The 50-page publication, Coal Facts 2010, provides a county-by-county rundown of production as well as reserve figures, permits and even the amount of paid severance taxes over the previous year.
According to the association, the top-producing county in West Virginia was once again Boone, with just over 27.3 million tons of output – down from 30.9Mt in 2008 and 33.6Mt in 2007.
Based on just underground production, Marion County has taken the top spot from the previous first-place holder, Boone County, with more than 11.5Mt. Marion held the top spot in 2007, too.
Boone’s 2009 underground tonnage came to 11Mt, putting it in second place for the year.
Total direct employment in the state throughout the year was 20,453, and Boone County also held the position of top employer with 3785 workers, down from 4656 workers in 2008.
Consol Energy was once again the top-producing corporate group in the state with 29.7Mt, and its Consolidation Coal arm was the leading coal-producing company with 15.6Mt.
Consol’s McElroy operation was the largest underground mine for 2009, reporting output of 9.86Mt. The operator’s total mine employment was 886, the highest in the state.
Coal Facts also revealed that the nation’s second-largest coal-producing state (after Wyoming) had 220 operating coal companies for the reporting year with a total of 537 mines. In 2008, West Virginia had 231 operating coal companies with a total of 540 mines.
Both underground and surface mining contributed to the drop: in 2009 the state had 305 underground mines and 232 surface mines, but 300 and 240 respectively in 2008.
One of the country’s most well-known seams, Pittsburgh, was the state’s largest producing seam to be extracted from with 30.5Mt, down from 32.29Mt.
Looking at wage and financial data, the estimated average coal wage in West Virginia for the data collection period last year rose from $US62,700 to $68,500.
The estimated production value in 2009 totaled $8.61 billion, steady year-on-year, and it was estimated that operators paid coal severance of more than $379.5 million.
For more details about the latest Coal Facts report, including findings on national production in 2009, check out the forthcoming March 2011 issue of Coal USA Magazine.
