Consol has reopened the Bailey mine, which was temporarily closed after two workers tested positive for Covid-19.
US coal miner Consol Energy has resumed normal operations at its Bailey mine, where production was curtailed on March 30, after two employees tested positive for Covid-19.
The miner confirmed on Tuesday that the workforce at the Bailey mine, part of the Pennsylvania Complex, returned to a normal production schedule on Monday.
“Enhanced sanitisation and social distancing measures, along with staggered shifts at the mine will continue to ensure the health and wellness of all personnel on site,” the company noted in a statement.
However, Consol also announced that it would idle production at the Enlow Fork mine, owing to the weakness in coal demand and economic slowdown related to the pandemic.
The Pennsylvania Complex has the capacity to produce 28.5-million tons a year, with the idled Enlow Fork mine accounting for 11.5-million tons a year of the total capacity.
The fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on coal demand, with the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) having warned that total coal consumption is forecast to decrease by 19% this year, driven primarily by electric power sector demand, which will fall by 107-million tons (20%).
The largest impact on electricity demand will be felt in the commercial sector, where forecast retail sales of electricity will fall by 4.7% in 2020, owing to the closure of many businesses, EIA says. Sales of electricity to the industrial sector will fall by 4.2% in 2020, as many factories cut back production. To the residential sector sales will dip by 0.8% as reduced power usage resulting from milder winter and summer weather is offset by increased household electricity consumption as much of the population stays at home.
US coal production is forecast to decrease by 22% in 2020 to 537-million tons.