Coal Age

DEC 2014

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Highwall mining: by many it's still consid- ered on the fringes of being a viable, high production coal miner. But for those who know and use it, like contract miner Commonwealth Mining, it provides the safety standards and financial results that are helping grow their business and build their reputation. It wasn't long ago that many surface min- ers would abandon a site, effectively leaving money on the table, because the remaining resource was just too complex and too cost- ly to recover. The mine reached the eco- nomic limits dictated by the effective shipping ratio — the visible coal was left in the highwall face. It has taken some time — highwall tech- nology has a global history stemming back to the late 1970s, but only began catching on in popularity in the U.S. in the 1990s — but the highwall miner now has a healthy share of space in the mining market for many rea- sons. This includes its versatility, its ability to extract the still-valuable tonnage many had long written off, and its development as a viable and low-cost mining option that keeps workers safe by keeping them away from the bench and behind the miner's controls. One of the producers benefiting from highwall mining is Oxford Resource Partners, Ohio's largest mining company with 6 million tons of production annually and a portfolio with more than 81 million tons of proven and probable reserves not yet tapped. Among those operations in their prime is the East Canton highwall complex in Stark County, a former Oxford surface mine that now uses a Caterpillar HW300 (No. 36 in Cat's currently active fleet of 83) to extract 4,500 tons per week (tpw) from the No. 6 seam that measures an average height of 28 in. (due to current market conditions, Oxford mandates only one entry can be mined per day). Still, not bad for a self-contained mining machine that measures 66.5 ft in length, 28.7 ft in height and 38.5 ft in width. An Ideal Location The East Canton site is an exemplary loca- tion for a highwall operation: former surface property with a reserve not large and cost- efficient enough for extraction using under- ground methods, with no more than 200 ft of overburden, com- petent coal and geology, and relatively flat seams with no faults. East Canton started mining in April with the Cat HW300, and now has an average team of four crossing Appalachia from their homes to log two-week shifts aboard the miner, maintaining the unit and its associ- ated fleet, managing coal transport or con- trolling the miner from a cab high above the power-head moving the cutter head up to 1,000 ft into the mountain and the conveyor system bringing coal out as fast as it can be mined. When the seam is mined out some- time in mid-2015, it will have taken approxi- mately 240,000 tons of coal at an average rate of 4,000 tpw. Serving as a contract miner at East Canton is West Virginia-based Common- wealth Mining; the firm has a long-stand- ing partnership with Oxford and currently serves as operator for two highwall mines across the state (its h i g h wa l l m i n i n g B Y D O N N A S C H M I D T , F I E L D E D I T O R 26 www.coalage.com December 2014 Highwall Paragon: Commonwealth Mining Safety, versatility, productivity at the heart of eastern Ohio highwall The 'No. 36' at work in Stark County, Ohio.

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