Concord Preparation Plant
The Concord Preparation Plant is a coal processing facility located off of Warrior River Road, south of Concord and west of Hueytown. It is connected to the Oak Grove Mine by a 7-mile conveyor which crosses over 15th Street Road.
The plant washes the coal to remove soil, and crushes it into graded sizes for international markets for low-sulfur metallurgical coking coal. Output from the plant is carried by rail or truck, with exports leaving from the Port of Mobile via Birmingport. Wastes generated during coal processing are stored on site in sediment basins.
Prep plant workers are represented by the United Mine Workers of America Local 8982.
The plant was opened in 1975 by U.S. Steel. In 2003 it was acquired by Benjamin Statler and operated by Oak Grove Resources, a subsidiary of his Pennsylvania-based PinnOak Resources. PinnOak sold the mine and plant to Cleveland-Cliffs of Cleveland, Ohio in 2007, and continued to operate as CLF PinnOak LLC. In 2015 Cliffs exited the coal business and sold its operations to Seneca Coal Resources, an affiliate of the Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund owned by Tom Clarke. It then operated under the name Oak Grove Resources.
In January 2018 Seneca Coal Resources and Seminole Coal Resources were reorganized as Mission Coal, headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee. In its earnings reports, the company cited disruptions in rail and port activities, including reduced services from Norfolk Southern, for affecting its production. Mission Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in May of the same year. In May 2019 the company accepted a $43.6 million bid from Robert Murray's Murray Energy Corp. (MEC) for its Alabama and West Virginia mine complexes. Murray Energy, rebranded as American Consolidated Natural Resources of Saint Clairsville, Ohio, operates the Oak Grove Mine and Concord Preparation Plant through Crimson Oak Grove Resources, a division of its Hatfield Metallurgical Holdings subsidiary.
UMWA Local 8982 signed a new contract with Crimson Oak Grove in May 2024, negotiating increases in wages and paid time off.
References
- U.S. Steel (April 10, 2002) "U.S. Steel to Sell Assets of Mining Company". press release - accessed March 26, 2006
- "Cliffs Natural Resources concludes sale of US coal mines to Seneca Coal Resources." (December 22, 2015) Mining Technology
- Godwin, Tyler (October 15, 2018) "US coal miner Mission Coal files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy." S & P Global - accessed May 2, 2024
- Thornton, William (May 7, 2024) "Union ratifies new contract with Alabama coal mine." AL.com