The Caballo Mine shipped approximately 31.2 million tons of coal in 2006 and controls about 931 million tons of reserves that are recoverable by surface mining methods. Caballo is located in Campbell County, about 20 miles southeast of Gillette, Wyo., in an area characterized by rolling uplands that supports ranching and wildlife as well as dry-land farming. Coal is mined from the Smith and Wyodak-Anderson seams and averages about 68 feet in thickness; overburden is about 200 feet thick.

 

Caballo began production in 1978 and operates on a seven-day-per-week schedule with two 12-hour shifts daily. Caballo employs approximately 400 individuals. Its coal is delivered to approximately 12 coal-based utilities located throughout the central United States.

 

Three shovels are operated to remove overburden, and large end-dumps are used for haulage. Coal is loaded with shovels and hauled to a drive-over hopper by bottom dump trucks, where it is crushed and handled at a capacity of 5,100 tons per hour. Crushed coal is transported to four storage silos with a 60-inch conveyor belt.

 

Three inbound and two outbound tracks are in place connecting with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads. The train loading facilities are located over the loop tracks and are capable of handling unit trains carrying up to 135 cars. Trains are loaded using a flood loading stage in conjunction with a batch weigh topping system. Typical loading times average two hours per train, and Caballo averages six trains per day at its present level of production.

 

Caballo is also one of the nation's safest U.S. mines.

 

The Caballo Mine is part of St. Louis-based Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2007 sales of 238 million tons and $4.6 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel approximately 10 percent of all U.S. electricity and 2 percent of worldwide electricity. The company is serving global coal demand from electricity generators and steelmakers, and is growing to serve new global customers and emerging Btu Conversion markets.