Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Underground |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
- Longwall
- Continuous
- Room-and-pillar
|
Processing |
- Spiral concentrator / separator
- Dry Screening
- Crush & Screen plant
- Flotation
- Dense media separation
|
Mine Life | 30 years (as of Jan 1, 2018) |
The Mines No. 4 and No. 7 are two of the deepest underground coal mines in North America. |
Source:
p. 30, 56, 57
Company | Interest | Ownership |
Warrior Met Coal Inc.
|
100 %
|
Indirect
|
Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
(operator)
|
100 %
|
Direct
|
All of mining operations are conducted on properties 100% owned or leased by Warrior Met Coal, Inc.
Summary:
The coal reserves reported herein are typically low-volatile bituminous coals which exhibit metallurgical coal characteristics. The primary coal-bearing formations on these Properties are of the Pennsylvanian System of the Carboniferous Period, and are part of the Pottsville Formation. The average seam thickness for coal horizons in these formations ranges from less than 1 foot to more than 5 feet. Within the subject Properties, coal zones can locally exceed 10 feet where individual coal beds merge to form a single mineable unit. Coal reserve deposits on the Properties average approximately 1,700 in depth below the surface of the Properties. Structurally, the strata form a homocline that exhibits a regional northwest-southeast strike and a regional southwestward dip of less than one percent. The seams are continuous across much of the Properties with complex zones of offset due to faulting. Seams generally retain normal stratigraphic sequences and are rarely modified from predeformational thickness.
Mineable coal beds within the subject Properties are typically low-ash, low-sulfur, highthermal content, and low-volatile bituminous coals. Although maximum seam thickness may reach over 10 feet, the seam thickness of the mineable zones in this evaluation generally averages 4.5 to 5.0 feet. These mineable zones include the Mary Lee and Blue Creek seams which define the coal reserves that are presented herein. These seams are present and continuous across the entirety of the Properties, with the exception of localized zones disrupted by faulting. These seams have been extensively deep mined on adjacent properties and appear, from coal bed methane (CBM) gas development wells, to demonstrate additional resource potential beyond the boundary of the Properties. The seams average approximately 1,700 in depth below the property surface and 1,200 below MSL.
The Mary Lee and Blue Creek coal seams are part of the Mary Lee depositional coal zone. The Mary Lee seam averages 18 inches in thickness across the subject Properties and is characterized by a single bench of bright-banded coal with no significant rock partings. The Mary Lee seam is stratigraphically 2.5 to 3.0 feet above the Blue Creek seam. The Blue Creek seam averages 4.5 feet in thickness and is characterized by bright banded coal with a boney zone near the middle of the seam. The seam contains no major rock partings. The total combined thickness of the Mary Lee to Blue Creek zone averages approximately 8.5 feet. The two seams are separated by a shale interval that averages 2.5 to 3.0 feet in thickness.
Mining Methods
- Longwall
- Continuous
- Room-and-pillar
Summary:
The met coal is mined using longwall extraction technology with development support from continuous miners.
MINE No. 4 - underground operation with single longwall system.
The mining plan at the No. 4 Mine is based upon underground longwall mining methods, which incorporates the use of the room-and-pillar method which facilitates and supports the production from the longwall equipment. Two coal seams within close proximity of each other, the Blue Creek and Mary Lee seams are being mined simultaneously (locally referred to as “twin seam mining”), at a depth of approximately 2,000 feet. Both seams are suitable for metallurgical purposes and/or as a compliance steam coal.
Description:
Seam - Blue Creek/Mary Lee
Seam height - 45 inches
Cutting height - 85 inches
Panel width - 1,115 ft
Panel length - 4,000-13,000 ft
Over-burden - 1,600 ft
No. of gate entries - 4
Depth of cut - 36 inches
Shearer - Joy 7LS-1D
Haulage system - Ultratrac 2000
Roof support yield (tons) - Joy 1,300
Face conveyor type (strand, motors) - JWR with CSTs, 42-mm chain, twin strand inboard, three 1,200-hp motors
Face conveyor width/speed - 1,000 mm/305 fpm
Stageloader type, width, speed - JWR, 1,300 mm, 420 fpm
Crusher - JWR
MINE No. 7 - underground operation with two longwall systems.
