By Paul J. Gough

November 9, 2018 - One of the most famous mines in Pennsylvania has produced its last coal.

Quecreek Mine was the Somerset County underground mine that in July 2002 was the site of a rescue of nine workers after 77 hours underground. But its supply of coal has been dwindling in recent years. The mine, now owned by Corsa Coal Corp. in Canonsburg, finished up its last reserves in August. Corsa employees are now retrieving underground mine equipment from inside the mine in work that will continue for another month, Corsa Coal CEO George G. Dethlefsen told analysts on a conference call Thursday.

Corsa acquired the mine a few years ago and didn’t own it when the rescue occurred. Dethlefsen paid tribute to the mine’s storied history as well as the rescue. And in the past months, it posted its lowest costs to mine.

“The mine ended its life with a flourish,” Dethlefsen said.

Dethlefsen told the Business Times after the conference call that there were 50 employees working at Quecreek at the end, and 15 are remaining to retrieve equipment and infrastructure at the mine. There will be no layoffs, and the rest have been transferred to other operations.

"Ultimately the mine will be sealed and the mine entrance will be reclaimed to the original pre-mining surface contour," Dethlefsen said.

Corsa (TSXV: CSO), which had revenue of $199.3 million for the first nine months of 2018, has been working over the past several years in getting new mines up and running in Somerset County. Its Acosta mine, which is about 40 percent of its total production, was the first new mine in the country over the past several years, and it has achieved full run-rate production. Casselman Mine, which had seen some slowdowns due to geology, is back to ramping up production, and drilling tests have shown there will be significant reserves there.

And even though Quecreek’s mining life has ended, a new mine, Keyser, will likely receive a mining permit from state regulators later this year. The $20 million to $24 million development of that mine will likely begin next year.

“The company is well-positioned for the quarters ahead,” Dethlefsen said.