The strength of Twin Branch

It was once a quietly operated surface operation, like many of its contemporaries in southern West Virginia. Today, under the ownership of Coal-Mac and Mitch Potter, it is in its prime 
and exemplifies a safe, efficient, well-organized operation that others look to as an example 
of how to do things well.

By Donna Schmidt

Coal-Mac was once the only purely thermal coal mines that Arch Coal owned in Appalachia. A couple truck and shovel operations perched quietly in the hills of Holden, south of Charleston, W.Va., it operated as part of its portfolio until it was purchased by an “undisclosed buyer” in 2019.

The buyer was later confirmed to be be self-made coal magnate Mitch Potter. Potter, who even today travels between his Kentucky home and his West Virginia sites, is a second-generation miner who climbed the ranks to executive and owner through a period of three decades. The former owner of Blackhawk Mining closed on the deal that December.

Potter immediately got to work on a vision that would result in what is seen today at Twin Branch: a decade-plus mine life asset with a remaining recoverable reserve total of more than 50 million tons, an enviable safety and production record with an employee roster that is – no hyperbole here – a circle of family that includes 33 sets of generational miners (all father/son), 20 sets of brothers and nine teams of fathers and sons-in-law.

When you look carefully, there is no secret to the success of Coal-Mac and its Twin Branch mine; its 5% turnover rate speaks volumes. NAM was invited recently to have a personal tour and inside look at the mine’s operations, storied past and present, as well as the outline for its long future.

A view of history
Twin Branch’s owner, Coal-Mac, was first formed in 1978 and owned by the late Frank Justice, the late Jim McGhee, Lynn Parrish and Woody Barker. The quartet sold Coal-Mac to Ashland Coal in 1989 in a deal which included a couple major contracts with Consumer Powers. Ashland Coal, a publicly traded company, then went on to merge with Arch Minerals in 1997, forming Arch Coal.

Since Potter purchased Coal-Mac, the company-wide roster has exploded, spiking from 230 to 540 employees. It also added a trio of new surface jobs, another loadout facility and one reclamation crew. It also added a coal trucking company with a fleet of 44 tractors and 13 tandems, a rebuild facility for heavy equipment, an underground mine in Clay County with a rail loading plant, and one contract underground mine. All of these personal and operational assets are in the heart of the region’s most competitive mining ridges and valleys.

“All of Mitch’s people are real,” one manager said of Potter’s reputation and portfolio. “All his managers can operate equipment and are a working component. His management team is the working environment, they are family oriented and have a family style work ethic, very compassionate to employees, flexible and more.”

Coal-Mac’s portfolio today includes Twin Branch as well as Toms Branch/Laurel Fork, Duty Branch, Cub Branch, and Eagle 3. Its facilities and teams include Coal-Mac Trucking, its reclamation crew, Ragland Loadout, the Holden Plant, Snap Creek Loadout and the Eagle 3 Loadout. There are 90 workers at its Screaming Eagle complex in Clay and Nicholas counties, W.Va., and 22 more at its Cherokee Rock quarry in Tennessee.

In focus at Twin Branch
An early visual observation of the Twin Branch mine is its commitment to a clean, organized site. For a site that has been mined by both surface and underground methods over a century, it certainly maintains a tight-laced, newly completed look. Its fleet is made up of 85 well-maintained machines, including one PC 5500 hydraulic Komatsu excavator; one O&K RH 200 hydraulic shovel; three 993 CAT wheel loaders; and one 994F CAT wheel loader. It also has 21 haulage trucks (seven 789 CAT mechanical and five 730 Komatsu electrical, and nine 830 Komatsu electrical); 10 dozers (five D11 CAT, four D10 and one D9) along with an assortment of support equipment that includes excavators, drills, water trucks and more.

There is no evidence remaining of the idle status the mine was in when Potter purchased it; according to the company, it had been in a suspended status for about one year when he took ownership.