The mining plan at the No. 7 Mine incorporates continuous and longwall underground mining methods similar to the No. 4 Mine, however there is a change in the mineable seam horizon. The Blue Creek seam and the Mary Lee seam are further apart as the middleman thickness increases to several feet in the No. 7 Mine area. The Blue Creek seam is the primary focus of the longwall mining operation. The Mary Lee seam which lies several feet above the Blue Creek is not mined unless it facilitates roof support for long term stability as in the Main developments which must remain stable for the life of all the longwall panels in a reserve area. The Blue Creek seam is being mined at a depth ranging from approximately 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The Blue Creek seam is suitable for metallurgical purposes and as a compliance steam coal.
Description:
Seam - Blue Creek/Mary Lee
Seam height - 53 inches
Cutting height - 69 inches and 80 inches
Panels width - 1,060 ft and 1,040 ft
Panels length - 7,000-8,000 ft and 4,000-13,000 ft
Over-burden - 1,600 ft
No. of gate entries - 4 and 4
Depth of cut - 36 inches
Shearers - Joy 7LS-1D
Haulage systems - Ultratrac 2000
Roof support yield (tons) - Cat 1,243 and Joy 1,300
Face conveyors width/speed - 1,000 mm/305 fpm
Stageloaders type, width, speed - JWR, 1,300 mm, 420 fpm
Crushers - JWR
The latest expansion came with the 2018 completion of a new portal facility on the company’s No. 7 mine. North portal facility at Mine No. 7 provides a new gateway for 200 Warrior Met Coal miners to enter the northern sections of the mine. Designed for growth, it will accommodate up to 500 underground employees.
The hoist system is double the capacity of the hoist currently in use at No. 7 West Mine. The new 7 North hoist features a 40-ton capacity, utilizing the latest technology and operates at a speed of 900 feet per minute to traverse the 1,451-foot-deep shaft. The hoist will accommodate 70 people.
No. 4 Mine Preparation Plant
Underground mine production is hoisted to the surface and immediately sized to a minus
2-inch product through a run-of-mine crushing and screening section consisting of a 60-inch
reciprocating feeder, an 8-foot x 22-foot double deck incline screen, and a 12-foot x 24-foot
rotary breaker. Oversize material from the screen is fed to the rotary breaker where large rock is
removed and sent to the refuse dump. All material smaller than 2 inches is carried by conveyor
belt to the raw coal stacking tube and raw coal storage pile.
Processing
- Spiral concentrator / separator
- Dry Screening
- Crush & Screen plant
- Flotation
- Dense media separation
Source:
Summary:
NO.4 MINE
No. 4 Mine Preparation Plants
Underground mine production is hoisted to the surface and immediately sized to a minus 2-inch product through a run-of-mine crushing and screening section consisting of a 60-inch reciprocating feeder, an 8-foot x 22-foot double deck incline screen, and a 12-foot x 24-foot rotary breaker. Oversize material from the screen is fed to the rotary breaker where large rock is removed and sent to the refuse dump. All material smaller than 2 inches is carried by conveyor belt to the raw coal stacking tube and raw coal storage pile.
Raw coal is drawn from the raw coal storage pile using four (4) 48-inch reciprocating feeders. The raw coal is carried by conveyor at 1,300 raw tons per hour to the preparation plant. Raw coal is distributed to two (2) 6-foot x 16-foot and three (3) 8-foot x 16-foot incline screens where the material is sized at 3/8 inch. All material larger than 3/8 inch is sent to four (4) 9-foot low flow heavy media ves ........

Reserves at December 31, 2019:
Category | Tonnage | Commodity |
Proven
|
87,989 kt
|
Coal (metallurgical)
|
Probable
|
17,265 kt
|
Coal (metallurgical)
|
Proven & Probable
|
105,254 kt
|
Coal (metallurgical)
|
HME Type | Model | Size | Quantity | Ref. Date |
Continuous miner
|
|
|
9
|
Oct 27, 2020
|
Shearer
|
.......................
|
1813 HP
|
3
|
Feb 1, 2020
|
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