The Pattiki mine resumed production with three continuous mining shifts. White County Coal continues to assess the effectiveness and reliability of repairs to the vertical conveyer belt system and is not yet certain when it will be able to operate at full capacity. Although coal production operations at the Pattiki mine were completely suspended for approximately eight weeks and has resumed at restricted levels, Alliance currently anticipates the vertical belt failure will not have an adverse impact on its ability to deliver coal.
The Pattiki mine produces high-sulfur coal from the Illinois No. 6 coal seam using continuous mining units and room-and-pillar techniques. Prior to the vertical belt failure, Pattiki operated eight continuous mining shifts producing approximately 210,000 tons of coal per month during 2010. With three continuous mining shifts in operation, White County Coal anticipates coal production from the Pattiki mine of approximately 83,000 tons per month.
