By Jared Hunt
Charleston Daily Mail Business Editor
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Thursday called Carbonyx International USA a “visionary company” that could help reverse a long history of state resources being ripped from the ground and shipped off for the profit of out-of-state coal barons.
Tomblin and state Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette officially welcomed the Texas-based company, which plans to build a new carbon alloy plant in Jackson County next year, during a press conference at the state Capitol Thursday morning.
Carbonyx is purchasing 56 acres of land currently owned by Century Aluminum near Ravenswood to build a plant that will use a proprietary process to create a coal-based substitute for coke, the key ingredient used to manufacture steel.
The company plans to build the plant in phases, the first of which will be constructed within two years and result in 60 permanent jobs. Officials hope to grow the plant even further over the next five to seven years, eventually investing more than $250 million and creating an additional 200 jobs.