Mar 30, 2013 3 min read

Consol Energy mine rescue teams have continued to explore the underground workings of the Blacksville No. 2 Mine, where a fire broke out March 12.

Consol spokeswoman Lynn Seay said Saturday that since the advance teams entered the mine at 8:56 a.m. Wednesday, gas levels underground have remained stable and carbon monoxide levels confirm the fire has been extinguished.

The first two advance teams entered the mine Wednesday morning after a two-week effort by the company to douse the fire by pumping water into the mine and constructing walls through boreholes drilled from the surface to isolate the fire.

The first teams entered the mine through the Kuhntown portal, and, after conducting an initial examination of the active mining area near the portal, established a source of electrical power through one borehole to the base of the Kuhntown portal, Seay said in an email update.

Extensive exploration in this area of the mine is ongoing among the six advance teams that are rotating shift by shift to provide needed rest for each team, Seay said.

It is still unknown when Blacksville No. 2 mine will resume production, Seay said.

The teams have conducted routine checks on mine vehicles and begun charging three of them. Several compressed-air dewatering pumps also have been installed so that advance teams can expand their exploration to the Orndoff shaft area of the mine.

The advance teams were brought to the surface for about six hours Friday while officials evaluated an increase of oxygen levels at the established boreholes, Seay said. The teams re-entered the mine about 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Consol teams will remains on-site around the clock to continue to oversee the operations.

The fire was discovered March 12 when smoke was detected coming from the mine’s Orndoff shaft on King Hill Road in Wayne Township. All 121 underground employees were safely evacuated from the nearby Kuhntown portal off Oak Forest Road.

The company began pumping water into the mine through an existing borehole near the Orndoff shaft and drilled a number of other boreholes from the surface into the mine to pump water and inject nitrogen underground into the affected area and to monitor the mine atmosphere.

Additional boreholes were drilled to construct “isolation walls” in mine tunnels around the affected area to seal it off from the rest of the mine.

The mine produces about 400,000 tons of coal a month and employs about 600 workers, who are represented by the United Mine Workers of America.

Consol has been working with officials from the Mine, Safety and Health Administration, West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training and UMWA to extinguish the fire.