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Responsible mining: Minimizing our impact.

Responsible Mining: Economic and Social Impact On the Local Community

As a company we believe it is important to not just consider our environmental impact on the area we are mining but also the impact we have on the local community. We are committed to providing long-term, good employment prospects for our local communities and workforce.

Anthracite is value-added ingredient in recycled steel manufacturing as well as other chemical and industrial processes including large-scale water filtration.  Anthracite has the multiplier effect of enabling the recycling of scrap steel while remediating environmentally sensitive areas while producing anthracite.  Please see the Anthracite section on the site for more information.

Economic

  • Atlantic Carbon Group brings major economic benefits to the Hazleton region of Pennsylvania through direct and contracted employment ($8.5 million) and the purchase of goods and services from local suppliers ($13.5 million) as well as taxes, permit fees and licenses.
  • For a primary industry such as mining the ‘multiplier effect’ on the local economy is generally recognised to be somewhere between 2 and 3 times direct spend, making our total contribution to the local community between $40 million and $60 million annually. Our company Stockton mine currently provides employment for approximately 140 local people in reliable jobs with good pay and benefits.
  • As we continue to grow into the leading anthracite provider in the US, we are looking to expand our workforce. We welcome applications from prospective employees to join our team.

Social

  • Atlantic Carbon Group, through its predecessor company Coal Contractors, supported a fundraising initiative on behalf of Eckley Miners’ Village (a living museum near Hazleton demonstrating the everyday lives of the occupants of a 19th Century coal mining “patch town”) to restore a historic coal breaker in the village. We hope to preserve an important part of local history for future generations by restoring the breaker.
  • Atlantic Carbon Group, through its predecessor company Coal Contractors, supported the local Greater Hazleton Rails-To-Trails project which is reclaiming derelict railroads and converting them to valuable recre- ational assets for the local community. We provided heavy plant, equipment and drivers to assist with the construction of the Hazleton network.

Mine Reclamation

Atlantic Carbon Group takes its responsibility towards the local environment very seriously. Concurrent mine reclamation is conducted at all of our operations. Previously mined areas have been left unreclaimed over the past several hundred years in the Pennsylvania mining industry as many pits and underground workings were abandoned once accessible reserves were exhausted. As we practice modern methods of surface mining, we remove overburden and simultaneously replace it in previously mined areas. This continual backfilling process ensures all reclamation remains current and maintains the active mine within permitted limits, without having to establish an overburden storage area dump elsewhere. Backfilled areas are restored to original contours and the terrain is returned to its original landform, following which grass seed is laid down and trees are planted. Improvements allow for natural streams to flow over the land in place of the abandoned mining tunnels currently directing water flow. Ponds and wetlands are created and wildlife is able to flourish. Atlantic Carbon Group has reclaimed over 1000 acres of previously mined lands at our locations.

Atlantic Carbon Group’s operations in Pennsylvania are fully bonded, meaning the Company has already paid the cost of reclamation to Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in the form of a protected bond. On top of this a percentage of the cost of each ton of anthracite sold is given to a federal fund set up to reclaim abandoned mines and pit areas. In this way the landscape is being restored, and the legacy left by historical anthracite mining repaired.