Westmoreland Coal Company

This essay examines American coal mining with a focus on Westmoreland Coal Company and its mine at Kemmerer mine. Due to the profitability of coal as a source of energy and power for various sectors, coal mining has been practiced for a considerable amount of time. However, coal mining has advanced to be considerate of the environment in respect to pollution and land reclamation due to the after effects caused by extraction methods and use. As a result, coal mining has a number of drawbacks that have prompted global considerations on how to seek out alternative energy sources. This affects the world in different aspects from human beings to the environment at large.

The method section will provide information on how coal is mined at the Kemmerer min and why it was opted for over other types of mining. In addition, the after-effects of this method of mining will be reviewed in consideration of the environment and other existing phenomena. The Result and discussion section will provide an analysis of all these findings from the interview and additional literature sources. This will be used to give a review of the advantages and disadvantages of coal mining in America. In addition, the cost benefits will be covered so as to explain the viability and feasibility of coal mining at the Kemmerer mine. In conclusion, a review of how the Kemmerer mine responds to different issues on safety and land reclamation will also be covered.

Introduction

Coal

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel found in the earth surface. Coal is formed as a result of the continuous decomposition of plant and animal matter traced back to a million years ago, this was facilitated through pressure and heat during decomposition that made it possible for energy to be stored in the new material (Karacan, Ruiz, Cote, & Phipps, 2011). Coal is found within rock strata in layers and veins also known as coal beds. The coal beds are found at different levels of the earth surface and at different orientations or projections. The nature of the coal bed as described above is what determines the method to be used for extraction.

Coal is widely used for power generation, currently, coal supplies a third of all energy used in the whole world and also makes up 40% of electricity generation (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2017). It is preferred in power generation because of the cost benefit associated with extraction and energy conversion making it realize great power generation at a low cost. In addition, coal is a major raw material in the manufacture of several products such as cement and Steel. Therefore, coal is an important item in several industries based on its various uses, this is what has made it possible to be in use over several years despite developments in electricity generation.

Kemmerer Mine

The Kemmerer mine is located at the southwest corner of Wyoming. The mine boasts of about 13,400 acres of surface mines. The mine came into the acquisition of Westmoreland Coal Company in 2012 following a purchase from Chevron Mining who were the previous owners. Coal found in the mines is specified as Special Bituminous Coal, this type of coal forms as a result of the conversion that occurs as a result of several biological and geological processes over millions of years, it begins with the formation of peat that is converted to Lignite then Sub-bituminous coal and afterwards bituminous coal that can later on convert to anthracite at the last stages (Westmoreland Coal Company, 2017).

The coal deposits are found in 12 primary seams that dip at about 17 to 20 degrees. This led to the adoption of an open pit mode of extraction whereby the coal is extracted from the seams which are also known as ped swaps that are formed from excessive pressure of the overlying rock and dirt. The open pit method at Kemmerer mine is characterized as a truck and shovel operation that is described in the next section (Westmoreland Coal Company, 2017).

The Mine is strategically located next to a rail line that facilitates the transportation of coal to its main clients. The major consumer of the coal at the Kemmerer Mine is a power station called Naughton Power Station, coal is transported there by an overland conveyor. In addition, other industrial customers such as FMC, Tata Chemicals, Solvay Chemicals and Amalgamated Sugar (Westmoreland Coal Company, 2017) that are within the surrounding region of Wyoming also benefit from this coal and supplied using the same rail or road.

Methods

The open-pit mining method used at the Kemmerer mine is advantageous in that it is less expensive compared to underground mining, however, open pit mining is only viable wear the coal beds are located at a maximum of 200 feet below the earth surface. Farther than that will lead to a nullification of the process based on the ration of material removed from the ground in comparison to the coal collected (Espinoza, Goycoolea, Moreno, & Newman, 2013).

