West VirginiaAccording to a chart on
www.longwalls.com the Whitetail Kittanning Mine operated by Kingwood Mining Company, LLC, was among the top 50 U.S. underground coal mines in 2007 ranked by productivity.
On December 3, 2008, Alpha Natural Resources, the parent company of Kingwood Mining, announced that it planned to cease coal mining operations at the Whitetail Kittanning mining complex in Preston County, W. Va., at the end of December. As their news release stated:
"The Whitetail mine complex will stop producing coal at the end of December. The mine produced 1.5 million tons of coal in 2007 while production this year is expected to be about 1.1 million tons.
The decision to close the Whitetail mine, an adjacent coal preparation plant and other ancillary facilities resulted from adverse geologic conditions and regulatory requirements that rendered the coal seam unmineable at this location. The adverse conditions include deteriorating roof conditions despite Kingwood's deployment of all feasible roof support systems.
Two of the mine's four production sections have been under closure orders from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training since a methane ignition event Nov. 3 and a roof fall the following week.
Kingwood's 329 employees have been given 60 days' notice of the closure under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and will receive their regular rate of pay in lieu of work, if work is not available, through the earlier of Feb. 3, 2009 or the date they accept other employment."
I find the above extremely significant from NAG's angle for the following reasons:
a. The Whitetail Kittanning Mine is Appalachia Coal's neighbour.
b. There is plenty of equipment and manpower available right next door.
c. Appalachia's property hosts near surface seams, ideal for strip mining. There will be no underground safety issues such as Kingwood had to contend with.
d. The vast amount of coal mined next door bodes well for NAG to be unto something BIG.
Good luck to all NAG shareholders