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In anticipation of this reopening, Quest's wholly-owned subsidiary, Gwenco, and its contract miner, General Mining, have assembled and moved equipment in anticipation of reopening the Lower Cedar Grove mine. Upon reopening, Gwenco intends to employ an Eimco 2810 continuous miner to mine the 48 to 50 inch seam. Assuming Gwenco is able to employ a double shift operation and that the seam height is continuous, the Eimco 2810 is capable of running up to 60,000 tons of raw coal per month.
Tests on the Lower Cedar Grove seam coal have run in excess of 13,000 BTUs. While the coke button is somewhat low, Quest believes that the high BTU and fluidity should permit shippers to blend this into high price orders to the international metallurgical market.
Eugene Chiaramonte, Jr., President of Quest, stated, "We are seeing an increase in global demand for metallurgical, or 'met,' and high quality steam coal. Both the Pond Creek and Lower Cedar Grove mines fit these niche markets. Recent market reports indicate that U.S. coal exports are up nearly 25% through April of this year, and this recent activity and indications suggest that exports will continue to increase, perhaps substantially."
