Disused for more than 30 years, a Dutch mine that once yielded polluting coal has been revived as a source of greener energy -- heating household radiators using warm water flooding its abandoned shafts.

Each year, the West Virginia Coal Association puts out its Coal Facts publication. It's like a yearbook about coal in West Virginia.

It's a great publication and brings to light exactly how important coal is to the economic health of the state - the entire state, not only the counties where coal is produced.

Developers of a proposed coal-gasification plant northeast of Taylorville today completed the purchase of 164 acres, or about half the land that will be needed for the estimated $2.1 billion project.

In a world where layoffs dominate the headlines, at least one local company is putting out the help wanted sign.

Prairie State Generating Co. is at the front end of a massive new coal mine and power plant construction project in Lively Grove, Illinois.

More than 150 suppliers, buyers, transporters and others related to the coal industry will come together in Portsmouth this week for the U.S. Coal Imports and Exports 2008 conference.

The event will take place Tuesday through Thursday at the Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center and will include a tour of local coal terminals.

Speakers and panels will address issues such as supply, demand, terminal capacity and the 2009 outlook, said Frank Kolojeski, managing director of TransGlobal Ventures Corp., which is hosting the conference in partnership with The McCloskey Group. 

Economic reality- not arguments about fostering sustainable energy with solar towers and wind turbines- is generating renewed interest in coal, the source of more than half of the nation's electricity and 77 percent of the power produced in New Mexico.

 

West Virginia University has named former WVU President David Hardesty, John Deere equipment supplier John Leslie and retired coal executive Ben Statler as 2008 inductees to its W.Va. Business Hall of Fame.

An Editorial piece about yesterday’s article regarding potential in West Virginia Democratic Party’s position on mountaintop mining, written by Chris Hamilton and followed-up by a note from Terry Headley.

A new poll released by the coal industry shows that West Virginians are touting coal as the biggest economic engine for the state.

Seventy-eight percent of respondents believe the coal industry is the top contributor to the West Virginia economy, while 59 percent said it was the biggest contributor to their local economy, according to a survey of 601 residents by Charleston-based Mark Blankenship Enterprises.

The poll was conducted for the West Virginia Coal Association.

Coal is the redheaded stepchild of the American energy business. Yes, coal is dirtier than the other fossil fuels. Yes, it pollutes the air and emits more carbon dioxide per unit of energy than oil or natural gas. And of course, coal mining is a dirty business that scars the earth.

But the U.S. has a surfeit of coal. On a percentage basis, the U.S. has more coal than Saudi Arabia has oil. The U.S. sits atop some 242 billion tons of coal, about 28.6 percent of the world’s coal. At current rates of extraction, the U.S. supply could last 234 years. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, sits astride a mere 21.3 percent of the world’s oil, and at current rates of extraction will run out in about 69 years.

FOC representative Terry Headley presented trophies to the winning high school students at the State Cross Country Championships at Cabell-Midland High School last Saturday.

MSHA and NIOSH Communications and Tracking Partnership Meeting is set for Wednesday, November 12 in Clarksburg at the Hilton Garden Inn, 606 Emily Dr., Clarksburg, WV.  MSHA is expected to announce its guidance policy on this important topic at the meeting.  The meeting begins at 9am and concludes at 4pm.

WVCA is working with the WV Mine Safety & Technology Task Force and the Mine Safety & Health Administration to set up a pilot program to use and properly test the use of proximity detection devices (PDD) on place-change continuous miners.  PDDs are designed to provide warning and shut off capabilities for machine operators and others working in close proximity to mining equipment.

The following safety requirement promulgated earlier this year by the Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety a involving mantrips and takes effect on January 1, 2009.
“By January 1, 2009, on working sections where personnel carriers are used to transport miners underground, the personnel carrier or combination of personnel carriers, shall be of sufficient capacity to accommodate the number of persons reasonably likely to be on the section and shall be available to transport persons to a safe area in the event of an emergency."

Citing his lack of jurisdiction over state agencies, Judge Josef Goodwin of West Virginia’s Southern Federal District Court dismissed the WV Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety from the legal proceedings involving the marking of gas lines on mine property.  However, Judge Goodwin retained jurisdiction over the director of the WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety & Training, as an officer of the state and set the matter up for hearing before the Court.

We were notified this morning that our great friend, former Senior Vice President for Consol and House of Delegate member Eustace Frederick died last night at his home in Bluefield, WV.  Eustace had been in failing health for the last couple of years, but he did get to watch his beloved VPI “Hokies” win the ballgame last night.  Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday at the St. Mary Orthodox Church in Bluefield, at this time no visitation was listed. In lieu of flowers donations to the Church are requested. Our prayers and sympathies to Eustace’s family.