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MiningWeek Online
January 7, 2005 Volume 11, Issue 1
This Week's Issue:
Mining industry again achieves new safety record amid unprecedented demand
The U.S. coal and mineral/metals industry achieved a new safety record for the fewest fatalities and injuries in modern history during 2004, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The 53 fatalities bested the previous record in 2003, making 2004 the fourth consecutive year of declining fatalities in the nation’s coal and mineral mines.
“A single fatality is one too many, but we continue to be encouraged by the trend of steadily safer conditions, especially as demand for coal and minerals peaked last year,” said NMA President and CEO Jack Gerard. “We enter the New Year determined to improve our performance and confident we will do so.”
Gerard cited several reasons for the trend of fewer accidental mining fatalities. Better safety technology, a strong commitment to safety on behalf of both the private and public sectors, and improved workplace training all contributed to the record-setting pace even as mines operated at high rates to meet unprecedented demand for coal and minerals.
David G. Dye, acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health said he was “reassured to see the number of accidental mining fatalities decrease,” and reiterated the goal of zero fatalities shared by company management, mineworkers and the government.
MSHA said preliminary information indicates coal mining fatalities dropped to 27 during 2004, compared with 30 during 2003 and 27 during 2002. The metal and nonmetal mining industry recorded 26 fatalities on the job during 2004—the same total reported for that industry in 2003. These numbers were down from the 42 metal and nonmetal mining deaths reported in 2002.
The complete MSHA statistics can be viewed at www.msha.gov.
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Reception for McCaul held at NMA
Friends and family of Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) hosted a swearing-in reception and gathering at NMA’s Conference Room this week at which NMA staff were also present. It was one of many swearing-in ceremonies and receptions held for new members of Congress during the week at which NMA had a presence. McCaul, who represents the 10th congressional district in South Central Texas (eight counties, including Austin) is shown addressing the gathering.
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Individual state NPDES profiles available from EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made available 33 National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) individual state profiles as part of a new nationwide assessment to improve the NPDES permit programs.
This assessment, Permitting for Environmental Results (PER), is the result of a 16-month effort by the states and EPA to evaluate the management of NPDES programs. The culmination of this effort was the release late last month of 33 NPDES individual state profiles -- the remaining state profiles will be released in early 2005, EPA said.
EPA and the states have been working through a detailed process to carefully assess each of their NPDES programs to gauge effectiveness, identify strengths and target areas for improvement. The profiles are intended as a guide for state and EPA managers as they work to strengthen and ensure the long-term success of each NPDES program. This effort began in August 2003, and includes three primary components:
• Integrity - Ensuring that NPDES programs have the information and tools they need to issue effective permits;
• Program Efficiency - Providing tools to the states and sharing information among NPDES programs to streamline the permitting process to effectively apply resources where needed in each watershed; and,
• Environmental Results - Identifying environmentally significant permits, prioritizing and reissuing them to improve water quality.
EPA said it will continue to work with each program to address the needed improvements identified in the profiles and then track their progress. The agency plans to formalize a management system for the NPDES program to ensure consistent quality and effectiveness across all NPDES programs.
Under the Clean Water Act, the NPDES program regulates discharges to waters of the United States from point sources such as municipal sewage treatment plants and industrial facilities. States may seek authorization to operate the NPDES program, and, today, 45 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands have this authorization. EPA is the permitting authority in unauthorized states, territories and Indian country. Information on the Permitting for Environmental Results strategy can be obtained at www.epa.gov/npdes/per. For general information about the NPDES program visit: www.epa.gov/npdes.
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Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon mine reaches 3 million hour safety mark
Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham Canyon Mine has reached a major benchmark in mining safety: 3 million man-hours without a lost-time injury since January 6, 2003.
Ted Himebaugh, mine manager, said, “All of our employees and contractors at the Bingham Canyon Mine are justly proud of reaching this milestone, especially when we consider the fact that more than 700 people have worked safely for 696 days without a lost time incident, while still achieving production goals at the Mine.”
