FPS staff report
February 3, 2009
The owners of a new deep mining coal operation plan to invest $30 million in the area economy.
Mike Jamison, general manager of Ohio Operations for Rosebud Mining Company of Kittanning, PA, said the company plans to develop the portal and related facilities in Carroll County and a coal processing facility in Harrison County.
The portal and related facilities are to be located on land in Union Township just south of Carrollton the company is purchasing. The proposed Conotton processing plant will be located at the intersection of SR 151 and 332 near Scio. Jamison said plans are to haul the coal from the mine entrance on Penny Rd. to SR 322 and south to the processing plant.
“Both the mine and plant sites were chosen to avoid coal truck traffic passing through the villages of Scio and Carrollton as well as to provide access to a majority of the company’s reserve from the portal,” Jamison said in a news release.
Mine construction will include the placement of a portal to access the coal seam, which is the Middle Kittanning Number 6, via an excavated box cut and slope combination. According to Jamison, the excavated box cut will include a cut into a hillside 50 feet deep into the ground. Then will then excavate on a 15 percent slope for a distance of 150 feet where they can intersect the coal seam.
At full production, the new mining complex will employ about 80 people and produce about 83,000 tons of raw coal per day. The company owns the rights to over 30,000 acres of coal that Jamison said translates into over 100,000 million clean tons of coal. He said the coal seam is 42 inches thick, which equals about 6,100 tons per ace. The company can extract about 60 percent of the coal, or 3,000 tons of clean saleable coal. At full production, he said it would mean that between 120 and 150 truck loads (at 25 tons each) would travel from the mine to the processing plant. The processing plant will wash the raw coal mined at the Carrollton site and employ a workforce of 15 people.
A number of safety precautions have been taken to protect the environment and residents. Rosebud officials met with the Ohio Department of Transportation to address safety and the company plans to utilize truck tarps to control dust. Meetings with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) and other agencies focused on air quality and control systems. The company will also use water sprays to control dust, install clay liners above and below coal refuse, invest in water runoff sedimentation systems and conduct regular groundwater monitoring. The mine will meet all compliance regulations set forth by regulators from the OEPA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
“Rosebud has been working closely with county officials to develop a mine plan that has minimal impact on the community,” Jamison noted. “Like all communities in which we operate, Rosebud has made the extra effort to ensure our company has accommodated the needs and concerns of local residents and elected officials.”
The company expects the mine and processing facility to be in operation by the end of 2011.
Rosebud Mining Company was founded in 1979 and employs over 800 individuals. Along with the coal reserves in Carroll County, the company also owns coal reserves in Belmont, Guernsey, Harrison and Tuscarawas counties. They operate the Tusky Deep Mine and Coal Preparation Plant near Dennison. In addition Rosebud operates 14 deep mines and five coal processing plants in seven Pennsylvania counties.
The company acquired much of the Carroll County coal with the purchase in 2005 of the Carroll County Coal Company and the Conservation Fund, which had 17,000 acres donated to it by Consol. |
