North Dakota Lignite Mine, Mine-Mouth Power Plant on Again

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Westmoreland Coal Company (Colorado Springs, Colorado) plans to upgrade and restart a lignite coal mine with a capacity of 3 million-5 million tons per year in Gascoyne, North Dakota. Lignite is often referred to as brown coal and is the lowest ranking of coals. It is used almost exclusively as a fuel for steam-electric power generation. It has high natural moisture content and very high ash content when compared to bituminous coal. The heat content of lignite ranges from 9 million to 17 million British thermal unit(Btu)/ton, or 10 to 20 megajoules (MJ) per kilogram (kg) compared with the heat content of bituminous coal, which ranges from 21 million to 30 million Btu/ton, or 24 to 35 MJ/kg. Because of lignite’s low energy level, it’s not cost-effective to transport it a great distance. Although it is not the best or the brightest of the coals, it can be the low preference for a closely seated power plant. Sometimes these mines are called mine-mouth mines for obvious reasons. Westmoreland Energy LLC, a division of Westmoreland Coal, has plans in the offing for a multi-million dollar, 500-MW coal-fired power plant to be built close to the lignite mine. It is employing the engineering expertise of Sargent & Lundy (Chicago, Illinois) for the power plant project.

An elaborate enclosed conveyor belt system will be used to transport the coal from the mine to the power plant with great care to keep the coal dust at a minimum. Dust collection will include fabric filter units. In addition to the standard mining equipment, repairs and updates to haul roads, load trucks, hydraulic excavators, bins, hoppers, stackers and a centralized crushing plant will be needed to complete the project. The power plant is in the permitting stages, and once the required approvals and permits are in place, it’s full steam ahead. Expect detailed engineering and selection of an engineering firm in 2009 for the mine. Construction kick-off for the mine is projected for sometime in 2010, and the plant is expected to start construction in 2008. Both undertakings are anticipating completion late in 2012 or early in 2013; the mine will then be linked to the plant.

The joint projects covering the coal mine and power plant have been in the works for a number of years. When the power plant was proposed in early 2001, it came with a price tag of more than $700 million as a joint venture with the Montana-Dakota Utilities Company. The project’s cost has since risen to approximately $1 billion and is no longer a joint venture but a wholly owned project by Westmoreland Energy LLC. The coal-mine proposal followed shortly after, along with its own price tag of $50 million. The cost for the restart and upgrades has risen over the years to about $120 million.

The site, outside of Gascoyne, North Dakota, is a former mining operation that started in 1946. It was called the Peerless Mine until in 1950, Knife River Coal purchased the mine and renamed it the Gascoyne Mine. In 1995, Knife River Coal lost its major contract and ceased operations. When reopened, the mine is expected to employ about 100 people, and the power plant will add 50-60 people. The Gascoyne community has a population of 21, according to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau. It’s estimated that the mine has a lignite reserve of 63.5 million tons. That would be considered an adequate supply for many years of operations.

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