Himebaugh credited the achievement to outstanding safety training, careful attention to safety standards and improved safety behaviors of the men and women who work around the clock, seven days a week at the largest man-made excavation on earth, located about 25 miles southwest of downtown Salt Lake City.
“While this is a significant accomplishment for Kennecott, we continue to strive to create a culture where all workers actively care for the safety of others,” he said. “When we are successful, we can expect to reach additional one million safe hour milestones at the Bingham Canyon Mine in the future. That is our goal.”
The Kennecott achievement is indicative of the emphasis put by mining companies on safe operation – an industry-wide commitment that has led to four consecutive years of declining and record-low fatalities in the nation’s mines (see related story, page 1).
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Organizations invited to participate in 2005 safety, health, environmental competition
The National Safety Council’s (NSC) Robert W. Campbell Award Program Committee is inviting organizations from around the world to participate in the 2005 competition for this international award for business excellence in safety, health and environmental management (SH&E).
The “Call for Applications” seeks successful business models from organizations that excel in both SH&E and business performance. Case studies must demonstrate how measurable achievement in SH&E performance is linked to productivity, profitability and other measures of business performance.
The award fosters the sharing of leading edge SH&E management systems and best practices for educational purposes worldwide. Wining success stories are published and showcased at various conferences, including the National Safety Council’s Annual Congress and Expo.
Companies will compete within a size category. Category I organizations are enterprises with more than 1,000 employees, and subsidiaries of such enterprises; Category II organizations have 1,000 or fewer employees.
The award is managed by the National Safety Council and underwritten by Exxon Mobil Corp. through its philanthropic foundation. In addition, it is supported by a broad network of global partnering organizations which provide worldwide outreach.
Organizations interested in competing should submit an optional “Letter of Intent” by Feb. 28, 2005, with final applications postmarked by April 30. Submittal requirements and other information are available at www.CampbellAward.org, or CampbellAward@nsc.org.
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EPA seeks rehearing in Citizens Coal Council v. EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) late last month filed a petition for rehearing in the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Citizens Coal Council v. EPA.
In that case, a three judge panel of the Sixth Circuit voted 2-1 to strike down EPA’s new regulations creating new effluent guidelines subcategories for remining and western alkaline coal mining. The effect of the ruling is that the court invalidated the regulations contained in EPA’s final rule. In its petition, EPA requested a rehearing of the case, arguing the panel’s decision:
(1) Relies on arguments that were not raised in either the plaintiffs’ comments or briefs;
(2) Is contrary to Chevron v. NRDC because the panel did not defer to EPA’s interpretation of the complex and ambiguous provisions of the Clean Water Act;
(3) Should have recognized EPA’s authority to consider site-specific factors; and
(4) Should not have faulted EPA for not considering irrelevant factors.
NMA members seeking additional information should contact Bradford Frisby at (202) 463-2643 or bfrisby@nma.org.
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NMA: Coal variability unaccounted for in assumptions for EPA mercury proposals
NMA is concerned that various input assumptions used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its modeling analysis for proposed national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants “do not account for the wide variability of coals and process conditions encompassed by the full fleet of U.S. utility boilers,” the association said in Jan. 3 comments filed with the agency.
“Failing to account for variability in fuel type and unit operation will make it difficult, if not impossible, for EPA to establish limits that are technically achievable for affected units,” NMA said, adding its suggested, phased alternative to establishing a national cap-and-trade program “would address the variability concern through ensuring a far better database than currently exists.”
NMA also said EPA should not model control options that have not been demonstrated on a commercial basis. “This does not mean a control technology that a vendor is willing to sell, but a technology that performs in a predictable manner when used with boilers of various designs over the range of operating conditions that the plant will encounter. Short-term field tests or demonstration projects are not sufficient to conclude that a technology is commercially available.”
NMA noted DOE projects that ACI technology, capable of achieving a 50-to-70 percent reduction in mercury emissions from all coal types, will be commercially available by 2010. “In this regard, assumptions may be used for modeling purposes, but those assumptions must have a rational basis, and must be conservative enough to take into account the uncertainty and variability associated with ACI controls on the full range of boilers and fuel types.”
