Coal Preparation Society of America

Message from the President

Thank you for reading the Fall 2024 issue of the Coal Preparation Society of America’s Coal Processing Technology Journal.  We are three quarters of the way through the year already, though it feels like yesterday we were in Lexington for the CoalProTec Conference and Exhibition.   I hope that everyone has had a safe and enjoyable summer as we head into the fall season.

 
With this fall comes the next presidential election, of which the results will undoubtedly have an impact on our industry.   If the recent PJM energy capacity auction in which premiums jumped over 800% is any indication of the energy demands the US is looking at, one can hope that the elected party can see the direction we are headed and embrace the “All of the Above” energy policies.  Coal pricing for both metallurgical and thermal remain mostly flat with the export market continuing to grow.  Optimistically, we may be near the bottom of our pricing cycle.  

We have completed another set of Coal Prep 101 classes in West Virgina in August with over 70 in attendance. I want to thank Dr. Honaker for providing insightful classes and helping to carry out the objective of Advancing the Knowledge of Coal Preparation and Toni Franklin for handling the coordination of the events.  I would also like to thank our sponsors Conn-Weld, Polydeck and SNF for their continued support.  In addition to the Coal Prep 101 classes, the board is actively working on organizing a series of classes with focused specifically on plant equipment maintenance.  

This year we have two students working on separate CPSA fellowship projects, one at Penn State and one at the University of Kentucky.  More to be presented upon the completion of these projects but it is exciting to see students taking an interest in the preparation industry.

If you have not visited the website recently, there has been a large library of reference material uploaded under the resources tab with decades of former proceedings available.  Our website is continuing to evolve with the addition of more reference material and resources available to our members.  

Thank you for your continued support of the CPSA, as always if there are any needs or ideas reach out to myself or any volunteer board member as we are here to serve the membership.

Work Safe and God Bless,
John Nielson