Businessweek

Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. engages in extracting, processing, and marketing steam and metallurgical coal from surface and deep mines. The company sells coal to domestic and foreign electric utilities, steel and coke producers, and industrial users. The company, through its subsidiaries, is also involved in marketing coal produced by others to supplement its own production and, through blending, provides its customers with coal qualities beyond those available from its own production. As of December 31, 2012, the company operated 107 mines and 26 coal preparation plants in Northern Appalachia (NAPP) and Central Appalachia (CAPP), and the Powder River Basin. It owned or leased approximately 4.6 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves, of which approximately 1.5 billion tons are classified as metallurgical coal reserves. Segments The company operates through two segments, Eastern Coal Operations and Western Coal Operations. Eastern Coal Operations: This segment consists of the mines in NAPP and CAPP, the company’s coal brokerage activities and road construction business. Western Coal Operations: This segment consists of two Powder River Basin mines in Wyoming. The company’s All Other category includes an idled underground mine in Illinois; Dry Systems Technologies; the sale of coalbed methane and natural gas extraction; equipment sales and repair operations; terminal services; and leasing mineral rights. Mining Operations The company’s operations are located in the states of Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Its operations include preparation plants, which receive, blend, process, and ship coal that is produced from its mines using five mining methods, such as longwall mining, room-and-pillar mining, truck-and-shovel mining, truck and front-end loader mining, and highwall mining. The company’s underground mines consist of various single or dual continuous miner sections, which are made up of the continuous miner, shuttle cars or continuous haulage, roof bolters, and various ancillary equipment. It has two underground mines that employ a longwall mining system. The company’s Eastern surface mines are a combination of contour highwall miner, auger operations using truck/loader-excavator equipment fleets along with production tractors and a small percentage using mountain top removal. Its Western surface mines are open-pit operations that use the truck-and-shovel mining method. Majority of the company’s preparation plants are modern heavy media plants that have both coarse and fine coal cleaning circuits. Eastern Coal Operations The company’s operations in NAPP consist of its Cumberland and Emerald mining complexes, as well as five underground mines and nine surface mines and two additional preparation plants. It controls approximately 940.4 million tons of reserves through its operations in NAPP. Approximately 180.9 million tons are assigned to active mines and 759.5 million tons are unassigned. The company’s operations in CAPP consist of 67 underground mines, 22 surface mines and 22 preparation plants, a portion of which are operated by independent contractors. Its operations in CAPP collectively shipped 46.9 million tons in 2012. The company controls approximately 2,830.7 million tons of coal reserves through its operations in CAPP. Approximately 1,392.5 million tons are assigned to active mines and approximately 1,438.2 million tons are unassigned. Western Coal Operations The company’s Western Coal Operations in the Powder River Basin consist of its Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte operations, which collectively shipped 46.7 million tons in 2012. It controls approximately 771.5 million tons of coal reserves in the Powder River Basin and all of the coal reserves are assigned to active mines. Belle Ayr consists of one mine that produces sub-bituminous, low sulfur steam coal for sale primarily to utility companies. Eagle Butte consists of one mine that produces sub-bituminous, low sulfur steam coal for sale primarily to utility companies. Other Operations The company has other operations and activities in addition to its coal production, processi