Absent a rational basis, EPA “should not make assumptions about reduced capital and maintenance and operating costs” for Activated Carbon Injection (ACI). “We believe that EPA should model a case where demand, coupled with supply constraints, drives up capital and operating costs, in particular for the activated carbon sorbent.”
EPA should also “analyze supply and price response to demand created by the various ACI scenarios,” NMA said. “The current supply of activated carbon is not sufficient to accommodate a substantial demand from the utility sector and it could take up to five years to bring activated carbon production facilities on line.”
In regard to co-benefit reductions, “we note that most of the estimates are based upon analysis of EPA’s 1999 ICR data set,” NMA said. As the association pointed out in previous comments, “the ICR emissions data represent a limited snapshot of emissions from a few units taken over a very short period of time, with a limited number of fuels. The data do not account for the wide variability of coals and process conditions encompassed by the full fleet of utility boilers. As a result, relatively little is known about long-term mercury emissions performance of the units that were tested or what may be achieved through a broader application of co-benefit technologies.”
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Peabody Energy to acquire 324 million tons of Powder River Basin coal reserves
Peabody Energy recently announced that one of its units is the winning bidder for 324 million tons of high Btu, low sulfur coal reserves in the Powder River Basin.
The reserves feature some of the best quality coal in the Powder River Basin, Peabody said, with an average heat content in excess of 9,000 Btu/lb. and a sulfur content of 0.55 lbs./million Btu. The winning bid for the reserves was $0.92 cents per mineable ton, made through a sealed bid auction process. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has determined that the offer met the agency’s fair market analysis. Peabody expects to finalize the lease acquisition over the next 60 to 90 days.
The reserves are adjacent to Peabody’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine, located in Campbell County, Wyo., which shipped more than 80 million tons in 2003. Peabody’s Powder River Coal Company mines last year shipped a record 106.5 million tons of coal. With the acquisition, Peabody said it will control 9.8 billion tons of total reserves, 3.3 billion of which is in the Powder River Basin.
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Newsbits
Houghton International Inc., a supplier of metalworking fluids, technologies and services, says the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has approved the use of its new fire-resistant vegetable oil hydraulic fluid; it is the first product of its type to meet the Code of Federal Regulations’ requirements. Houghton said the fluid, Cosmolubric B-230, is ideal for use on conveyor systems, hydraulic shovels, excavators, crawler tractors and a host of other mining equipment. For more information, visit www.houghtonintl.com. . . . Energy Industries of Ohio (EIO) has received approval from the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority (OAQDA) for a $213,036 Ohio Coal Development Office project grant aimed at leading to the commercial availability of aluminum foam made with coal fly ash. The company said automotive companies machine tool builders and their suppliers would use the foam in industrial robot welding and piercing equipment . . . . Komatsu America Corp. has been awarded three contracts for the supply of excavators, bulldozers and skid steers to be used by the U.S. government. The contract is valued at $21.5 million and Komatsu manufacturing facilities in Chattanooga, TN, and Newberry, SC, will produce many of the machines . . . . Apollo Gold Corp. said its Standard Gold Mine near Winnemucca, NV, has poured its first gold/silver dore bar. The company received its required operating permits for the project in May 2004 and immediately started construction and development of its open pit/heap leach gold mine about 4 miles south of Apollo’s Florida Canyon mine . . . . Northwest Mining Association Executive Director Laura Skaer received the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) commemorative silver medallion for outstanding leadership and cooperation last month at the NWMA’s 110th annual meeting. The presentation was made by Skip Underwood, USFS director for minerals and geology management . . . . The Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota is participating in a consortium-based project to test the most promising new mercury control technologies for utilities that burn lignite coal. A major demonstration has already started at the Emissions Control Research Facility at Saskatchewan Power Corp.’s Poplar River Station near Coronach, Canada.
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