The troubled economy is now taking a step in the right direction in Carroll and Harrison Counties. A new coal mining complex will be going up, or in this case digging down near Carrollton and Scio.

A new $30 million mining complex by the Rosebud Mining Company plans to employ nearly a hundred workers in Carroll and Harrison Counties. The Carrollton site will extract raw coal by cutting 50 feet deep into a hillside off of Route 332, before excavating another 150-feet to reach the coal seam. This is a coal hot spot that has been looked at for a couple of years, and now looks to finally bring jobs to the Ohio Valley.

"Eighty to 90 jobs here in Carroll County means a great deal with the entire county,” said Carrol County Commissioner Larry Garner. "We are pleased that rosebud is bringing those jobs to the county, we need those jobs."

Mike Jamison from the Rosebud Mining Company agrees this new mining complex will help stimulate the local economy.

"We'll be providing energy for the Ohio grid,” said Jamison. “The local economy is going to benefit directly from the jobs and all the associated support industries that we buy our supplies and materials from."

From Carrollton, the coal will be transported south along Route 322 to the planned coal processing facility near Scio. This site, which will create 15 local jobs, will wash the raw coal. These two locations were chosen to avoid coal truck traffic passing through downtown Carrolton and Scio.

It sounds like a lot, so all the proper contacts have been made to ensure the environmental and residential safety precautions necessary, including the state of Ohio, the federal government, and all agencies that are involved in the permitting process.

Once up and running, this mining complex will be capable of producing 100 million tons of clean coal at a rate of 83,000 tons of raw coal per day. The Rosebud Mining Company hopes the facility to be in operation by the end of 2011.