Pennsylvania Mining Complex (PAMC) is situated in the Allegheny Plateau of the NAPP coal fields region. Near-surface geology of this area primarily consists of Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian coal-bearing strata. Coal seams mined in this region are generally classified as high- to low-volatile bituminous, characterized by low-to-high sulfur content and high heating value. The Pittsburgh Seam is the only coal seam of economic interest on the property. The Pittsburgh Seam is relatively flat-lying, typically dipping less than one degree, and is located at depths ranging from approximately 300 ft to 1,400 ft below ground surface within the PAMC area. The Pittsburgh Seam coal bed is composed of three distinct and relatively consistent intervals, in order of deposition being the thick “main bench” coal, an overlying “draw slate”, and one or more “roof coal” zones. Mining methods employed at the PAMC generally necessitate extraction of the first (lowermost) roof coal zone, along with the draw slate and main bench coal. The main bench coal thickness across the PAMC area is generally between the 5.0 ft to 6.0 ft range, averaging 5.5 ft over most of the mine plan area. Isolated pockets of both thinner and thicker coal do exist, and extreme but generally isolated occurrences may range from below 1 ft to above 11 ft thick. The draw slate is a prominent, laterally persistent shale parting that immediately overlies the main bench coal. Thickness generally ranges from 0 to 2.0 ft, averaging less than 1.0 ft across much of the PAMC area. Isolated drilling within the study area have recorded instances of the draw slate being over 4-ft thick. The roof coals tend to be of lesser quality when compared to the main bench coal, as well as being highly inconsistent in depositional nature. In some areas the roof coal may be completely absent; present as a solid interval of relatively thick coal; or split into several plies separated by shale, clay, and/or impure coal partings. Average roof coal zone thickness across the PAMC area is just under 2-ft thick. The immediate roof overlying the Pittsburgh Seam coal bed consists of two different assemblages of strata: 1. A “normal roof”, composed of interbedded shales and sandy shales, with one to several rider or roof coals. 2. A “sandstone roof”, composed of paleochannel sandstone fill, known as the Pittsburgh Sandstone, which scoured and replaced part or all of the normal roof strata. The Pittsburgh Sandstone represents a major fluvial system that flowed north-northwest from West Virginia, through Greene and Washington counties, depositing sandstone in an elongated body up to 80-ft thick and several miles wide. The Pittsburgh Sandstone is a result of several instances of paleochannelization eroding the typical roof strata, and in some localized areas eroding some of the main bench of the Pittsburgh Seam. Areas of the deposit with sandstone channels in close proximity to the Pittsburgh Seam commonly exhibit discontinuities and rolls in the coal bed. Poor roof conditions are also common along margins of the channels, where the roof type transitions between the sandstone roof and normal shale roof. The immediate floor beneath the Pittsburgh Seam coal bed consists of an interval of typically 1 ft or less of underclay. The underclay provides a generally competent floor, however poor floor conditions can develop when the underclay is exposed to water. The Pittsburgh Seam coal bed is located at depths ranging from approximately 300 ft to over 1,400 ft below ground surface within the PAMC area. Seam structure shows a general seam dip of less than 1 degree to the south-southwest, with slightly steeper areas dipping up to 4 degrees in a southeast-northwest trend. There are not any major structural faulting or tectonic features known to occur in the deposit. Small-displacement faults and compaction-related faults may be present, but are not expected to materially affect mine plans. The structural setting for the deposit is generally considered to be simple in terms of geological complexity. Some areas exhibit evidence of localized channelization; as such, isolated areas of the deposit may be considered moderate in geological complexity. Having been widely studied and extensively mined, the Pittsburgh Seam is well-known and widely-accepted to be a very uniform deposit. Overall, the Pittsburgh Seam coal bed is a high-rank, high-volatile bituminous, medium-ash, and medium-to high-sulfur coal that is used for both thermal and metallurgical purposes. The roof coal zones exhibit overall higher sulfur and ash contents, combined with lower calorific value; however, this is offset by the consistently superior quality of the main bench coal.

PAMC is comprised of the Bailey, Enlow Fork, and Harvey underground mines. Each mine utilizes LW mining for primary production with supporting mine development performed by CM. LW mining supported by CM development has been the primary approach to mining the Pittsburgh Seam (within which PAMC operates) for decades. Mining methods utilized by the Bailey Mine, which first began LW production in 1984 and is the oldest of the PAMC’s three operations, are largely identical to those utilized at the Enlow Fork Mine and the Harvey Mine.

The LW mining method is centered around a dual-drummed coal cutting machine (shearer) that traverses the coal face of the developed LW panels.

The shearer advances through the developed LW panels by cutting a uniform slice of coal (approximately 42 in. in depth) as it travels back and forth across the length of the LW panel width (approximately 1,500 ft). Each pass or cut by the shearer completely removes the coal directly in front of the cutting drum. Hydraulically powered LW shields are used to support the immediate mine roof at the face, above the shearer. As the shearer cuts across the faceline
(advancing 42 in. at a time), the LW shields similarly advance forward. In normal supporting conditions, the canopy of the LW shield is set tightly against the roof strata using the supporting resistances of the shield’s hydraulic legs. When the shearer cuts and passes several shield units, the shield support legs for each shield unit are sequentially lowered and pulled forward the distance equal to the depth of cut (i.e., 42 in.). Upon advancing, the unsupported mine roof immediately behind the LW shields will collapse. In addition to providing roof support, the LW shields also allow production and maintenance employees to safely access/travel across the entire length of the LW face during the mining process.

