Wolf Run Mining Company, LLC is wholly owned subsidiary of Core Natural Resources, Inc., operates the Leer South mine.
On January 14, 2025, CONSOL Energy and Arch Resources closed an all-stock merger of equals. Arch survived as a wholly owned subsidiary, and CONSOL was renamed Core Natural Resources, Inc., which began trading as “CNR” on January 15, 2025.
- subscription is required.
Summary:
The strata of the Tygart Valley River in Barbour, Harrison, Preston, and Taylor, West Virginia consists of Pennsylvanian Aged sedimentary strata of the Monongahela Group, the Conemaugh Group, and the Allegheny Formation. At present, economic sedimentary deposits are limited to coal seams of the Tygart Valley River.
The Monongahela Group strata is not present on the Leer property due to the lower elevations of the property. However, it is present at Leer South and Leer West. The strata present on the Leer Complex consists of the Conemaugh Group and the Allegheny Formation. All coal seams of the Conemaugh Group are thin and discontinuous. The Upper Freeport, Lower Freeport, Upper Kittanning, and Clarion coal seams are discontinuous and of limited extent on the Leer Complex property.
The principal minable coal seam on the Leer Complex is the Lower Kittanning Seam, which both Leer and Leer South are actively mining. The Lower Kittanning Seam occurs in a larger area, with a higher seam thickness than all other listed seams. Leer South has also mined the Clarion Seam in the past and transports the mined Lower Kittanning Seam through the Clarion Seam to the preparation plant. The Lower Kittanning Seam reserve extends from Grafton, West Virginia south toward Phillippi, West Virginia. The Leer Complex reserve area is approximately 17 miles in length and approximately 18 miles wide.
The Lower Kittanning Seam consists primarily of a single horizon of coal with a bone coal parting, except in eastern areas of Leer where thick coal is mined due to a rider coal seam merging with the main bench. Drillholes show seam thickness ranging from 0.0 to 10.5 feet within the Leer Complex.
The Lower Kittanning seam is approximately 9.5 miles in length (northwest to southeast) and approximately 5.9 miles wide, (northeast to southwest).
The Lower Kittanning seam is situated below drainage throughout the Property and is accessible by existing slopes and shafts. Within the current longwall mine plan area, overburden thicknesses range from approximately 425 feet to more than 1,300 feet.
The mineable coal seam is typically a low-ash, high thermal content, High Vol A bituminous metallurgical coal product. Parting does occur within the property and generally is between one and three feet thick. The parting does not affect the clean coal product since the coal is washed. The seam is generally continuous but is absent in areas outside the Leer Complex LOM Plans and in an area that was mined around in Leer.
The coal produced at Leer South is typically High Volatile (>31% volatile matter) bituminous coal. Due to the historical value of the Lower Kittanning seams as high-volatile bituminous coal, it has been extensively mined in the region. Owing to relatively high sulfur and ash middling material, Leer South and its neighboring producers (including Leer property) produce two products: (1) a low-ash coking coal and (2) a high-ash, high-sulfur thermal blend product.