Patriot Coal Corp. plans to close another mine in West Virginia and lay off 315 workers in response to slumping demand.
Production at the Samples surface mine has ceased and employees have stopped reporting to work but they will officially be laid off Oct. 5, according to Janine Orf, a Patriot spokeswoman.
“As we continue to balance our production levels with the soft thermal coal demand, our strategy is to concentrate production at lower-cost mining complexes,” Chief Executive Richard Whiting said in a statement. “By ceasing operations at this higher-cost surface mine, Patriot will keep valuable permitted reserves in the ground until the market yields more favorable pricing and margins. We appreciate the contributions of the employees at the Samples mine over the years and regret that these challenging markets have required us to take this action.”
This closure follows the idling of four other Patriot mines in West Virginia this year.
Last week, Patriot cut its production estimates to between 33 million and 35 million tons in 2009, down from 34 million to 36 million.
The coal company also said it nearly tripled its profit in the second quarter thanks to its acquisition of Magnum Coal Co. last year.
Creve Coeur-based Patriot Coal Corp. is the third-largest producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States.
Source: St Louis Business Journal
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