The Buchanan thermal operation near Oakwood, Buchanan County in southern Virginia began development in 1983 with coal production officially starting in 1987. It has produced more than 92 million tons of coal since.

Buchanan produces about 4.5 million tons per annum on average, and in 2012 had 3.5Mt of output with 627 employees.

“Thirty years … it’s a pretty big deal,” mine superintendent Brett Holbrook, who was part of a weeklong celebration of the milestone last week at the complex, told local newspaper the Bristol Herald-Leader.

While Consol did not release a public statement on the milestone, Central Appalachian operations vice president Jack Richardson told the paper the miners who extracted from the Pocahontas 3 seam by continuous miners as well as its longwall panel, were very proud of the operation.

“This is one of the premier jobs to work in the entire area," he said.

“Really, the best resource we have is not the [metallurgical] coal or the methane gas we capture, it’s the people.”

Buchanan’s coal is shipped both domestically and internationally and Richardson said the operation’s past and future rested on its good coal seam.

“For any company to have one mine sustain itself for 30 years is remarkable," he said.

“It still looks great, like it was mined yesterday. The seam has been consistent.”