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Coal Mine Opens at Spiro: Safety Stressed for State's Second Underground Dig

Posted on: Saturday, 8 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Russell Ray, Tulsa World, Okla.

Apr. 8--SPIRO -- Jim Parks, the foreman at Oklahoma's newest underground coal mine, walks into the massive black pit just west of here a little wiser and a lot more cautious.

The dangers of coal mining were magnified earlier this year after fatal mining disasters in West Virginia and Kentucky.

But it was the death of a friend, a fellow coal miner in Oklahoma, earlier this year that put Parks on notice. His colleague died while working in Oklahoma's only other underground coal mine, just east of Spiro.

"The roof fell in," Parks said. "It's always in the back of your mind. It could happen to you."

The spotlight was on safety during the official opening of the state's second underground coal mine Friday. The mine, owned by Coal Creek Minerals LLC, is expected to reach full production later this year.

"Even under the best of circumstances, it's a dangerous occupation," said Coal Creek President Roger Hurst.

The company spent $160,000 on backup ventilation to protect miners from methane gas seeping from the coal seam, Hurst said. The company also installed safety lines that miners can use to climb out in case of an emergency.

"It's a safe mine," Parks said. "We have weekly safety meetings and remind the new hands what to watch out for."

Twenty-two people died in coal mining accidents last year, according to the National Mining Association. In January, 12 coal miners died in a West Virginia mine explosion.

Coal Creek General Manager Bobby Smith said the company has devoted a lot of time and money to making the mine safe.

"I'm 100 percent comfortable with it, the safety of it," Smith said. "We went above and beyond what we're required to do."

At full production, the mine will produce up to 500,000 tons of coal a year and employ as many as 50 people.

The company will dig two tunnels, each about 5 feet high, Hurst said. One will run about two miles to the southeast. The other will run southwest about three miles.

Initial production is being shipped to the Shady Point power plant near Poteau. AES Corp. of Arlington, Va., owns both the coal-fired plant and Coal Creek Minerals.

But soon, the coal from the new Spiro mine will be headed in many directions to a variety of users, said Coal Creek spokesman Lundy Kiger.

"There's quite a bit of demand out there right now," Kiger said. "We're getting a lot of calls on this coal right now."

Higher coal prices and increased demand is sure to lead to more mines in Oklahoma, Kiger said. Although coal has become more expensive, it's not as costly as natural gas. As a result, industrial operations fed up with the skyrocketing cost of natural gas are considering switching to lower-priced coal.

Oklahoma coal production could double in a few years, Kiger said.

"We're looking at the possibility of doing additional mining in this area," he said.

Today, the state produces about 1.6 million tons of coal a year -- not much when compared with major coal-producing states. About 70 percent of Oklahoma's coal is burned at the Shady Point power plant.

If more coal mines are established in the state, they will likely be located in eastern Oklahoma's LeFlore, Latimer and Haskell counties. Those counties hold more than half of Oklahoma's 8 billion tons of coal.

"LeFlore County sits on about 25 percent of all the coal," Kiger said.

Coal Creek will be hiring more miners as production rises. The pay ranges from $15 an hour to more than $20.

The combined payroll of both companies is about $10 million a year, Kiger said.

"That makes Spiro the underground coal capital of Oklahoma," he said.

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Russell Ray 581-8380 russell.ray@tulsaworld.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Tulsa World, Okla.

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Source: Tulsa World

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