Kentucky Coal Facts - 13th Edition - Department for Energy ...

Pike County
Production Method Mines Production Percentage
Total 116 12,961,559 100%
Surface 59 6,793,421 52%
Underground 57 6,168,138 48%
Since the mid 1990s, coal production in Pike County has
been in decline. Production is down more than 60percent
compared with a 20-year peak in 1996.
On-Site Activity Employment Percentage
Total 2,863 100%
Underground 1,417 49%
Surface 961 34%
Preparation Plant 336 12%
Office 149 5%
In recent memory, Pike County of Eastern Kentucky has been
the largest coal producing county in Kentucky. However, in
2012 Pike County was overtaken by Union County of Western
Kentucky as the largest producer. Mines in Pike County
produced 12.9 million tons of coal in 2012, and represented
14 percent of all coal produced in Kentucky. Additionally,
with 116 producing mine sites, Pike County had the most coal
mining operations of any county in Kentucky in 2012.
Though the second largest coal producer in 2012, Pike County
had on average the highest level of direct coal mining
employment in Kentucky. With more than 2,800 miners employed
full-time during the year, Pike County accounted for
more mining employment than any county in the Commonwealth.
Forty-nine percent of these miners worked underground
in 2012, while 34 percent worked at surface mine
sites. Coal preparation plants and mine offices also provided
significant employment during 2012.
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energy.ky.gov
kentuckycoal.com