Massey Energy Releases Methane Data From Upper Big Branch Mine

JULIAN, W.Va., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Massey Energy Company (NYSE: MEE) shared with the media methane gas data and chart information collected from the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine in Montcoal, WV.  The data demonstrates that on April 5, 2010, the mine experienced a sudden inundation of unusually high levels of methane gas.  This release of methane was almost three times greater than normal liberation rates for this mine.

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Analysis of the methane data supplied by MSHA taken from the Bandytown Fan, the primary ventilation exhaust, demonstrates several important points. First, the unexpected release of methane gas into the UBB mine was intense and overwhelming to the normal safety systems. "To put it in perspective, a methane release of this size would completely fill a 2,000 sq-ft house with an explosive atmosphere in under 40 seconds, and could fill the volume of a typical mine entry to explosive levels in under 25 seconds," said leading explosions expert and Massey UBB investigation team member, Dr. Christopher Schemel. "While the UBB investigation is still ongoing and it is far too early to determine the exact cause of the April 5 accident, the methane gas data is a very important piece of evidence."

Additionally, fans for the ventilation system at UBB continued to operate after the UBB explosion, and continued to supply fresh air at the design specification rate mandated by MSHA. Gas samples taken by MSHA from the Bandytown ventilation fan show the mine atmosphere experienced a rapid inundation of methane, raising the concentration in the ventilation air significantly. Furthermore, the ventilation gas reading data details how the mine environment returned to more normal conditions a few days later.  

The "Upper Big Branch Mine – Measured Methane Concentrations" graph of the methane inundation data will be posted to the Massey UBB website at www.masseyubb.com.

Massey Energy Company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia, is the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia and is included in the S&P 500 Index.

SOURCE Massey Energy Company

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