Rawhide Mine
Encyclopedia
The Rawhide Mine mine is a coal mine located 10 miles 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 150' of overburden off of approximately 105' 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
.
As of 2009, Rawhide had reserves of 388 mm tons of sub-bituminous coal and a maximum permitted production capacity of 24mm tons per year. Typical annual production has been in 12-18mm ton range for the last several years though. In 2008, the mine produced just over 18.4 million short ton
s of coal, making it the 10th-largest producer of coal in the United States.
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 3 unit trains, is 78,000 tons. The mine also has a intermediate coal silo that has an 18,000 ton capacity for 10"- run of mine coal.
, 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.
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. The Sentinels of Safety is awarded annually by MSHA
to the safest mine in each of several categories.
* No published, public data was found on the internet for these production periods.
Gillette, Wyoming
Gillette is a city in and the county seat of Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 29,087 in 2010. Gillette is a city centrally located in an area involved with the development of vast quantities of American coal, oil, and coal bed methane gas...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
in the United States in the coal-rich Powder River Basin
Powder River Basin
The Powder River Basin is a geologic region in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its coal deposits. The region supplies about 40 percent of coal in the United States. It is both a topographic drainage and geologic structural basin...
. The mine is an open pit
Open-pit mining
Open-pit mining or opencast mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....
mine that utilizes a combination of cast blast/dozer push and truck/shovel mining methods to strip an average of 150' of overburden off of approximately 105' 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
Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy Corporation , previously Peabody Coal Company, is the largest private-sector coal company in the world. The company is headquartered in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri....
.
As of 2009, Rawhide had reserves of 388 mm tons of sub-bituminous coal and a maximum permitted production capacity of 24mm tons per year. Typical annual production has been in 12-18mm ton range for the last several years though. In 2008, the mine produced just over 18.4 million short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s of coal, making it the 10th-largest producer of coal in the United States.
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 3 unit trains, is 78,000 tons. The mine also has a intermediate coal silo that has an 18,000 ton capacity for 10"- run of mine coal.
History
The Rawhide Mine shipped its first train of coal in 1977 after beginning pre-production work in 1974. Rawhide mine was previous owned by the Carter Mining Company, a subsidiary of ExxonExxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
, before being purchased by Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy Corporation , previously Peabody Coal Company, is the largest private-sector coal company in the world. The company is headquartered in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri....
on November 1, 1994. Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy Corporation , previously Peabody Coal Company, is the largest private-sector coal company in the world. The company is headquartered in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri....
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.
In 1982, Rawhide mine was the recipient of the Sentinels of Safety Award from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, MSHA
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
, in the large surface coal mine category. The Sentinels of Safety is awarded annually by MSHA
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
to the safest mine in each of several categories.
Production
| Year | Coal Production | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 15,842,274 | 226 |
| 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 | * | * |