“The addition of these assets will provide us with key advantages in our strategy to expand our sales of high quality met coal,” said Baxter F. Phillips Jr., president, Massey Energy. “We can use this facility to blend different types of coal from several of our resource groups, creating custom coal products that command premium prices.
“We expect to realize significant savings in transportation costs by shipping more coal on the river versus shipping by rail,” Phillips said. “Ultimately the tons we blend and ship through Marmet can be loaded more efficiently on export vessels.”
In 2009, Massey shipped approximately 8 million tons of coal on the inland waterway system to both domestic and export customers. The Marmet Dock facility is expected to enhance the company’s ability to serve an expanding domestic and international customer base. In particular, Marmet is expected to be helpful in boosting exports through the Gulf of Mexico.
