Peabody Coal Co won approval from the Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety to use diesel equipment in March.
The equipment will be used at Pine Ridge Coal Co.'s Big Mountain No. 16 mine at Prenter and at the Rivers Edge mine in Wharton. The two vehicles are a rubber-tyred, diesel powered man carrier and a grader which will be operated outbye.
"Both engines are among the cleanest, most efficient diesel engines anywhere, with state-of-the-art control systems," West Virginia Coal Association Vice President Chris Hamilton told Associated Press. "They are designed to have nearly zero exhaust emissions."
Consol Energy is reported to have made an application to use a diesel-powered scoop at its McElroy mine at Cameron which is still pending.
