Farmersburg Mine, a surface operation in Vigo and Sullivan Counties in Indiana, shipped 3.5 million tons of medium sulfur coal in 2007 to Indianapolis Power & Light's Stout Station and to Cinergy/PSI's Wabash River Station.

 

Opened in 1996, the mine has steadily increased coal production and employment. Its 260 employees currently operate the mine on two shifts per day, seven days a week year round. They use a combination of dragline, truck/shovel and tractor push to remove overburden and uncover coal in the Indiana No. 7 and No. 6 seams. The coal is hauled from the pit by truck to the preparation plant for crushing, processing and blending before being transported by train to the utilities.

 

In 2005, Farmersburg received the Bronze Good Neighbor award for an extraordinary commitment to industry education and outreach activities. Activities include independent study, technology transfer with government agencies and a history of conducting educational field days to share best practices for growing productive cropland with a variety of stakeholders. About 2,500 acres have been reclaimed for agricultural use. In 2004, Farmersburg Mine earned a National Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior for restoration of prime farmland.

 

Farmersburg employees were honored with the Peabody President's Award in 2006 for being the company's safest surface mine. The mine reported a perfect record of zero incidents for the year.

 

Farmersburg Mine is operated by Black Beauty Coal, the largest coal producer in the Illinois Basin. Black Beauty is a subsidiary 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 more than 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.