Brookwood Mine: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Brookwood No 7 mine aerial.jpg|right|thumb|425px|Aerial view of surface operations at the Brookwood No. 7 mine]] | |||
The '''Brookwood Mine''' is a series of underground metallurgical [[coal]] mines accessing the [[Blue Creek Seam]] near [[Brookwood]]. The vertical shaft mines were developed beginning in [[1972]] by [[Jim Walter Resources]], which became a division of [[Walter Industries]] in [[1987]] and is currently part of [[Walter Energy]]. The active mine operations are currently at the No. 4, No. 7 East and No. 7 West mines. | The '''Brookwood Mine''' is a series of underground metallurgical [[coal]] mines accessing the [[Blue Creek Seam]] near [[Brookwood]]. The vertical shaft mines were developed beginning in [[1972]] by [[Jim Walter Resources]], which became a division of [[Walter Industries]] in [[1987]] and is currently part of [[Walter Energy]]. The active mine operations are currently at the No. 4, No. 7 East and No. 7 West mines. | ||
Revision as of 16:02, 29 December 2015
The Brookwood Mine is a series of underground metallurgical coal mines accessing the Blue Creek Seam near Brookwood. The vertical shaft mines were developed beginning in 1972 by Jim Walter Resources, which became a division of Walter Industries in 1987 and is currently part of Walter Energy. The active mine operations are currently at the No. 4, No. 7 East and No. 7 West mines.
The coal is extracted using longwall and continuous mining techniques, operating from 1,400 to 2,100 feet below ground. Walters' "Blue Creek Coal" is marketed as delivering "high coking strength with low coking pressure, low sulfur and low-to-medium ash content with high Btu values". It is shipped by barge down the Black Warrior River from its own loading facility at Port Birmingham.
The Brookwood No. 5 mine was the site of a fatal accident on September 23, 2001. Methane gas released in a cave-in fueled two large explosions, killing thirteen workers.
A depressed market for metallurgical coal caused Walter Energy to lay off as many as 907 workers from its No. 4 and No. 7 mines in 2015 as the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
References
- Poe, Kelly (December 29, 2015) "Walter Energy lays off 319, leaving 24 mine workers at No. 4 mine." The Birmingham News
External links
- Coal operations at walterenergy.com