A ceremony was held last week with school officials as well as state politicians, civic leaders and representatives of the coal industry for the 20,000-square-foot project, which will offer training for new miners as well as refresher courses.
Construction on the centre should be completed by March for potential use in the fall 2009 semester. Included in the plans are classrooms and offices as well as working mining equipment such as mining machines, roof bolters and shuttle cars.
Rend Lake has also allotted about half of the centre’s space for a simulated underground mine.
The school noted that its progress had been made possible by almost $US2.7 million in federal and state assistance for its design, engineering and construction.
A letter penned by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was read at the groundbreaking.
“This ceremony today recognises both that our investment in the future of coal continues, and that the dividends from that investment have begun to flow,” said Blagojevich in his letter.
“As the nation searches feverishly for clean, affordable, secure sources of fuel, coal is the ‘comeback kid’ of the energy game.”
He also noted that the state produced 32.3 million tons of coal last year despite losing two large operations. Illinois also marked five years without a coal or aggregate fatality this past April.
According to statistics from the state’s Office of Coal Development, 2000 new miner positions, 2000 replacement positions and 4200 indirect jobs will be needed in the coming five to 10 years, validating the need for the project.
“Together, we will train a new generation of men and women to work safely and productively in bringing Illinois coal up out of the ground,” Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity director of operations Warren Ribley said of the new centre.
Added RLC interim president Charley Holstein: “From the first turn of dirt today to the last bolt put in place months from now, this training centre is the result of building relationships and the community working together.”
State representative Kurt Granberg said he felt the decades-long promise of a coal revitalisation in Illinois may be finally coming to light.
“One of the things we didn’t take into consideration was that market forces drive everything,” Granberg said.
“With the price of energy what it is today, now we’re at the point the market will work in our favour.
“We’re on the verge of that renaissance of coal in Illinois. I’d heard it for years and was not optimistic, but now I think it’s really going to happen.”