“There was reclamation pending, and several WVDEP violations were outstanding,” said general manager Jeff Sands. “Coal-Mac was able to acquire the reserve base, satisfy the outstanding violations and improve the mine plan to bring the mine back to profitability. The majority of the mineral is owned by a sister company and the remaining mineral and surface is leased from various land companies.”

It is clear from the mine’s overall 87% uptime that its maintenance program is of key importance, and in January 2024, the operation upped its game with the implementation of the FIIX maintenance software program (and two planners to manage it). The program oversees many tasks including component tracking, preventive maintenance scheduling and the consistent monitoring and calculation of accurate availability rates. At the time of the tour, equipment upcoming was between 85-87%.

Another constant at the mine is monitoring via scheduled oil sampling. When engine oil is changed after each 250 hours of use, all components are samples and then reviewed for any signs of premature wear. It’s 27-strong maintenance group works 12-hour shifts and every other Saturday – a total of 68 hours per week – on the upkeep of every mechanical asset. The team includes mechanics, helpers, welders, lube techs, electricians and steam cleaners. It has OEM support as well, with about four Caterpillar technicians moving around the operation as needed for troubleshooting.

Shaun Creech, who serves as maintenance manager, noted that all equipment is powered by diesel engines with hydraulic systems; no battery-electric or alternative fuel sources are in use at this time. Additionally, the 14 electric trucks also run diesel, but they also generate electricity to the electric wheel motor.

Safety and performance
While Coal-Mac is a relatively small company, the operator is proud of its achievements on the safety front – both in its everyday initiatives and its recognition from others. For example, between 2022 and 2023, the miner completed more than 500 extensive training sessions of varied types, from new miner and experience miner training to annual safety refresher training, first aid and EMT training. Coal-Mac overall, and Twin Branch as its own presence, has a high number of medically trained staff, at about 50 and 15, respectively, according to safety manager Adam Gross.

The operation has also held more than 2,000 hazard training sessions and continuous task trainings. All were conducted on-site at Coal-Mac’s training facility, or at mine operations by its certified company employees and safety department.

Today, employees attend at least one safety meeting each week – last year alone, 2,288 different opportunities were presented for this training. It also conducted more than 150 safety audits, performed in-house by its own employees and its safety department. As a direct result of its company safety audits, Gross said, it was able to correct 400 safety items.

The mine has additionally been bestowed with safety awards for its performance, including the 2023 Mountaineer Guardian Award from the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training and the West Virginia Coal Association (Mining and Reclamation Association). The Mountaineer Guardian award program gives recognition to mining workplaces where employees have accumulated qualifying amounts of production without experiencing a fatal accident.

It also has taken home the 2022 and 2023 Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association Award. The group, also known as the JAHSA, offers a variety of awards annually to recognize individuals and organizations who have made a difference in safety and health.

Additionally, Twin Branch has earned the 2022 MSHA Achievement in Safety Award from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) recognizes small businesses with exemplary safety and health programs that use OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program services.

Working under Gross are five dedicated safety team members that work hand-in-hand with a two-member human resource team to continuously improve the mine’s standard of safety. For example, Coal-Mac recently invested in updated training facilities for the safety department “to accommodate the ongoing commitment to have the best trained miners in the industry,” the safety manager added.

Potter and his team also pride themselves on an “open-door” approach to safety. As Gross noted, the initiative encourages employees to communicate any concerns, or incidents like near-miss events, with management so that everyone can learn from them.

“The safety department diligently investigates all injuries and near misses to evaluate and find helpful solutions for the hazards associated with our mining process,” he said. “From environmental hazards to individual behaviors, we believe that training, and employees taking personal accountability of their own safety, is the key to success.”

Scott Maynard, safety tech, added: “We are committed to improving the frequency and quality of our training and evaluations of our mining process. Through one-on-one task training, and jobsite safety audits, we are fine tuning what works to keep the work environment safe.

“The relationship between management and our workforce is the foundation on which our safety success has been based. Our vision is to build upon that foundation so that all employees contribute to the success of our company.”

