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Modern Longwall Mining With Absolute Zero as its primary objective, CONSOL Energy's Bailey Complex embarks on an ambitious continuous improvement plan BY STEVE FISCOR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF The dayshift crew on the longwall (left to right): Ron Manzo, longwall coordinator; Kenny Duncan, shearer operator; Jimmy Young, longwall maintenance coordinator; Jay Goudy, shearer operator; Domonic Capitoni, shield operator; Gary Celesto, Joy life cycle manager; and Jason Diamond, safety technician. Located in southwestern Pennsylvania, CONSOL Energy's Bailey Complex has been a world leader for many years. The complex, which consists of three mines, Bailey, Enlow Fork and BMX, and a mas- sive state-of-the-art prep plant, produces more than 20 million tons of clean coal per year. With a $662 million investment in the new Bailey Mine Expansion (BMX), they have now set their sights on 25 million tons per year. While those numbers are impres- sive, the real story behind them is the com- pany's renewed commitment to safety. Five years ago, CONSOL Energy launched its Absolute Zero campaign that established the company's core values as safety, compliance and continuous improvement. Today, the safety perfor- mance of the company's mining opera- tions stands well above national averages. During the second quarter of 2012, the Enlow Fork mine ran exception-free while producing 2.6 million tons. Several other mines and operations have also had excep- tion-free quarters. How does this cultural shift in values relate to production and unit costs? CON- SOL Energy's President Nick DeIuliis (pro- nounced Dee-oo-lee-us) explains it best. "The Bailey Complex gets a lot of attention simply because of the sheer magnitude of the operation," DeIuliis said. "It's also a great reflection of where the company stands today as far as its values and priori- ties." He carefully articulates the compa- ny's core values (safety, compliance and continuous improvement) and its priori- ties, which are production and unit costs. 22 www.coalage.com 100th Anniversary Special Issue "Values are constants that stand the test of time," DeIuliis said. "They will not change with market conditions or differ by location. Priorities change. In a soft market, costs might become more impor- tant than production, but the two will always be subsequent to our three core values." CONSOL Energy is the largest under- ground coal producer in the U.S. and has always been an industry leader, which is well-documented in the 100 Year Anniversary section appearing in this edi- tion of Coal Age. The company pioneered many programs over the years as far as safety, mine engineering, research and development (R&D;), project management, coal preparation, longwall mining, gate road development, etc. August 2012