Published: October 30, 2018 |

[Click image to enlarge]

Bluestone Coal is reopening the idled Clintwood and Bishop metallurgical surface coal mines in Virginia, a move that should help boost the Central Appalachian coal producer’s overall output to about 6 million st in 2019, CEO Jay Justice said Friday.

Clintwood, a high-vol met producer, and Bishop, a mid-vol met producer, together are expected to produce about 700,000 st on an annual basis starting next year, Justice said in an interview. Clintwood has been shuttered since 2012 and Bishop has been idled for about a year and a half.

Bluestone also is expanding its Keystone surface mine in McDowell County, West Virginia, and adding to its existing operations in Pike County, Kentucky.

Starting next year, production is expected to increase by about 400,000 st/year at the company’s West Virginia operations.

“We’d like to get all of this in place by the end of this year,” Justice said.

If so, Bluestone forecasts production of about 4 million st of met coal and close to 2 million st of thermal coal in 2019.

“On the met side, we’ve got a blend of domestic and export customers, about 35 percent domestic and 65 percent export,” he said. On the thermal side, Bluestone is “participating in several RFPs with domestic utilities,” he added without elaborating.

Bluestone largely is a surface mining company, getting about 85 percent of its coal from stripping operations. It has two underground mines, Paycar No. 58 near Keystone, West Virginia, and No. 57 near Kimball, West Virginia. They produce met coal.

Overall, the market is “good for now,” Justice said. “We’re pleased to call these people back to work.”

Earlier this fall, Bluestone restarted the formerly idled Bevins Branch and Bent Mountain thermal coal surface mines in eastern Kentucky.

Source: SP Global

Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!