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Consol made two major announcements in June, beginning with its Enlow Fork mine in southwestern Pennsylvania would be the focus of a major expansion. The $US500 million expansion would increase annual production by 70% to 17Mtpa and provide 400 new jobs for the area.
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The company then established the CNX Gas Corporation to control 18.5% of the methane gas segment of its business. These two announcements were augmented by strong second quarter numbers showing a 97% increase in earnings from operations and a 23% increase in total revenues.
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To follow up the strong second quarter, Consol posted its best-ever earnings during the third quarter, showing a profit of $US377 million. However, costs continued to escalate, increasing 21% from the same period last year. As a result, Consol announced it would be closing its Shoemaker mine in West Virginia sometime during 2007.
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Other problems plagued Consol through the year, including a February longwall fire that forced the company to seal its Buchanan mine in Virginia. The total cost of the fire was later determined to be $US23.3 million which the company hopes to recover through insurance.
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Production at the Buchanan mine was also halted in September due to a broken skip hoist; a problem which kept the mine idle until mid-December. To add injury to insult, a maintenance worker at the soon-to-close Shoemaker mine was killed in May when he was struck by a battery-powered scoop.
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Just as the loss of life and production time didn鈥檛 adversely affect the company鈥檚 banner year financially, neither did it dampen the company鈥檚 plans for the future.
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In the first quarter, the company was able to use geologic modeling and reserve evaluation to increase its Pittsburgh seam reserve by 352mt, significantly extending the life of the operation.
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In September, showing its interest in a cleaner environment, Consol, along with other major US coal producers American Electric Power, BHP Billiton, Foundation, Rio Tinto, Kennecott, Peabody and Southern, formed the FutureGen Industrial Alliance. The non-profit company will work with the US Department of Energy to build the world鈥檚 first near-zero emissions coal-based power plant. Such a facility may ensure coal鈥檚 viability as a power-producing natural resource for generations to come.
