Press
- Parent Category: News
By Trish Turner
Santa Claus came to town early this year -- in "secret" fashion -- spreading good tidings of great joy in one unlikely place -- the U.S. Senate.
Most gift-givers would probably give lawmakers lumps of coal at this point -- and the black gem actually did surface in Monday night's mystery gift exchange so common to many workplaces.
But senators participating in the "Secret Santa" exchange kept it mostly safe this season, sticking to their inner circle in a bipartisan manner that seemed to vanquish the partisan Scrooginess -- however fleetingly -- that has haunted the corridors of the Capitol all year.
- Parent Category: News
By C.V. Moore
BECKLEY — Southern West Virginia lacks a reliable, educated workforce, say business and industry leaders gathered Wednesday in Beckley.
“Everybody needs good employees right now. I don’t know of a business who doesn’t,” said local businessman Warren Hylton.
Hylton was among two dozen business people who gathered in Beckley for a regional meeting of the West Virginia Business and Industry Council (WVBIC), a lobbying organization for the business community.
Read more: Business community turns out for regional meeting
- Parent Category: News
Staff
Charleston Civic Center
Since 1988, Craig Calhoun has attended annual West Virginia University basketball games at the Charleston Civic Center.
Calhoun, a season ticket holder, was again at the Civic Center Tuesday night when WVU faced Morehead State.
It was the first game on the new floor at the Civic Center sponsored by the Friends of Coal.
Calhoun says the floor, which features three silhouettes of West Virginia coal miners, is a good representation of the state.
- Parent Category: News
A new batch of emails purportedly stolen from the servers at the University of East Anglia were posted online Tuesday, echoing the 2009 data breach dubbed "Climategate" that turned the world's attention to the internal debates among scientists hoping to determine whether man's actions are warming the planet.
Excerpts from the emails posted on climate skeptic websites are certainly eye-opening:
<1939> Thorne/MetO: Observations do not show rising temperatures throughout the tropical troposphere unless you accept one single study and approach and discount a wealth of others. This is just downright dangerous. We need to communicate the uncertainty and be honest.
<3066> Thorne: I also think the science is being manipulated to put a political spin on it, which for all our sakes might not be too clever in the long run.
<4755> Overpeck: The trick may be to decide on the main message and use that to guid[e] what’s included and what is left out.
Read more: Climategate 2.0? More Emails Leaked from Climate Researchers
- Parent Category: News
Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) announced the realignment of its operations management to strengthen oversight of key mine complexes in Appalachia and facilitate plans for expansion of captive production. Effective November 21, the following management team will report directly to Bennett K. Hatfield, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer:
- John R. Jones will join Patriot as Vice President, Operations – West Virginia South Region, including the Rocklick, Wells, Big Mountain and Paint Creek complexes.
- James N. Magro will serve as Senior Vice President, Operations – West Virginia North Region, including the Panther, Kanawha Eagle and Federal complexes.
- Michael D. Day will be Senior Vice President – Engineering and West Virginia Central Region Operations, with dual responsibilities for both the corporate engineering group and an operating region that includes the Logan County, Corridor G, Campbell's Creek and Blue Creek complexes.
- Lawrence J. Millburg will become Vice President, Operations – Kentucky Region, including the Bluegrass, Dodge Hill and Highland complexes.
- Terry G. Hudson will continue in his current position as Vice President – Safety.
- E. Kent Hartsog will continue in his current role as Vice President – Operations Support.
- Parent Category: News
Resources Boom Fuels Demand for Underground Labor, Spurs Skyrocketing Pay; a $1,200 Chihuahua
By John W. Miller
MANDURAH, Australia—One of the fastest-growing costs in the global mining industry are workers like James Dinnison: the 25-year-old high-school dropout from Western Australia makes $200,000 a year running drills in underground mines to extract gold and other minerals.
The heavily tattooed Mr. Dinnison, who started in the mines seven years ago earning $100,000, owns a sky-blue 2009 Chevy Ute, which cost $55,000 before a $16,000 engine enhancement, and a $44,000 custom motorcycle. The price tag on his chihuahua, Dexter, which yaps at his feet: $1,200.
James Dinnison, a 25-year-old high school dropout from Western Australia, makes $200,000 a year running drills in underground mines to extract gold and other minerals. Why is he paid so much? John Miller explains on Lunch Break.
- Parent Category: News
ST. LOUIS , Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE:PCX - News) today announced the realignment of its operations management to strengthen oversight of key mine complexes in Appalachia and facilitate plans for expansion of captive production. Effective November 21 , the following management team will report directly to Bennett K. Hatfield , Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer:
- ·John R. Jones will join Patriot as Vice President, Operations – West Virginia South Region, including the Rocklick, Wells, Big Mountain and Paint Creek complexes.
- ·James N. Magro will serve as Senior Vice President, Operations – West Virginia North Region, including the Panther, Kanawha Eagle and Federal complexes.
- ·Michael D. Day will be Senior Vice President – Engineering and West Virginia Central Region Operations, with dual responsibilities for both the corporate engineering group and an operating region that includes the Logan County, Corridor G, Campbell 's Creek and Blue Creek complexes
- ·Lawrence J. Millburg will become Vice President, Operations – Kentucky Region, including the Bluegrass, Dodge Hill and Highland complexes
- ·Terry G. Hudson will continue in his current position as Vice President – Safety.
- · E. Kent Hartsog will continue in his current role as Vice President - Operations Support
- Parent Category: News
The Associated Press story about the anticipated decline of Central Appalachian coal production paints a bleak picture for the future of coal in that region. According to the article, coal production is expected to plummet in the near future, primarily due to depletion of mineable reserves.
The writer cites a 2010 report by Mcllmoil and Hansen of Downstream Strategies, an environmental consulting firm in Morgantown, W.Va., as well as other sources. As a geologist familiar with coal resources in Eastern Kentucky, I wanted to find out more about how Mcllmoil and Hansen arrived at these conclusions.
- Parent Category: News
Total coal stockpile levels at U.S. electric power plants were 139 million tons in August 2011—the lowest total level for August since 2006. Bituminous coal stockpiles declined the most, down 27% since August 2009. Increases in the spot price of Central Appalachian coal as well as some supply disruptions in the late spring of 2011 contributed to declining stock levels.
Coal stockpile levels typically decline during summer months as power plants burn through stocks to meet seasonal peak electric demand for air conditioning load. Stockpile levels have been depressed throughout 2011 compared to 2009 and 2010 levels. According to average monthly data, the spot price of Central Appalachian coal (a key benchmark for the price of Eastern bituminous coal) was up 18% since August 2010. Flooding in April and May disrupted some coal deliveries, especially in the Southeast, and likely played a role in the declining stock levels going into the summer of 2011.
"Days of burn," another measure of the disposition of coal stocks, dipped under 60 days by mid-year 2011 for the first time since 2008. The average number of days of burn held at electric power plants is a forward-looking estimate of coal supply, given a power plant's current stockpile and past consumption patterns. Mostly for reliability reasons, plant operators maintain stockpiles within certain ranges even though supply disruptions in excess of 60 days are relatively unlikely. Days of burn held generally rose in 2009 as a result of the reduced electricity demand associated with lower economic activity.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Monthly Update