Coal mine bought, to reopen

[lostinblue 1,989]

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Coal_mine_bought__to_reopen_01-12-2011.html#

January 13

Coal mine bought, to reopen

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com

Times Leader Staff Writer

HAZLE TWP. – A closed-down coal mine and processing plant in the township has been purchased by the Schuylkill County-based Blaschak Coal Corp. for an undisclosed sum.

The mine was owned and operated by Hazleton-based Mammoth Anthracite LLC from 2001 until it closed operations in 2009.

Blaschak’s Chairman of the Board Greg Driscoll said his company projects a new and productive life for the mine.

“We see more than 2 million tons of clean coal reserves at this site and can operate for up to 20 years,” Driscoll said on Wednesday, shortly after the acquisition was announced.

“The site historically was a producer of anthracite coal. The quality in the Mammoth vein is terrific,” Driscoll said. “It fits our geography very, very well.”

He said it’s the first step into Luzerne County for the Mahanoy City-based company. But he wouldn’t rule out it would be the last.

Driscoll said that, for now, the company is working hard to get the breaker fully operational by the end of March.

Tony Blaschak, president of the company, said: “We are excited to have completed this transaction, which substantially increases both our reserves and production capacity. As a legacy participant in mining anthracite, we are bullish on the Pennsylvania anthracite industry, and see this as a strong step toward solidifying Blaschak’s place as a premier participant in the market.”

The purchase agreement for the 700-acre property just northeast of Hazleton includes the processing plant and the long-term rights to mine the anthracite coal beneath the land.

In addition to mining and processing anthracite, Blaschak will also supply rock from the site for road construction. An agreement that was in place when Mammoth owned the operation was extended to Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., a heavy-construction company that operates an aggregate crushing and processing operations on the property.

Blaschak expects to add up to 20 new jobs to its union work force this year, the majority of them members of the United Mine Workers and some non-union supervisors.

Driscoll said the coal will be distributed globally.

Blaschak’s majority owner, St. David’s based-Milestone Partners, is the primary investor in the acquisition of the Lattimer plant. John Nowaczyk, a principal at Milestone, said the private equity firm “is excited to support Blaschak with the capital for this project, which substantially increases both Blaschak’s reserves and production capacity. We are committed to providing Blaschak with the capital to make future investments as well.”

[JohnSmith2007 353]

I wonder if Obama will live up to his promise in regards to coal.

"So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can," Obama said in the interview. "It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

[lostinblue 1,989]

I wonder if Obama will live up to his promise in regards to coal.

"So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can," Obama said in the interview. "It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

Right now natural gas is cheaper per btu than coal in that part of the country. This is due in part to drilling for shale gas.However jobs are jobs and japan needs energy.....coal is the way to go.Out in North Dakota there is an oil boom due to the shale oil. Trucking jobs for 65,000/year.One man running electric to the rigs said he would be busy for the next 8-10 years. If they would drill for shale gas in NY state it would open up 200,000 jobs. This is in areas where half the county is on welfare. Leases for 2-3000/acre/year is possible . NY state sits on its butt to "study" the situation. A state that is dead broke. My family has mineral rights in a few states and someday perhaps they will bring in one half to a million dollars per year in lease payments alone if they start drilling. One thing to note. North Dakota is booming. Most land is not owned by the federal government. It takes about 90 days to get a permit to drill. In states where the federal government owns most of the land it takes years.

[mawilson 2,133]

It's either coal or back to riding horses in 20 years.