[Hoot Gibson]

:Thumbs: And people from this area don't realize the effect that PRB coal is having on this area as well. Some of those seams are 100 FOOT thick and are unbeliveable to see. Companies like Arch and Peabody are putting more and more money into those area's and less into Central App coal. PRB coal is already being shipped to the east in large quantities to be blended with the higher BTU coal from Central App. as of 10/16/09 PRB coal had actually came back up to just over 9 dollars a ton. This coal is cheap and can be ship and blended with Central App coal to be used in power plants and it is happening more and more. Add to that the coal that is starting to pour out of the Illinois Basin and one can see where coal in this area of the country is slowly being elminated. Wyoming has been the number 1 producer for the last few years and they are only widening that lead. The PRB loadouts can load 15000 tons of coal into railcars in just over an hour and they load 8 to 10 trains per day. As they expand rail lines in the area this will only increase their output more.

:Thumbs: I would like to add that as our federal government adds costs to the bottom line of companies mining middle Appalachian coal, imports from South America and South Africa also will become competitive in many markets in the eastern US, which will displace domestic production.