Mining Illinois: is it time up for coal mining? – by Heidi Vella (Mining Technology – November 7, 2019)

https://www.mining-technology.com/

The Illinois coal basin is one of the oldest and most productive in the US, but as the coal market continues to slump, and new mine closures are being announced, many are beginning to wonder, can the industry overcome this latest challenge? Heidi Vella investigates.

Coal was first mined along the 400-mile-long Illinois coal basin, which covers parts of Illinois, Indiana and western Kentucky, by settlers in the 1800s. According to the Illinois Coal Association (ICA), by the1900s, coal was being produced in at least 52 of the region’s 102 counties, nine of which were producing more than one million tons a year. Overall, it’s thought more than 7,400 mines have operated in Illinois.

The basin, which has the second largest coal reserves in the US, is known for producing cheap, sulphur-rich, bituminous coal. In recent years, this soft, highly polluting type of coal has lost much of its market due to emission restrictions put on US power plants under the Obama administration. According to the ICA, these regulations saw around 25% of coal power plants close down, creating a massive decline in demand for the coal mining industry.

Despite investments in new mines and increased production announced by mining companies Foresight Energy, Peabody and Alliance Coal in 2012, and later the election of Donald Trump, who promised to ‘put coal workers back to work’, the Illinois coal mining industry continues to be plagued with challenges – and even tragedy.

New Challenges for Illinois mining

Amid already challenging market conditions, in early 2019, historic floods caused by a so-called ‘bomb cyclone’ battered the Rockies with snow and the Midwest with rain, impeding Illinois-operating coal companies’ ability to move their product along the Mississippi river.

For the rest of this article: https://www.mining-technology.com/features/mining-illinois-is-it-time-up-for-coal-mining/