November 6, 2014 – Twelve mines in Northern Appalachia cranked out more than 1 million tons of coal each in the third quarter, helping boost production from the region, and more than half of those mines are held by one company that dramatically increased its footprint in the basin late in 2013.

An SNL Energy analysis of U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration data showed that the top 25 producing coal mines in the Northern Appalachia basin produced a cumulative 25.46 million tons of coal in the third quarter, up from 22.38 million tons in the year-ago period. In the 12 months ending with the most recent quarter, the mines produced 101.99 million tons of coal, up from 94.48 million tons.

The region has been expanding production as it continues to attract market share and employees from the Central Appalachia basin to the South. However, Northern Appalachia producers still struggle with intense competition from natural gas, as well as coal from regions where production is cheaper, such as the Illinois Basin.

Murray Energy Corp. owns seven of the 12 mines that produced over 1 million tons of coal in the third quarter. Its top producer in the third quarter, the Marshall County mine, produced 2.85 million tons of coal in the period.

Marshall is one of five mines that Murray acquired in a $3.5 billion buy from CONSOL Energy Inc. announced late in 2013. The Ohio County, Harrison County, Marion County and Monongalia County mines acquired in the same purchase also all reported output that placed them among the top 25 mines in the region.

Murray's seven top-producing Northern Appalachia mines generated over 11.51 million tons of coal in the third quarter alone. The same mines produced 45.02 million tons in the 12 months ending in the third quarter.

For the 12-month period, the Century and Powhatan No. 6 mines were the only Murray operations in the region that reported decreased production.

In a statement to SNL Energy regarding the company's increase in production broadly across its operations, Murray reported that increased productivity and increased production shifts boosted production at the mines formerly owned by CONSOL.

Keep reading the full report and analysis here.