Coal cut by the LW shearer is removed via an armored face conveyor (AFC) which runs along and parallel to the LW face, beneath the LW shields. The AFC serves as the track for the shearer to move on and as a guide to hold the machine in place. Coal cut by the shearer is continuously loaded onto the AFC and is transported to the “headgate” area where the LW face intersects perpendicularly with the adjacent, developed mine entry (i.e., the “headgate-entry”). Here the coal is passed through a crusher unit and is dumped onto a stageloader system, which in turn empties onto a belt conveyor located in the adjacent entry (some distance outby the headgate area). After the coal has been loaded onto the conveyor belt, it begins a multiple mile egress through existing underground mine workings to be discharged into ROM storage facilities on the surface.

Each of the PAMC underground mines have multiple CM development sections which develop the underground network of main entries, gate entries, setup entries, etc., necessary to support the LW production unit(s). Mine entry development is performed on each section by a piece of equipment known as a Miner Bolter (MB). The MB is a machine capable of cutting coal with a rotating drumhead while simultaneously supporting the newly exposed mine roof via the installation of roof bolts. The MB is outfitted with drill booms which drill holes into the newly exposed mine roof. The MB then inserts a high strength metal roof bolt (or roof bolt and adhesive glue combination) into the freshly drilled holes, thus securing (or “bolting”) the immediate exposed mine roof to more component rock strata directly above the entry.

Coal cut by the MB is stockpiled behind the unit where a loading machine with oscillating gathering arms is positioned. The loading machine loads the stockpiled coal onto an electric-powered transport vehicle (known as a “shuttle-car”) which then transports the mined coal to the development section’s feeder. Here the coal is crushed and then loaded onto a rubber conveyor belt for removal. Like the coal mined from the LW operation, development section ROM coal is transported through the mine workings on a series of conveyor belts until it reaches the surface.

The MB will continue mining in a single entry for a specified length according to ventilation requirements and/or mine operator preferences for completing the desired network of mine entries. Once the MB has developed the specified area, the MB will be moved to an adjacent entry to begin development. The freshly developed entry will then have additional roof bolts installed throughout its entirety by a roof bolting machine. These additional roof bolts will be
installed as necessitated by the mine’s roof control plan or to the preferences of the mine operator. The process of developing the specified length of entries will be continued until the required entries have been developed and connected. The developmental belt will then be advanced (along with the section power supply) to shorten the required shuttle or ram car haul distance from the production faces. Once completed, the CM section mining cycle will resume, and be continuously repeated until necessary supporting entry infrastructure has been fully developed.

The equipment utilized at the three PAMC underground LW mines is nearly identical to one another. This allows for synergies between the operations, including equipment, critical spare parts sharing, as well as buying power with equipment providers. Additionally, mining equipment utilized by PAMC is not unique to the Pittsburgh Seam LW region and is similar to the equipment commonly used by competitor LW mines in the region.

Mine Design
The Pittsburgh Seam is widely recognized as being ideally suited for LW mining. The region’s massive extent of reserves, good overall mining conditions, seam consistency, and relatively low population density on the overlying surface (vital to minimizing the impact of mine subsidence and the cost associated) are conducive to efficient, low-cost production operations.

Mining plans for large LW mines are simple but relatively inflexible, as major modifications to these mine plans require significant foresight and planning well in advance of mining. The entire foundation of the mining plan is based upon economies of scale resulting from a defined mining plan with high levels of annual output through all projected areas. The PAMC LW panels are large, typically measuring between 1,400 ft to 1,600 ft in width and up to 15,000 ft in length. This approach minimizes the percentage of high-cost CM output relative to low cost LW coal. Furthermore, the use of enormous panels maximizes the LW’s operating time (i.e., less LW panel transfers throughout reserve exhaustion). Lead times for the development of LW panels are extensive, as CM development mining must be performed months or years in advance of the commencement of LW production. The application of the LW mining system is rigid. Therefore, there is minimal opportunity to alter the mining plan so as to avoid specific (localized) areas with adverse mining conditions (such as thin coal, poor roof, etc.) or poor coal quality (such as high sulfur, etc.). The only practical option is to mine through these adverse areas as CONSOL has successfully done in the past. On an annualized basis, this philosophy results in maximized recovery of reserves and minimized unit operating costs.

The centrally located Central CPP is designed to process the combined ROM output produced by PAMC’s three underground LW mines. Comprised of ROM coal storage silos, a coal processing plant, clean coal storage silos, and a rail loadout facility, the 300-acre processing complex is located within proximity of the active operations.

The Central (or “Bailey Central”) CPP first began operation as the coal washing facility for the Bailey Mine in 1984. Since then, the Central CPP has undergone many expansions. In 2011, major renovations were made to the Central CPP to accommodate additional tonnage supplied from the newly commissioned Harvey Mine. Major process upgrades focused on improving processing circuit efficiencies and throughput as well as improved rail car loading capacity.

The Central CPP consists of two state-of-the-art PLC controlled heavy media plants with a combined rated raw coal capacity of 8,200 TPH. The plant employs five separate modules.

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