Cardinal Mine

The Cardinal Mine is an underground coal mine operated by Warrior Coal, a subsidiary of Alliance Resource Partners. The mine is located near Madisonville, in Hopkins County, Kentucky.

History
Opened in 1985, the mine was purchased by Alliance Resource Partners in February 2003 and run under the Warrior Coal LLC. On its website, Alliance Resource Partners states that the mine "utilizes continuous mining units employing room-and-pillar mining techniques producing high-sulfur coal. Warrior completed construction of a new preparation plant in February of 2009 and it has a throughput capacity of 1,200 tons of raw coal an hour. Warrior's production can be shipped via the CSX and Paducah & Louisville Railway railroads and by truck on U.S. and state highways directly to customers or to various transloading facilities, including our Mt. Vernon transloading facility, for sale to customers capable of receiving barge deliveries."

August 2010: Kentucky officials fine Warrior Coal for mining land not covered by permit
In August 2010, Kentucky natural resources officials fined Warrior Coal $410,000 for mining land not covered by a permit issued in 2009. Central to the issue is a state policy that allows mining where at least two-thirds of the property owners have given a coal operator legal authorization. The policy allows mining to begin, but only on land for which permission has been given. Rusty Ashcraft, manager of environmental affairs and permitting for Alliance, said the company will appeal the fine to a cabinet hearing, as it has the citations.

January 2011: Fire
On January 13, 2011, a fire started early that morning near the coal mine. A Hopkins County Emergency Management Director said workers with Warrior Coal were drilling in a field when they struck an underground gas pocket. Gas from the hole ignited, and two workers suffered minor burns and were taken to a local hospital. Flames reached heights of 40 feet after it started around 5 a.m. CST. Firefighters are waiting to see if it will burn out. The gas pocket was reportedly 400 feet below the surface.

Mine Data

 * Owner: Warrior Coal LLC
 * Parent company: Alliance Resource Partners L.P.
 * Location:Manitou Kentucky
 * GPS coordinates: 37.35, -87.58
 * Production: 4,650,696
 * Type of coal:High Sulfur
 * Mine type: Underground
 * Equipment: Room and Pillar
 * Number of employees: 220 (as of 2003)

Contact Details
Warrior Coal, LLC 57 JE Ellis Lane Madisonville, KY 42431 Phone: (270) 249-3100 Fax: (270) 249-0800

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