CADIZ A mining company owning coal reserves in both Harrison and Belmont counties has announced the purchase of the assets of Buckeye Industrial Mining Co. of Lisbon.

The move to purchase the assets of Buckeye expands Rosebud’s reserve holdings into Jefferson, Columbiana and Stark counties. The company currently operates the Tusky Deep Mine and coal preparation plant near Dennison and also holds reserves in Carroll, Guernsey and Tuscarawas counties.

“There is a lot of positive with this acquisition,” said Mike Jamison, general manager of Rosebud Mining Co.’s Ohio operations from his office in Cadiz. “Coal remains a valuable energy asset by providing more than 85 percent of electricity to the businesses and residents of Ohio.”

Currently awaiting regulatory approval for the development of a new deep mining complex in the Middle Kittanning No. 6 coal seam, Rosebud will expand its Ohio work force to 230 employees with its most recent acquisition.

The addition of the existing Kensington preparation plant allows the company to forego the construction of a similar plant which was planned for the Scio area.

“We were in the process of developing a wash plant near Scio but this acquisition will allow us to move ahead at a faster pace,” Jamison said. “We won’t have to build, we won’t be required to go through all the red tape. The Kensington plant has class 1 rail access already available. We will be saving a great deal of expense.”

A 200-ton per hour plant, Kensington is on the Norforlk and Southern Railroad.

According to the company’s Web site, Rosebud Mining has been producing high quality bituminous coal from mines located in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. It currently operates 18 deep mines, six surface mines and seven preparation plants across the region.

Rosebud began in 1979 when the company was founded by J. Clifford Forrest in East Brady, Pa. and the operation of a railroad siding loading coal on rail cars. Three years later, the Queenstown Coal Cleaning Plant facility was acquired.

During the next three decades of operation, Rosebud continued to develop reserves across eastern Pennsylvania and eventually moved into Ohio.

In June 2005, the company purchased the Tusky Mine in Tuscarawas County and opened its Tusky Preparation Plant in 2008.

With the most recent purchase of Buckeye Industrial Mining Company, Rosebud has added five small surface mines, a deep mine and the Kensington Prep Plant to its investments.

J. Clifford Forrest, owner and president of Rosebud Mining Company, stressed that the company’s greatest resources are its employees.

“All employees, whether working underground, maintenance, plant or supervisory, each has contributed to the company’s successful growth since 1979,” he said in a statement on the company’s Web site.

With the acquisition of Buckeye Industrial Mining Co., Rosebud’s employment reached 1,100 people.

Sedgmer may be reached at ksedgmer@timesleaderonline.com