Efforts continue to extinguish March combustion incident at Deer Run mine

Foresight Energy LP, a leading producer and marketer of thermal coal, has reported that its subsidiary, Hillsboro Energy LLC is continuing its efforts to extinguish the March 2015 combustion event within Hillsboro’s Deer Run mine, near Hillsboro, Illinois.

Foresight indicated that to date, its efforts to extinguish the combustion event have been primarily directed at sealing specific areas within the mine and filling them with extinguishing agents and inert gases. Thus far, these efforts have been unsuccessful at demonstrating that the combustion event is permanently extinguished and further action is necessary.

Foresight has asked the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for permission to take the next step of temporarily sealing the entire mine to reduce or eliminate oxygen flow paths into the mine. The company is uncertain as to when production will resume at this operation but we will continue to work closely with MSHA and the Illinois Office of Mines and Minerals Mine Safety and Training Division to ensure the safety of its employees throughout the process and to explore alternatives to safely resolving this issue.

Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/02032016/efforts-continue-to-extinguish-march-2015-combustion-event-at-deer-run-mine-326/