Wyoming County, West Virginia, coal mine may be idled

This is big news in southern West Virginia, but not so much outside that region. This is a metallurgical coal mine and not a steam coal mine. The recent proposed EPA regulations don't affect this mine.

Wyoming County coal mine may be idled

Wednesday, June 25, 2014
By Ken Ward Jr., Staff writer

Cliffs Resources said this morning that it may temporarily idle its Pinnacle Mine, a major steel-making coal operation that employs nearly 400 people in Wyoming County.

In a [link:http://cliffs.q4cdn.com/7f412511-eac0-424f-baea-b4189ebc43e2.pdffiling with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission], Cleveland-based Cliffs cited “current poor market conditions for metallurgical coal” as the reason for its action. Cliffs said it had issued the required 60-day notice to workers, local officials and the United Mine Workers, which represents hourly employees at the underground mine. ... “If market conditions do not improve, it is expected that the idling of the Pinnacle mine could last more than six months beginning on or about August 25, 2014,” the company said.
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Employment at the operation was already down with underground jobs down to 397 in the first quarter of 2014, compared to the 2013 average of 478 underground jobs. The mine produced about 2.8 million tons of coal last year, according to data filed with the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The announcement by Cliffs comes amid other major challenges facing the coal industry in Southern West Virginia, where cheap natural gas and depleted coal reserves, along with tougher environmental rules, have prompted significant downsizing among the region’s coal producers. A recent analysis by SNL Financial found that coal-mining jobs in West Virginia were down by nearly 5,000, to fewer than 20,000 positions, between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2014.
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Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.