Superior Surface Mine

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Superior Surface Mine is a mothballed coal mine in West Virginia, United States.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Superior Surface Mine West Virginia, United States 37.728562, -81.978927 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Mothballed

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.
Capacity (Mtpa) Production (Mtpa) Year of Production Mine Type Mining Method Mine Size (km2) Mine Depth (m) Workforce Size
0[1] Surface Open Pit 75* 18[1]

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
Lexington Coal Holdings Lexington Coal Holdings USA

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.

Background

Superior Surface Mine is an underground coal mining operation in Logan County, West Virginia, USA. The mine was once operated by Alex Energy and owned by Massey Energy, until later bought by Alpha Natural Resources. In June 2012 Alpha said it was permanently closing its Superior Surface Mine, the Hatfield underground mine and the Stirrat prep plant in Logan County. According to the AP: "The decisions are driven by a combination of low demand and low coal prices as consumption of cheap natural gas grows. Alpha spokesperson Ted Pile said new estimates on the number of coal-fired power plants being retired also rose this week, while coal stockpiles are at near-record levels."[2]

The mine is now owned and operated by now Lexington Coal Holdings.

  • MSHA ID: 4608838
  • Operator: Lexington Coal Holdings
  • Controller: Lexington Coal Holdings
  • Union:
  • County: Logan, West Virginia, USA
  • Coordinates: 37.728562, -81.978927
  • Production (short tons): 0.068 million tons (2020)
  • Coal Type: Bituminous
  • Mining Method: Surface
  • Mine Status: Operating
  • Average No. of Employees: 18

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 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)
  2. Vicki Smith, "Alpha set to close 2 W.Va. mines, cut back at others," Associated Press, June 28, 2012.

External links

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.

References