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Black Castle Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Julian, Boone County, West Virginia, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Black Castle Coal Mine | Julian, Boone County, West Virginia, United States[1] | 38.01, -81.57 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[1] | – | 1990[1] | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 0.04[2] | 2024[2] | Surface | Open Pit | – | 75.0* | 19[2] |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | Appalachia | Bituminous | – | – |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Black Castle Mining Co LLC [100%][1] | Contura Energy [100%] | USA |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROM | 1.45[1] | 1.0[1] | 0.58[1] | 0.09[1] | 0.0[1] | 0.05[1] | 0.13[1] |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2025 release.
Background
Black Castle Surface Mine is a surface coal mine located near Sylvester, in Boone County, West Virginia. The mine is operated by Black Castle Mining Co., a subsidiary of Massey Energy. The mine had 252 workers, operating six days per week and producing an average of 11,700 tons of coal daily from six separate pits.[3]
In April 2009 Massey idled the Mine, citing "market conditions." A skeleton crew is currently keeping the mine going. Massey Energy Executives plan to take a look at the overall mine plan. The goal is to continue to bring small groups of workers back as demand increases.[4] In June 2012 Alpha said it was scaling back production at the Black Castle Surface Mine as well as the Republic Surface Mine, due to a declining 2012 export market for Europe.[5]
- MSHA ID: 4607009
- Operator: Black Castle Mining
- Controller: Massey Energy Company
- Union:
- County: Boone
- State: WV
- GPS Coordinates: 38.01, -81.57
- 2007 Production (short tons): 1,337,541
- Coal Type: Bituminous
- Mining Method: Underground
- Mine Status: Active
- Average No. of Employees: 101
Contact Details
Black Castle Mining Co.
Sylvester, West Virginia
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 https://web.archive.org/web/20240717193400/https://www.msha.gov/data-and-reports/mine-data-retrieval-system. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20240213175031/https://www.msha.gov/data-and-reports/statistics/mine-employment-and-coal-production. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Coal Mine Fatal Accident Investigation Report", Mine Safety and Health Administration website, February 1, 2006
- ↑ Amanda Barren, "Massey Energy Idles Black Castle Mine, 300 Affected" WSAZ 3 News Channel, April 10, 2009
- ↑ Vicki Smith, "Alpha set to close 2 W.Va. mines, cut back at others," Associated Press, June 28, 2012.
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