In this method of mining, machines are used to remove the overlying material in the earth surface to the coal bed. This takes place in several stages and using different processes as the nature of the earth surface changes as you progress in depth, these changes are mainly in accordance to the hardness or softness of rocks found within a layer. The first step of this type of mining begins with clearing vegetation in the area to access the bare ground, then excavators are used to easily scoop and pile the topsoil making it easier for the loaders to load the trucks that transport the debris to a specified area of the mine. As the harder layers begin to reveal, the layer is drilled and explosives set at different locations to break the layers through explosions the strata and make it loose for the excavators to scoop the material. This takes place repeatedly until the coal bed is exposed. The top layer of the coal bed is cleaned and drilling and blasting of the coal bed is done using explosives, for easier access and transportation of coal to the location of processing. In the Kemmerer mine, the coal is then transported using conveyor belts to the mine plant. After the coal bed is exhausted of its deposit, the removed material is returned back to the huge open pit now visible in the ground. The material is compressed in sequence as it is deposited until a certain layer whereby the top layer is added and vegetation planted. These are steps taken to reclaim the land to its initial appearance. The land is then used for different purposes in accordance to the organizations land reclamation initiatives

To achieve this process the Kemmerer mine is composed of the following machinery 2 P&H 4100A Shovels, 1 Hitachi 3600 Excavator, 1 Hitachi 2500 Excavator, 17 240-ton haul trucks, 3 Letourneau L1400 Loaders, and 5 240 ton haul trucks. The mine also has about 300 employees that work in 3 shifts per day and five days a week. Production is also estimated to be about 5.2 million tons of coal a year (Westmoreland Coal Company, 2017).

Results

From the interviews, the candidate addressed that coal is a low-cost reliable source of heat and power that is widely used in industries and power plants because of its steady cost. The steady cost of coal has negligibly changed over the years based upon the low cost of mining associated with it and the extensive availability of coal deposits within the earth surface. He also said that coal extraction has provided several high paying jobs to individuals who do not have a formal education as the type of knowledge required can be acquired within the mining environment through provisions of training on the job.

In aspects of how it affects the environment, despite the negative effect of altering the earth’s surface through land reclamation environment regrowth is made possible and the land still maintains its value for wildlife. In addition, he added that easy coal is slowly being depleted and in the next years it will be harder to mine coal. Despite this coal provide the most reliable power making it a viable venture in the continuing years, this viability is based on the cost-benefit of mining coal, high load capacity of more than 80%, low capital investment to establish coal power plants, coal also has a higher potential compared to oil (Dai & Finkelman, 2017).

Despite these advantages, coal has several disadvantages beginning with the emission of greenhouse gases as the use of coal emits a great amount of Carbon Dioxide to the environment. Coal mining also presents several risks of death and lung diseases based on the type of mining. In addition, Coal mining leads to the displacement of individuals who had previously habited the land utilized for coal mining, this affects their lifestyle as they are forced to move, at the same time even though the land is reclaimed it cannot be of the same quality as before. Coal plants also emit harmful substances such as sulphur dioxide, mercury, selenium and arsenic that are contributors of acid rain when released to the atmosphere (Karacan, Ruiz, Cote, & Phipps, 2011).

Discussions

The Kemmerer mine has been quite profitable based on the financial reports and performance of Westmoreland Company in the stock market. This has been achieved through complete security of finances in that they do not mine for the sake of exploration, but direct their activities to the realization of profits. Sales contracts are utilized to ensure their consumers maintain the supply agreement for periods of one year that can be later on renewed or extended. At the same time, they also cater for companies outside their contract terms enabling them to increase their revenue collection. Sales aside they strive to ensure complete safety of their workers through training in safety within the mine and periodical assessments and evaluation on the safety standard of the mine and machinery. The company has also maintained its initiatives of land reclamation thereby enabling them to be not only viable as a business but also relevant to the conservation of the environment.

References

Dai, S., & Finkelman, R. B. (2017). Coal as a promising source of critical elements: Progress and future prospects. International Journal of Coal Geology.

Espinoza, D., Goycoolea, M., Moreno, E., & Newman, A. (2013). MineLib: a library of open pit mining problems. Annals of Operations Research, 93-114.

Karacan, C. Ö., Ruiz, F. A., Cote, M., & Phipps, S. (2011). Coal mine methane: A review of capture and utilization practices with benefits to mining safety and to greenhouse gas reduction. International Journal of Coal Geology, 121-156.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2017, April). Coal. Retrieved from U.S. Energy Information Administration: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=coal_home

Westmoreland Coal Company. (2017). Kemmerer Mine – Wyoming. Retrieved from Westmoreland Coal Company: http://westmoreland.com/location/kemmerer-mine-wyoming/