www.infocastinc.com/mining). September 20-21, 2012 Platts 35thAnnual Coal Marketing Days Conference—will be held in Pittsburgh, Pa. Contact: Erica Giardina (Tel: 781-430-2115; Email: eri- ca_giardina@platts.com; Web: www.events.platts.com). September 24-26, 2012 MINExpo—will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Contact: Hall-Erickson Inc. (Tel: 866-717-6463; Email: minex- po@heiexpo.com; Web: www.minexpo.com). October 16-18, 2012 Coal Handling & Storage 2012—will be held at the Union Station Marriott, St. Louis, Mo. Contact: Tanna Holzer (Tel: 303-283-0640; Email: tholz- er@mining-media.com; Web: www.mining-media.com). November 3-6, 2012 China Mining 2012 Conference and Exhibition—will be held at the Tianjin Meijiang Convention Center in Tianjin, China. Contact: Beijing Sino-Confex International Conference and Exhibition ((Tel: 86 10 64466855; Fax: 86 10 58857006; Email: info@china-mining.org; Web: www.china-mining.org/en). November 14-16, 2012 Western Mining Electrical Association Bi-annual Meeting— will be held at El Tropicano Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Contact: WMEA (Web: www.wmea.net). January 15-17, 2013 MSHA's Alternative Case Resolution Initiative: presented by Catamount Consulting and Patton Boggs LLP—will be held in Green Bay, Wis. Contact: Catamount Consulting LLC (Tel: 518-623-2352; Fax: 518-623-3658; Web: www.cata- mountconsultingllc.com). February 10-13, 2013 39thAnnual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique— will be held in Fort Worth, Texas. Contact: International Society of Explosives Engineers (Tel: 440-349-4400; Web: www.isee.org). February 24-27, 2013142ndSME Annual Meeting and Exhibit and CMA 115thNational Western Mining Conference—will be held in Denver, Colo. Contact: Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (Tel: 303-948-4200; Email: meetings@smenet.org; Web: www.smenet.org/meetings). April 15-21, 2013 bauma 2013—will be held in Munich, Germany. Contact: Messe München GmbH (Tel: 49 89 949-11348; Fax: 49 89 949-11349; Email: info@bau- ma.de; Web: www.bauma.de). April 16-18, 2013Minex Central Asia 2013—will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan. Contact: Arthur Poliakov (Tel: 44 (0) 207 520 9341; Email: admin@minexforum.com; Web: www.minexasia.com). April 30-May2, 2013 Coal Prep 2013—will be held in Lexington, Ky. Contact: Penton Business Media (Tel: 800-927-5007; Email: registration@penton.com; Web: www.coal- prepshow.com). June 11-13, 2013 Longwall USA Exhibition & Conference—will be held at the David L. Lawerence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. Contact: Tanna Holzer (Tel: 303- 283-0640; Email: tholzer@mining-media.com; Web: www.mining-media.com). August 20-23, 2013 AIMEX 2013 Asia-Pacific's International Mining Exhibition—will be held at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia. Contact: Reed Exhibitions Australia (Tel: 61 2 9211 7544; Email: aimex@reedexhibitions.com.au; Web: www.aimex.com.au). October 1-3, 2013 Minex Russia 2013—will be held in Moscow, Russia. Contact: Irina Yukhtina (Tel: 44 (0)207 520 9341; Fax: 44 (0)207 520 9342; Email: ira.y@minex- forum.com; Web: www.minexrussia.com). 16 www.coalage.com Ohio Valley's parent company, Murray Energy Corp., acknowl- edged in a recent statement it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio "to resolve potential charges, stemming from two incidents." Murray, based in northeast Ohio's Pepper Pike and in St. Clairsville in southeast Ohio, said Ohio Valley began two years ago to install the "pipe- within-a-pipe system" designed to eliminate the potential for another release. Murray Energy said its independently operated subsidiary also has installed equipment and controls to monitor the pipeline. The War on Coal Now Being Fought from the Air According to documents obtained by The Associated Press and reported in numerous news sources, government inspectors have been conducting aerial surveillance of coal operators in central Appalachia, particularly surface miners. The Kentucky Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement (KDMRE) has spent more than $477,000 over the past four years for helicopter flights over coal mining operations. A review by the AP found the agency has been spending on average nearly $2,000 on each citation issued to mining compa- nies for violations spotted from the air through an initiative start- ed by the federal government's Office of Surface Mining (OSM). The flyovers came as a surprise to mining industry leaders, including Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Bissett, who not only complained about their "covert" nature but also ques- tioned their effectiveness. However, the state disagrees. "We feel the helicopter's value as an enforcement tool is a necessary component of our overall enforcement program and we would suffer greatly if we did not use it," said KDMRE spokesman Dick Brown. Last year, the state agency wrote almost 1,250 citations that resulted in nearly $10 million in fines. That averages to about $8,000 in penalties per citation written, though it wasn't clear how many of the 244 citations from flyovers resulted in fines. "The helicopter was never meant to pay for its use by generat- ing penalties from the violations that are written from its use," Brown said. "That line of reasoning quickly gets into the overall enforcement program paying for itself by generating penalties—a bounty system." Brown said OSM provided the money for the Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement to purchase the helicopter that his agency routinely uses. But the agency reimburses the Department of Aviation for operation expenses. SunCoke Energy Running above Full Capacity SunCoke Energy, Inc. reported that second quarter 2012 U.S. coke production is expected to be approximately 1,089,000 tons. This reflects an estimated increase of 167,000 tons versus the same period in 2011 and an estimated 21,000 tons versus first quarter 2012. The estimated year-over-year increase in U.S. coke produc- tion in the second quarter was driven by the new Middletown facility and continued strong operations at SunCoke's Haverhill and Granite City facilities. The estimated increase versus first quarter 2012 is due to higher production at the Indiana Harbor and Middletown facilities. SunCoke's coke-making capacity uti- lization was approximately 103% in second quarter 2012 versus 100% in second quarter 2011 and 101% in first quarter 2012. 100th Anniversary Special Issue August 2012