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news continued Signal Peak to Resume Production in November Following a hiatus of nearly two months, Signal Peak Energy was expected to resume production and shipments of high quality bituminous coal in November from its Signal Peak underground mine near Roundup in Musselshell County, Mont. The company suspended most operations in mid-September and declared force majeure after a scheduled longwall move took longer than expect- ed. Company officials have not commented publicly on what caused the unforeseen delays. At the time, Signal Peak notified all of its customers not to expect any deliveries in October and said it was questionable if shipments would resume in November. However, Signal Peak spokesman Mike Dawson said in late October that shipments would, in fact, start up again in November, CALEN DAR OF EVENT S 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 6-8, 2013 31stAnnual World Trade & Transport Conference—will be held at the Omni Royal Orleans in New Orleans. Contact: The Mississippi Valley Trade & Transport Council (Tel: 866-782-6882; Fax: 504-588-1441; Web: www.mvttc.com) February 10-13, 201339thAnnual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique— will be held at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel 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). February 25-28, 2013 National Weighing and Sampling Association Annual Technical Meeting—will be held in Charlotte, N.C. Contact David Hansel, NW&SA; (Email: David.Hansel@consetellation.com; Web: www.nwsassn.org). March 7-8, 2013 21stAnnual Coal Properties & Investment Conference—will be held at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Contact: Platts Conferences (Tel: 866-355-2930; Email: ron_berg@platts.com; Web: www.platts.com/events). 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 30-May 2, 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). May 19-22, 2013 Haulage & Loading—will be held in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Contact: Tanna Holzer (Tel: 303-283-0640; Email: tholzer@mining-media.com; Web: www.min- ing-media.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 11-15, 2013 23rdWorld Mining Congress—will be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Contact: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (Tel: 514.939.2710; Web: www.wmc-expo2013.org or www.cim.org). most likely in the early part of the month. As of the end of October, the force majeure had not been lifted. The mine formerly known as Bull Mountain was ramping up nicely earlier this year, on its way to an estimated output of 9 million tons in 2012. But the unexpectedly lengthy longwall move has put a damper on production. Through the first nine months of this year, the mine produced about 4.9 million tons, still easily on track to surpass last year's 5.1 million tons, according to figures from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Dawson declined to predict what Signal Peak's production might look like for the remaining two months of 2012. The mine produces coal from the relatively high Btu (10,300), low-sulfur Mammoth vein and is considered by its owners to be a high-productivity, low-cost operation. Signal Peak is owned jointly by Ohio utility company FirstEnergy Corp.; Boich Companies, a longstanding coal marketing company also based in Ohio; and Pinesdale LLC, a subsidiary of the Gunvor Group Ltd., one of the world's leading commodity traders. According to recent media reports, Gunvor is thinking of selling its one-third stake in Signal Peak. Attempts to reach Gunvor officials for comment have been unsuccessful. Gunvor ships some of Signal Peak's coal to Europe and Asia, as well as Latin America, although the company has not disclosed tonnage amounts. The mine has about 300 employees, making it one of the largest employers in Musselshell County. Buckingham, DoJ Cannot Agree on Corridor A privately owned Ohio coal company and the federal government are quarreling in court over whether the company has the legal right to pursue a counterclaim to the government's original lawsuit filed more than a year and a half ago. Buckingham Coal insists it has the right to assert a "compulsory counterclaim in recoupment" against the U.S. Department of Justice. DoJ says the company is misreading the law and is asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to toss out Buckingham's counterclaim. The brouhaha started in May 2011 when DoJ, on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers, sued Buckingham and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, contending the state had no legal standing to lease coal rights under Burr Oak State Park in Athens and Morgan counties to the company under a 1948 agree- ment signed before the park's lake and dam were built. Buckingham needed to tunnel under the state park to connect its existing No. 7 underground steam coal mine west of the park with an untapped reserve it controls east of the park. In 2010, ODNR leased Buckingham a 41.4-acre tract, known as the "corri- dor," containing coal reserves beneath the park. The Ohio General Assembly subsequently voted to authorize the lease. The government alleges that mining could cause subsidence damage to both the lake and dam, which the Corps built decades ago. Attorneys for Buckingham and the state say the federal govern- ment essentially waived sovereign immunity when it brought the lawsuit. "Buckingham has the right to assert its compulsory coun- terclaim in recoupment for tortious interference with contract by virtue of the filing of this action against it by the United States," the company said in an October filing. Although no specific dollar figures have been disclosed, Buckingham is seeking the court's permission to recoup damages 16 www.coalage.com November 2012