Wildcat Hills Complex in Gallatin and Saline counties in Southern Illinois began shipping coal in 1997 from the mine's Eagle Valley Pit. The Cottage Grove Pit was opened in 2000. The complex currently includes both surface and underground operations.

 

The mine sold 2.9 million tons of coal to electricity generating customers in 2007 including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Tampa Electric, American Electric Power and Cinergy. The mine has 10 million tons of recoverable coal reserves.

 

Working on two shifts seven days a week year round, Wildcat Hills' 175 employees mine the Herrin No. 6 seam using truck/shovel fleets and tractor push to remove overburden. The raw coal is transported by truck to the Willow Lake preparation plant for processing before being shipped primarily by barge down the Ohio River to a variety of utility plants. All coal from the Wildcat Hills Mine is currently being mined from the Cottage Grove Pit. The Eagle Valley Pit has been mined out and is presently being reclaimed.

 

The Wildcat Hills underground operation, which started producing coal in March of 2006, currently consists of one unit employing 84 people. A second unit is scheduled for the approximate time frame of 2010. The addition of a second unit will increase the tonnage output of the mine to approximately 1.6 million tons and will also increase the number of employees to approximately 160.

 

Wildcat Hills 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.