The Rawhide Mine is a coal mine located 10 miles (16.1 km) north of Gillette, Wyoming in the United States in the coal-rich Powder River Basin. The mine is an open pit mine that utilizes a combination of cast blast/dozer push and truck/shovel mining methods to strip an average of 165 feet (50.3m) of overburden off of approximately 105 (32.0m) feet of coal. Rawhide produces a low-sulfur, sub-bituminous coal from the Roland and Smith seams. This coal is used for domestic energy generation and shipped to customers via railroad. The mine is currently owned and operated by Peabody Energy.[1]
 Coal mines north and east of Gillette–Campbell County Airport, including the Rawhide Mine | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Rawhide Mine Location in Wyoming | |
| State | Wyoming |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 44°25′08″N 105°30′45″W / 44.41889°N 105.51250°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Coal |
| History | |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Peabody Energy |
| Website | www |
| Year of acquisition | 1994 |
As of 2009, Rawhide had reserves of 388,000,000 tons (352,000,000 tonnes) of sub-bituminous coal and a maximum permitted production capacity of 24,000,000 tons per year. Typical annual production has been in 12–18 mm ton range for the last several years though. In 2010, the mine produced just over 11,225,000 million short tons of coal, making it the 13th-largest producer of coal in the United States.[2]
The average quality of the coal shipped from Rawhide is 8,300 BTU/lb, 0.37% sulfur, 5.40% ash, and 1.60% sodium (of the ash).
Train loading at the Rawhide mine is done in two passes. The first pass flood-loads the majority of the coal into the rail car while it is under the mine's silos, while a second pass tops off the car to its final target weight ± 250 lbs. Silo capacity at the mine's rail loop, which can accommodate up to three unit trains, is 78,000 tons.[3] The mine also has an intermediate coal silo that has an 18,000-ton capacity for 10"- run of mine coal and loads trains.[1]
History
editThe Rawhide Mine shipped its first train of coal in 1977 after beginning pre-production work in 1974. Rawhide mine was previously owned by the Carter Mining Company, a subsidiary of Exxon, before being purchased by Peabody Energy on November 1, 1994. Peabody Energy runs the Rawhide Mine via its wholly owned subsidiary, the Caballo Coal Company.
Production at the mine has been continuous since its opening except for an 18-month period beginning in late 1999, when the mine was idled due to market conditions. Mining operations resumed at Rawhide in 2001 with coal shipments resuming in 2002.[1]
In 1982, Rawhide mine was the recipient of the Sentinels of Safety Award from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), in the large surface coal mine category.[4] The Sentinels of Safety is awarded annually by MSHA to the safest mine in each of several categories.
Approximately 30% of Rawhide Mine's production was sent to Monticello Steam Electric Station in Texas before closing in January 2018.[5][6] Another customer from Texas, Big Brown Power Plant, closed the following month.[7]
Production
edit| Year | Coal production | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 9,504,750 | 110 |
| 2017 | 10,346,144 | 101 |
| 2016 | 8,079,139 | 85 |
| 2015 | 15,167,996 | 193 |
| 2014 | 15,473,474 | 212 |
| 2013 | 14,246,329 | 203 |
| 2012 | 14,721,376 | 212 |
| 2011 | 15,011,017 | 223 |
| 2010 | 11,229,907 | 180 |
| 2009 | 15,842,274 | 227 |
| 2008 | 18,409,307 | 219 |
| 2007 | 17,155,361 | 234 |
| 2006 | 17,092,993 | 170 |
| 2005 | 12,430,351 | 131 |
| 2004 | 6,869,989 | 69 |
| 2003 | 3,632,940 | 32 |
| 2002 | 3,484,619 | 23 |
| 2001 | 0 | 8 |
| 2000 | 0 | 2 |
| 1999 | 807,892 | 19 |
| 1998 | 5,390,400 | 63 |
| 1997 | 10,705,680 | 157 |
| 1996 | 15,068,358 | 166 |
| 1995 | 15,355,000 | 166 |
| 1994 | 12,858,787 | 176 |
| 1993 | 9,863,923 | 181 |
| 1992 | 8,629,624 | 192 |
| 1991 | 11,767,143 | 192 |
| 1990 | 11,438,719 | 177 |
| 1989 | 10,628,737 | 173 |
| 1988 | 10,810,785 | 167 |
| 1987 | 10,672,913 | 174 |
| 1986 | 12,403,975 | 180 |
| 1985 | 12,236,695 | 182 |
| 1984 | 9,351,952 | 204 |
| 1983 | 8,614,552 | 225 |
| 1982 | * | * |
| 1981 | * | * |
| 1980 | * | * |
| 1979 | * | * |
| 1978 | * | * |
| 1977 | * | * |
*No published, public data was found on the internet for these production periods.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Rawhide Mine". Peabody Energy website. Peabody Energy. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ "Coal-Production-Historical Coal Production by Mine Type - 2010". Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ "Mine Guide" (PDF). BNSF website. BNSF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- ^ "Drilling and Blasting in Thick Seam Coal Mines in the Powder River Basin" (PDF). International Society for Explosives Engineer. 1984. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ "How Texas Coal Plant Closure Affects Peabody Energy". 24/7 Wall St. MarketWatch. October 13, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ Osborne, James (October 6, 2017). "Vistra closing mega coal plant in East Texas". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ^ Richards, Heather (February 12, 2018). "Wyoming coal customer closes in Texas as planned". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "Rawhide Data". Wyoming Mining Association. May 4, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- ^ "MSHA Mine ID 4800993". Retrieved 2019-04-02.