The move involves three underground mines, two surface mines, a coal processing facility and related warehouse and office facilities, managing member James Bunn II said in notice sent to state and local agencies as required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Four of the mines affected are Fork Creek Mine 3, Fork Creek Mine 10, both underground operations; and Surface Mine 67 and the Surface Mine 9. The operations are located in Boone, Kanawha and Lincoln counties. Bunn said in his notification that the operations would be idled on Oct. 11 or within two weeks after that date.
Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper distributed the layoff notice to media, and issued a statement that called Coal River Mining’s announcement “unsettling.”
“This is yet another difficult blow to the hardworking men and women of West Virginia,” Carper said in his statement. “Tragically, these layoffs impact more than miners. They will adversely affect family members, communities and businesses throughout our region. The continued loss of coal mining jobs, in Kanawha and the surrounding counties, is unacceptable and must come to an end…
