The school unveiled the 340 foot-long, 110ft-wide training facility last Friday with a ceremony held at the Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies near Core. The property is also known as Doll’s Run, donated to the institution by Consol Energy.
WVU said the $US1 million above-ground building would be used for new miner and supervisor training as well as exercises by rescue team and mine fire brigades. Capabilities also exist for other specialized training needs.
“West Virginia University, with significant help from our partners from the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training, the West Virginia Division of Energy, and private industry, is pleased to provide outreach for coal miners in West Virginia and neighboring states,” WVU president James Clements said.
“This type of collaboration is win-win. It can save lives and prevent injuries.”
Clements attended the unveiling late last week along with state governor Joe Manchin representative Michelle Figaretti, WVU School of Engineering and Mineral Resources dean Gene Cilento, West Virginia Coal Association executive vice-president Chris Hamilton and the school’s Department of Mining Extension director Jim Dean, who spoke to a large industry crowd.
“There are many simulated coal mines for training in existence, but to our knowledge, no other such simulated mine has the capacity to have live fires within the facility,” he noted.
“This facility was primarily designed for training mine rescue and fire brigades but also serves as an excellent tool for mine foreman examination training and new miner training.”
The facility has multiple entryways and crosscuts and is divided into passageways, chambers and rooms that closely simulate a true underground operation. Unlike a real mine, however, the confines of the building can be reconfigured so that new designs and challenges can be presented to trainees.
Also featured is a burn area for mine rescue teams and fire brigades, Dean noted, helping provide for the most comprehensive exposure to the real thing.
“The experience of an individual coming there for training will be as close as possible to an actual underground coal mine,” he said.
“The capability to provide live fire training truly sets it apart from other such facilities.”
Funding for the facility came from the WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training and the West Virginia Division of Energy. Many industry organizations donated materials and equipment, including Alpha Natural Resources, Consol Energy, HSC Industrial, Joy Continental, Murray Energy and Patriot Coal.
The school said the Department of Mining Extension had provided coal industry training since 1913 and currently saw more than 5000 new and experienced miners through its programs each year. WVU offers a range of courses from new miner apprentice certification to specialized training for experienced workers both underground and at the surface.
After taking over Doll’s Run in 2005, the school received a $3 million grant from the US Department of Labor to open the facility and establish the Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies. In addition to the new simulated mine, the property has classrooms, offices and mining equipment, including several advanced mine training simulators.
The department developed a mobile SCSR training unit in 2008. More than 2000 people have completed the scenarios offered in the trailer since it began traveling to mines last year.