Preparation and transport
Twin Branch runs exceptionally clean – year to date, it has washed just 4% of its 442,000 tons – so there is no on-site preparation facility. As a result, tonnage heads directly to the Ragland Loadout by truck to be prepped for rail shipping on the mine’s Norfolk Southern leased line. Ragland processes 90% direct coal from Duty Branch as well, along with Tom’s Branch, Laurel Fork (its contract highwall miner) and haulback from the Holden plant (which processes 10% wash coal, see below).

Other facilities available for transport by Coal-Mac: the Holden Plant’s loadout site, which readies tonnage for Duty Branch (50/50 wash/direct); Alma, Coal-Mac’s contract underground mine (100% wash coal); Laurel Fork (50/50 wash/direct); and the LF highwall miner site (100% wash). It has also purchased coal (100% wash coal) from its third-party-held Pine Creek mine. That asset loads to CSX rail.

Snap Creek, which receives 100% direct coal from the Cub Branch mine, also loads throughput from third-party mines at a rate of about one train a month. That tonnage is loaded onto CSX trains. The company’s Eagle 3 Loadout, made up of 70% wash coal and 30% direct coal from Eagle 3, Cub Branch and the Cub Branch highwall miner, loads to a CSX train for rail service.

Finally, the operator utilizes third-party contractor Delbarton Mining’s 100% wash coal from the Alma operation, Coal-Mac’s contract underground mine, on NS-leased rail service lines.

While the market determines Twin Branch’s delivery roster and schedule, as it does for all of Coal-Mac, it currently ships primarily to southern utility companies. Some overseas shipments are contracted, though management declined to further elaborate.

“The long-term future of Twin Branch is excellent as long as the demand for steam coal is maintained. Obviously, the current administration’s push to eliminate coal fired electricity is concerning,” Sands warned in his near-term discussion of the future.

However, all told, one does not need a predictive tool to determine the future of Twin Branch. It is a strong component of Coal-Mac’s operational tree, and will remain so long into the future.

Getting to know Mitch Potter
Many people have heard Mitch Potter’s name – he has been a longtime fixture in the southern West Virginia coal mining community – but as an individual, he keeps his personality close to the vest. Much of NAM’s learning of this coal executive came from others, all of whom used a number of positive terms: hard-working, private, understanding, organized, family-focused and giving.

Potter, the son of a coal mining entrepreneur, has worked his way through many positions at the mine site from labor to management. He is self-made, a product of the influence from his father who operated the Sunny Ridge Coal Co. in eastern Kentucky.

“He’s one of a very few in the coal industry that has planned a mine, mined coal, operated equipment and understands the dynamics of mining, people, maintenance and reclamation,” one official said of their colleague. “He staffs his company with the most knowledgeable, capable, and dependent managers; he truly is one of the last of a dying breed in our industry.”

Prior to the founding of his first entity, Phoenix Coal Holdings (which now includes Coal-Mac as part of JMP Holdings), Potter was the founding member, controlling shareholder, and CEO of Blackhawk Mining. During his time with Blackhawk from early 2010 until late 2019, the company aggressively expanded throughout Kentucky and West Virginia and grew to employ over 3,300 workers across nine mining complexes. Blackhawk now holds more than 20 surface and underground coal mines.

Potter is a 40-year veteran of the coal industry, going from president and chief executive officer for his father’s company, Sunny Ridge Mining, until 1999, as well as Raven Crest Mining until 2010. He took over Coal-Mac in 2019 from Arch Coal and has grown the Coal-Mac umbrella from 200 workers to well over 540 today.

The modest, humble executive is a native of Pike County, Ky., and attended the University of Kentucky. He travels frequently between his current home in Lexington and his mine sites in the region via car and helicopter and maintains his strong leadership by always staying close to the everyday tasks at his operations and facilities.

When not working at a site, Potter is also the CEO and controlling shareholder of JMP Motorsports LLC, dba United Motorsports, an acquisition vehicle and parent company for motorcycle, ATV, marine recreation, and recreational vehicle dealerships throughout Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. He founded his first dealership, Lexington Motorsports, in 2004. Over the course of 20 years, the company has grown to 11 locations employing over 150 individuals.