Published in the March 2009 Coal USA Magazine
Mining started at the Mammoth Shadrick 5 Block mine, located near Hughes Creek, Kanawha County, on January 21, 2009. The mine is one of several new properties planned under a significant and aggressive expansion schedule released by the producer last year. Development began at the operation late last year.
Management considers the room and pillar operation to be a typical above drainage drift entry deep mine. Earlier mining was completed below the current active workings in both the Stockton and No. 2 Gas-Powellton seams.
Current work in the 5 Block has brought mining a bit closer to the surface, with average overburden varying from 150 feet to 200ft. Seam and cutting height are the same at 54-60in, classifying Shadrick – like several of its neighbors in this region of southcentral West Virginia – as a low-seam operation.
According to Mammoth president Dave Hughart, the thinner seams are part of typical regional geology, and here a channel influx of the intermediate sandstone roof scours from the roof or floor.
The issue, he added, is one of the operation’s most significant challenges to date. The floor contains shale, he said, and there are no plans after extraction to leave behind any coal, either there or on the roof.
There will be one active dual section at Mammoth’s Shadrick 5 Block, using two identical Joy 14CM15 continuous miners.
Once pulled from the face, coal is carried away by one of the mine’s three Joy 10SC-32AA shuttle cars for loading onto the belt. Also in use are two Fairchild International 35C scoops.
Coming in behind the CMs are one of the mine’s two roof bolters, each installing 48in fully grouted resin bolts by Jennmar on 4ft centers with Fletcher RR-CD units.
The small crew of 33 working underground at the mine packs a punch in the production department. Current levels are about 3500 raw tons extracted daily, or about 395,000 clean tons per year. As the staff is just getting underway with work, management noted that historical data on availability is understandably absent.
Hughart said gas will never become an issue with the operation, thus the installed ventilation system is fairly typical for the region. It includes a 5ft mine fan, two each of intakes and returns, and three neutrals (including the belt, track, and rubber tired-roadway).
Shadrick’s conveying system has been set up to keep up with even the most aggressive production days, with a rigid structure and 48in beltline by Continental Crushing and Conveyor. Running at 1800 tons per hour, management does not anticipate any obstacles in transport or production capacity as coal is carried from the active faces to the Mammoth preparation facility and stockpile.
While management deals with suppliers on warranty claims, all units are kept up to Massey standards under the corporate preventive maintenance program. Monitoring of the workings is managed by Tomlingson software.
Once the coal arrives at the mine’s open stockpiles, it is placed onto an overland conveyor belt system (stretching a total length of approximately 18,000ft from the portal) to a 15,000tph silo erected at the preparation plant. Preparation crews then pull the raw coal from the silo for processing.
The plant itself runs at a 1200tph raw feed rate, and preparation methods include heavy media cyclones and heavy media spirals and column flotation.
While Massey keeps mum on its customer base, it is proud of its output specifications. The coal from Mammoth Shadrick 5 Block is 13,000Btu with a 0.75 sulfur level and 6% ash and 1.20 SO2.
Massey officials are very open when talking about the long-term future of this mine – because, at a total lifespan of three years to recover an estimated 1.2Mt, one doesn’t really exist. The fleet of equipment, which is all new, will be transferred to another Mammoth or Massey Resource Group operation once the mine is completed, the infrastructure removed and reclamation of the site to state standards commences.
The small team of 36 workers does two nine-hour production shifts, five days a week, and one eight-hour block of maintenance. While the crew is small, it has managed to achieve big results and is a strong feature in the producer’s line-up.
“The mine should be a low-cost mine with excellent compliance quality,” Hughart said.
The facts
Mine name: Mammoth Coal Shadrick 5 Block deep mine
Owner: Massey Energy
Location: Hughes Creek, Kanawha County, West Virginia
Seam name: No. 5 block
Seam and cutting height: 54-60in
Fleet includes: Two Joy 14CM15 continuous miners, three Joy 10SC-32 shuttle cars, Two Fletcher RR-CD roof bolters
Number of workers: 36; 33 working underground
