American Resources Corp., a supplier of raw materials with a focus on the extraction, processing, transportation and selling of metallurgical coal to the steel industry, said the second continuous miner was being picked up with a goal of installing proximity-detection safety technology over the next two weeks and commencing production in early April at the Carnegie 1 mine located in Pike County, Kentucky. The Carnegie 1 mine is the first in a series of underground metallurgical coal mines American Resources is bringing into production within a large contiguous boundary of High Vol A/B metallurgical coal in the Lower Alma coal seam.
The company said it expects to restart production with two Joy 14CM10aa continuous miners. American Resources recently acquired the second Joy 14CM10aa continuous miner, which will be brought to the Carnegie 1 mine site to finalize preparation for coal production. Previously, American Resources operated one continuous miner at Carnegie 1, but due to high demand for the metallurgical coal produced by this mine, the company recently instituted and announced an expansion plan to increase the coal production at this mine. The acquisition of the second continuous miner is the last piece of equipment needed to achieve this expanded production.
The two continuous miners will initially be operated as a “walking” super section during two production shifts. The initial production range of this first phase of expanded production is expected to be 14,000 to 20,000 tons per month (tpm), an increase from less than 7,000 tpm historically from this mine utilizing just one continuous miner during one production shift. The company expects to complete this first phase of development by the second week of April. Upon completion, American Resources has previously detailed plans to further expand the coal production at Carnegie 1 to eventually bring total output to approximately 32,000 to 42,000 tpm. The coal produced from this mine is sold on current metallurgical contracts that range from $97 to $102 per ton “freight on board” railcar.
“This is an interim yet important milestone in our expansion plan at Carnegie 1,” COO Tarlis Thompson said. “Having the proper equipment and mine plan is integral to the long-term success of our mines. We have spent the past several months developing Carnegie 1 to deliver such success and we applaud our team for all of their hard work.”
All production at the Carnegie mine will be trucked to the company’s McCoy Elkhorn Coal facility to be processed and loaded onto rail. The company said the enhanced production will give them the ability to blend the coal from its Carnegie mine with other metallurgical production at McCoy Elkhorn.
