Page 10 • November 27, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE

Tools of the Trade for Moving, Making Coal Products

By Colin KundCEG CORRESPONDENT

(Editor’s note: this is the final article of athree-part series that explores LehighAnthracite Coal LLC’s operations inPennsylvania. This article further details theequipment the company uses to bring its coalto the marketplace.)Lehigh Anthracite Coal

LLC operates an open pitmine on approximately8,000 acres of land just out-side of Tamaqua, Pa., inSchuylkill County. LehighAnthracite is the contractminer, employer and main-tainer of all building assetson the property. There are100 employees currentlyemployed by the company.Lehigh Anthracite LP, apartnership between BETAssociates IV LLC, andRobindale Energy &Associated Companies,owns all equipment on the

property. BET Associates IV LLC is themineral and land owner. BET Associates IVLLC's members are Bruce Toll and DouglasTopkis. Lehigh Anthracite currently operatestwo mine sites, which are Job 88 and LittleItaly. Job 88 is closer to Tamaqua whileLittle Italy is closer to Nesquehoning, Pa.Richard “Rusty” Taylor is the CEO of

Lehigh Anthracite Coal LLC. Taylor is theformer vice president of Environmental andRegulatory Matters at Robindale Energy &Associated Companies.

Hauling the CoalIn addition to its new

Caterpillar 6015B hydraulicmining shovel, LehighAnthracite LP also pur-chased two Caterpillar 777Frigid frame haul trucks. The777Fs were needed to helpkeep up with productionsince the new shovel waspurchased. LehighAnthracite LP spent quitesome time searching for twoquality haul trucks to add tothe fleet. (Lehigh has a fleetof multiple Caterpillar 777s,775s 773s, Hitachi 1700-3sand miscellaneous Euclids.)

The 777Fs are 2008 models and were pur-chased from Bill Miller Equipment SalesInc., which is located in Eckhart Mines, Md. Lehigh has dealt with Bill Miller in the

past and has built a great relationship withthe company. Miller’s technicians rebuiltand repainted these two 777Fs in house.Once they were delivered to Lehigh’s minesite, Miller’s technicians assembled and test-ed them, making any necessary adjustmentsand fixes. The cab and chassis were deliv-ered separately from the dump bodiesbecause the latter required a super load per-mit to be moved. The 777F is powered byCat C32 Acert 12-cylinder engine, whichhas a net horsepower rating of 939 hp. Thetruck has a top speed of 40 mph whenloaded. The 777Fs have a 100-ton loadcapacity and weigh in around 180 tons whenloaded. These two trucks are usuallyassigned to moving raw coal from the minesite to the stockpile/processing area.

A 777F is loaded with overburden by the new 6015B.

The secondary crusher at Lehigh Anthracite’s raw stock pile/processing area.

An overview of the processing plant/breaker.

Supplying the Coal Needs of the WorldLehigh Anthracite Coal produces a wide array of coal products from its mines in Tamaqua and Nesquehoning, Pa. These finished products

include:• Egg/Stove, which is 3 ¼-in. x 1 9/16 in. This is used as a carbon additive in electric arc furnaces (EAF), as well as a heat source in the sugar

beet process, and as a radiant heat source in pizza ovens;• Nut, which is 1 9/16-in. x 13/16-in. This also is used in EAFs and is a very popular size for home heating;• Pea, which is 13/16-in. x 9/16-in. This is another size popular for use in EAFs and sometimes home heating;• Buck, which is 9/16-in. x 7/16-in. This particular size is ground into a paste that is then made into high voltage electrodes for EAFs. This also is

a source of heat for large greenhouses; • Rice, which is 7/16-in. x 3/16-in. and is very popular for home heating;• Barley, which is 3/16-in. x 3/32-in. This is used in carbon injection in EAFs to create an insulating blanket on top of the liquid metal in a kettle; • #4, which is 3/32-in. x 3/64-in. This is used as a filter media (along with sand) in municipal water treatment plants; and• #5, which is 1 mm x 100 mesh. This also is used in carbon injection for EAF, water filtration and as an ingredient in charcoal briquettes.

see LEHIGH page 102