Coal production will begin this month at the new Beckley Pocahontas Mine in Eccles, owned by International Coal Group of Scott Depot,.

The mine is ready for operation after a year of massive construction, although it will not reach full production capacity until mid-2008, according to Ira Gamm, vice president of public relations at ICG.

At full capacity, the mine is expected to yield 1.4 million tons of high-grade metallurgical coal per year, said Gamm. Metallurgical coal is used in steel production in the United States and abroad.

Gary Miles, project engineer with ICG, said about 150 miners will work underground in three shifts, maintaining a continuous operation.

Another 30 workers will man the large new “prep plant” that cleans the coal in preparation for shipment.

While ICG is bringing experienced miners from its other operations to fill some of the positions, Miles said there would be a need for new workers to serve as “shuttle car operators, utility men, roof bolters and belt men.”

ICG estimates that the Pocahontas No. 3 Seam, 800 feet below the surface of the site, holds 37 million tons of recoverable coal — enough to keep the mine running day and night for 20 to 25 years.

Construction at the mine was originally started in the late ’70s by the Westmoreland Coal Company, which had drilled partial shafts and a slope down to the coal seam. Financial constraints forced Westmoreland to halt the construction.

The site lay idle for over 20 years until ICG purchased the mine and resumed construction in March 2006.

ICG workers completed drilling a 2,500-foot sloped tunnel which will be used to bring coal to the surface, and two 800-foot shafts that provide ventilation to the mine and an entrance for miners.

It took the company a year to design and build an electrical substation that provides power to the mine.

Work continues on a system of large conveyor belts that will take the coal from the mine to the prep plant, and then to an adjacent CSX track for shipment.

ICG has had no serious incidents during the extensive construction. However, history serves as a constant reminder of the dangers of coal mining.

ICG operates 11 mines in Kentucky, West Virginia and Maryland, including the Sago Mine in Upshur County where 12 miners were killed by an underground explosion in 2006.

In April 1914, Eccles was the site of the second worst mine disaster in West Virginia history. At least 183 miners lost their lives in an explosion caused by the buildup of flammable gases in the No. 5 Eccles Mine.

That fateful mine is only about one mile from the Beckley Pocahontas Mine.

When ICG officials started work on the new site, they discovered that a nearby cemetery and monument to the 183 dead miners was overgrown and had fallen into disrepair.

Richard Henderson, general manager of the Beckley Pocahontas Mine, said his men cleaned up the cemetery and monument.

Henderson described technologies being used at the new mine to reduce the likelihood that such disasters will happen again.

The mine will employ a modern ventilation system, a computer that monitors underground air quality, and a system that will dilute the majority of methane trapped in the seam before miners begin extracting the coal.

Henderson said ICG would also solicit regular feedback from its workers regarding safety issues, violations and needed safety improvements in the mine.

“We believe in involving our people in the safety business,” Henderson said.

The company has also made efforts to reach out to local residents. ICG held a community open house in April where they displayed plans for the mine, and company officials talked with residents about the future operation.

Henderson said the company has picked an advisory panel from the community to serve as a link between ICG and local residents.

“We didn’t want any rumors,” Henderson said. “We want to work with the community.”

Individuals interested in applying for jobs at the Beckley Pocahontas Mine should complete an application at WORKFORCE West Virginia behind the Value City Plaza on Robert C. Byrd Drive.

— E-mail: bbilleter@register-herald.com