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18 www.coalage.com December 2014 The study concluded: "With the proper operation, maintenance, renewals and replacements, Brown Units 1 and 2 would be expected to be able to continue to operate at or above recent historical performance." Units 1 and 2 have a total generating capacity of 272 megawatts. LG&E; and KU said Brown Unit 3, rated at 446 megawatts, is not in any danger of closing. LG&E; and KU already have announced plans to close the 645- megawatt Cane Run coal plant in southwestern Louisville in 2015. Minnesota Power Puts 4 Units Back in Operation Following Rail Improvements Minnesota Power has restarted four coal-burning generating units at two power plants that were idled for weeks in September after delayed rail deliveries of low-sulfur Powder River Basin coal forced the subsidiary of Duluth-based Allete to "conserve" coal stockpiles to prepare for the usually harsh winter in northeastern Minnesota. By early December, the utility had placed two units at its Laskin plant in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, and two units at its Taconite Harbor facility in Taconite Harbor, Minnesota, back in operation following improvements in rail shipments by BNSF Railway, according to Minnesota Power spokeswoman Amy Rutledge. "We feel that our strategy to preserve our stockpiles or to help build those up has been working," she said. "We've entered winter. It's here, so part of our strategy was to get these four units back on line before winter." Rutledge made it clear the utility still was not receiving all of the coal it needed, but hoped deliveries would continue to pick up in the coming weeks and months. "We started seeing improvements in the last couple of weeks," Rutledge said. "We feel comfortable enough to restart these units, to bring them back on, but we contin- ue to work closely with BNSF as we hit the harsh winter months." Many coal-burning electric utilities in the U.S., particularly in the Midwest, have complained about inadequate rail deliveries of coal for much of 2014. The delays have been blamed in part on a record grain harvest in the upper Midwest. But Minnesota Power's idling of the four units, a decision the utility said was "unprecedent- ed," has been among the most dramatic actions taken by utilities thus far. Together, the four units can generate up to 250 megawatts. Minnesota Power's largest power plant is the 1,000-megawatt Boswell coal facility near Cohasset, Minnesota. Pennsylvania is Seeing Strong Demand for Anthracite Coal As 2014 draws to a close, Pennsylvania's anthracite coal industry is making up for lost time following a less than auspicious perfor- mance early this year. Industry officials continue to report strong export demand from customers in Europe and Asia and the home heating season in Pennsylvania and the northeastern U.S. is in full swing after an early start to winter. n e w s c o n t i n u e d Virginia Honors Mines for Safety Efforts Several coal operations in Virginia were recently recognized by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) for achieving record safety years in 2013. The awards were presented on behalf of the Virginia Mine Safety Board for coal mines and the Virginia Transportation and Construction Alliance for mineral mines. The coal properties honored included SunCoke Energy Dominion No. 7 (182,342 employee hours, Large Underground Coal Mine award); Paramont Coal Company Virginia's Deep Mine 37 (173,903 hours, Large Underground Coal Mine); AB&J; Coal Company's Mine No.6 (43,378 hours, Medium Underground Coal Mine); Black Diamond Coal Company's Mine No. 1 (24,118 hours, Small Underground Coal Mine); Extra Energy's Virginia Point No. 1 surface mine (245,396 hours, Large Surface Coal Mine); Twin Star Mining's Lower Elk Creek (35,941 hours, Medium Surface Coal Mine); and Dominion Coal Corporation's Dominion Central Shop (22,877 hours, Small Surface Coal Mine). Winning mineral facilities included Lhoist North America's Kimballton Plant No. 1 (176,700 employee hours, Quarry award) and the William G. Lilley - Lilley Pit (4,959 hours, Open Pit). The DMME said that, for the first time, all miners that were involved with its Small Mine Safety Service (SMSS) program earned awards (AB&J; and Black Diamond). The SMSS program, which has secured $270,000 from the state's general assembly to continue operations, is a voluntary on-site safety awareness, training and technical assistance program for selected mines that have contracted for services with DMME. The specialized program is provided only to mines with less than 25 workers. Mine Division Chief Randy Moore applauded the program and its accomplishments. "DMME's number one purpose is to keep these miners safe. We are so glad to be able to provide these smaller operations with the skills and knowledge they need to produce coal safely," he said. "I'm pleased the general assembly recognized the value of this service to our miners and to see it working with a record number of small coal mines receiving awards." Mineral Mining Director Phil Skorupa noted the accomplishments of the miners, calling the logged accident-free hours "quite an accomplishment." "It is important to recognize the significant achievements of Virginia's mines and their employees. It is clear that mine management and the min- ers themselves are focusing on safety at all levels," he said. Photos of all winners can be viewed at www.dmme.virginia.gov/ DM/CMSA/13CMSAPresentation.pdf. 2 0 1 4 A W A R D S % Twin Star Mining worked five consecutive years with no lost-time accidents.