Foresight Energy is slowly moving forward to return its idled Deer Run thermal coal longwall mine in Illinois to operation, although officials still did not know Thursday exactly when that return might occur.
Mine rescue teams have completed ventilation changes aimed at preventing a recurrence of elevated carbon monoxide levels that have dogged the mine in 2015, said US Mine Safety and Health Administration spokeswoman Amy Louviere.
Now, "the mine operator would like to conduct the next phase of the recovery process to restore power to the longwall and mine 180 feet to allow the longwall equipment to be removed," she added.
St. Louis-based Foresight plans to seal off the existing longwall area and relocate the longwall to a different section of the mine near Hillsboro in Montgomery County.
Louviere did not indicate if or when Foresight will be permitted to make the longwall move and a spokesman for Murray Energy, which acquired a major stake in Foresight earlier this year and speaks for the company, did not immediately respond to an email.
Deer Run has been a source of frustration for Foresight since March 26, when the mine was idled because of elevated CO levels. It remained closed until late July when production resumed for a couple of weeks before rising CO readings again sidelined the mine.
During the brief time it ran during the third quarter, Deer Run managed to produce 114,490 st of coal, according to the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, which boosted the mine's total 2015 output to nearly 1.9 million st. Deer Run, one of Foresight's stable of longwall mines in Illinois, produced 5.5 million st in 2014.
