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Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/174138
news continued ond quarter. As of July, an estimated 12,342 people were employed in Kentucky mines, the lowest number in more than 85 years. Layoffs included 864 coal miners — 487 underground and 377 surface employees. Coal preparation plants and on-site office staff increased by 14 jobs. Eastern Kentucky mines cut total employment by 916 people, or 14.4%, in the second quarter. Coal mines in western Kentucky increased total employment by 65 jobs, or 1.5%. Western Kentucky's Union County, the home of Alliance Resource Partners' large River View underground mine, now is the leading coalproducing county in the state, having recently supplanted eastern Kentucky's Pike County. Other leading coal counties include Hopkins, Ohio, Webster, Muhlenberg, Perry, Harlan and Martin. As Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Bissett observed, Central Appalachia, which includes eastern Kentucky, "has been the hardest hit in the recent downturn we've seen of anywhere in the country." CALENDAR OF EVENTS October 20-22, 2013, 33rd Coaltrans World Coal Conference Berlin will be held the Estrel Hotel & Convention Center in Berlin, Germany. Contact: Coaltrans Conferences; Tel: 44 20 7779 7222; Email: coaltrans@euromoneyplc.com; Web: www.coaltrans.com. October 24-25, 2013, SME & PCMIA Meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden InnSouthpointe, Canonsburg, Pa. This expanded two-day event includes five featured technical sessions entitled Regulatory/Environmental Concerns, Engineering Projects I, Mine Rescue, Engineering Projects II and New Technologies. Contact: Mary DelRosso; Tel: 412-835-7387, Email: mary412d@comcast.net; Web: http://bit.ly/14NBOj2. February 3-6, 2014, 20th Annual Investing in African Mining Indaba, Cape Town, South Africa. Contact: Customer Service Mining Indaba LLC, Events Customer Service; Tel: 1-800-831-8333 (for Canada and the U.S.) +1.859-746-5700 (International); Email: info@miningindaba.com; Web: www.miningindaba.com. February 9-12, 2014, 40th Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Techniques will be held in Denver, Colo. Contact: International Society of Explosives Engineers; Tel: 440-349-4400; Web: www.isee.org. February 23-26, 2014, 2014 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit, Salt Lake City, Utah. Contact: SME Meetings Department; Tel: 303-948-4200; Email: meetings@smenet.org; Web: www.smenet.org/meetings. Ferbruary 26-28, 2014, Mississippi Valley Trade & Transport Council annual conference will be heald at the Omni Royal Orleans in the New Orleans French Quarter, Conatct: Lisa McGoey; Tel: 504-566-1001; lmcgoey@mvttc.com; Web: www.mvttc.com March 4-8, 2014, 2014: CONEXPO-CON/AGG, Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact: CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show Management; Tel: 1-800-867-6060 (USA and Canada), 1 414-298-4167 (International); Email: info@conexpoconagg.com; Web: www.conexpoconagg.com. April 29-May 1, 2014, Coal Prep 2014 will be held in Lexington, Ky., Contact: Penton; Tel: 800-925-5007; Web. www.coalprepshow.com. May 11-14, 2014, CIM 2014 Convention, Vancouver, British Columbia. Contact: Lise Bujold, director of events; Tel: 514-939-2710 ext. 1308; Email: lbujold@cim.org; Web: www.cim.org/en.aspx. August 2-8, 2014, 10th Mine Ventilation Congress, Sun City, South Africa. Contact: IMVC 2014 Congress Secretariat; Tel: 27 (0)21 683 2934; Fax: 27 (0)21 683 0816; Email: info@imvc2014.org; Web: www.imvc2014.org. 16 www.coalage.com Bissett blamed the state's lower production and employment figures on a variety of factors. They include "an enhanced regulatory philosophy (for eastern Kentucky) that other coalfields don't have, natural gas prices that were going up and now are going back down and the on-again, off-again warm summer temperatures." Exacerbating the situation, he said, is the Obama administration's war on coal. Bissett said it is too soon to get an accurate read on Kentucky coal for 2014. "The great variable is the international markets. We've never been a large exporter, but I think we'll see more and more of that, especially if the president has his way on reducing coal." Rhino Expects to Produce Coal at Pennyrile in Mid-2014 Rhino Resource Partners is focusing on the development of its first Illinois Basin coal mine and its Utica shale oil and natural gas holdings while it waits for coal markets to improve. Increasing cash flow from its Utica shale investment is providing the Lexington, Ky.-based company with additional liquidity to construct the Pennyrile underground steam coal mine in McLean County, Ky. Pennyrile, also known as Riveredge, is on target to begin producing coal in mid-2014, David Zatezalo told analysts in early August in his final earnings call as president and CEO of Rhino. Zatezalo retired as president on August 20 and was succeeded by Christopher Walton, the company's former senior vice president and chief operating officer. Zatezalo expects to retire as CEO by October 18, but plans to continue with the company in a role that requires a reduced commitment. Rhino earned a $5.9 million profit in the second quarter, down from net income of $13 million in the year-ago period. Rhino sold 912,000 tons of coal in the April-June time frame compared with 1.1 million tons in the second quarter of 2012. "We're excited about the Pennyrile project in western Kentucky and the income and growth expected from the Utica investment," Zatezalo said. Earlier this year, Rhino signed a contract with a regional electric utility to supply 800,000 tons annually from Pennyrile through 2017. The deal includes a contract reopener for 2018-2020. Although Rhino is not satisfied with current prices for metallurgical coal, it nonetheless intends to increase production at the Rhino Eastern complex in West Virginia it co-owns with Patriot Coal Co., according to Zatezalo. "However, in this market it's questionable to me as to how far you want to take volume up given that the market is actually pretty weak," he said. Like other producers of Central Appalachian coal, Rhino is concerned about the future of the struggling coal basin. "We have some operations attractive in a lower-price market and some operations not attractive," Zatezalo said. Because 2014 is "really in flux," he declined to provide any guidance to analysts about Rhino's anticipated central Appalachian sales for next year. "I share your concerns about central App in 2014. I think every operator out there does." He added, "I don't think central App goes to zero, but Central Appalachia could be fairly negatively impacted." Rhino has extensive central App holdings but is not entirely dependent on the region. "We value our central App properties, but if the price is not there it will not put Rhino on its knees," Zatezalo said. Zatezalo said Rhino has some opportunities to dispose of its nonproductive assets but had not pulled the trigger on any transactions by September 2013