Black Thunder mine expands LNG pilot program - Gillette News Record
The Black Thunder mine has a fleet of 148 haul trucks, according to Arch. GFS is the same company that provided Alpha Natural Resources with conversions for its Caterpillar haul trucks starting in 2012. The EVO-MT conversion systems don’t completely replace diesel fuel with liquefied natural gas. Conversion also requires new fuel tanks added to the trucks. “We look forward to working with Arch Coal and the outstanding team at Black Thunder mine as they significantly expand their LNG conversion project. The two companies are also working toward LNG-diesel conversions for other haul trucks and for other diesel-powered mining equipment. There are upfront costs for conversion and the infrastructure needed to deliver the fuel, but once in place, LNG provides significant cost savings over diesel. The Henry Hub spot price for natural gas, which is dry gas (not LNG), was less than $3 per million British thermal units in February, down from about $4 at the end of the year. Highway diesel would cost about $22. 60 to get to a million Btu of energy, assuming a cost of $2. 90 per gallon and energy content of 128,488 Btu per gallon, which the Energy. Source: www.gillettenewsrecord.com
