POTTSVILLE - The public is invited to join Reading Anthracite Co. and West Spring Energy LLC for Community Day, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 31, at the New St. Nicholas Plant located at 46 W. Mt. Laffee Road, as the companies celebrate a coal industry that is "growing again."
Visitors will get an up-close look at the new Komatsu PC4000, a 850,000-pound Komatsu hydraulic shovel. The day will also feature a tour of an operating coal mine where the latest advancements in the energy industry will be highlighted. Light refreshments will also be served.
Parking for the event will be at the New St. Nicholas Plant. There, visitors will board buses for round-trip transportation to the newly opened West Spring Energy mine site near Locust Gap. Estimated tour time is 3 hours.
A highlight of the event will be the unveiling of the new Komatsu PC4000 excavator. Brian Rich, president of Reading Anthracite, announced the purchase of this 29-cubic-yard hydraulic excavator and ancillary mining equipment that will allow the company to increase mining capacity.
The "super shovel" is currently being operated at the West Spring Energy mine. During Community Day, visitors will have the opportunity to get their photo taken with this mammoth piece of equipment.
"In addition to this capital investment in our company and our community, we are in the process of hiring an additional 60 employees to support our mine expansion efforts," Rich said. We anticipate being able to extract 400,000 to 500,000 incremental tons of run of mine (raw) coal annually."
Community day is free, but reservations are required. To reserve a tour time, call 624-4722 or 624-4724 with name, number attending, phone number and e-mail address. Callers will be given a departure time. Reservation deadline is Tuesday.
The last tour will depart from New St. Nicholas Plant at 12:30 p.m.
Rain date for this event is Saturday, April 14.
Reading Anthracite Company, headquartered in Pottsville, was founded in 1871. West Spring Energy and The West Spring Slope in Locust Gap was mined at various times dating back to the 1900s, and still has an abundance of high quality anthracite in close proximity to the surface, the company reports.