Peabody's Twentymile Mine near Oak Creek, Colo., is one of the largest underground mines in the United States. Coal from Twentymile has a high heating value of 11,350 Btu per pound and low sulfur and ash content, which makes it ideal for utility customers around the world. In 2008, the mine shipped 8.6 million tons of coal to customers around the world.

 

Twentymile is a longwall operation, with one of the fastest, most powerful shearers in the world and longwall panels that are 1,000 feet wide and more than 2 miles long. The operation's innovative conveyor belt travels more than five miles underground and two miles on the surface, and the mine's first-ever "scissorveyor" reduces the number of belt moves required. Peabody also recently ramped up the Twentymile preparation plant, which is the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River.