Closing affects nearly 300
WAYNESBURG – Alpha Natural Resources last week informed 290 employees at its Emerald Mine in Waynesburg the mine is expected to close by the end of November.
The company informed the employees Friday while issuing a 60-day closing notice as required under the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act.
An Alpha spokesman confirmed Monday the expected closing date for the mine is Nov. 24, though he noted the act allows the closing to take place up to two weeks after that date.
Alpha announced in August 2014 it planned to close the 38-year-old mine by the end of this year as the operation completed mining the remaining coal left in its reserves.
In announcing the closing, Alpha said it believed many of the employees at the mine would be transferred to its Cumberland Mine, also in Greene County. Alpha said it planned to increase production at Cumberland to make up for some of the production loss resulting from the Emerald Mine closing.
Since that time, about 140 miners represented by the United Mine Workers have gone from Emerald Mine to Cumberland Mine, said Frank Rutherford, UMW international representative for District 2.
“We’re hoping that they take more,” Rutherford said.
Since the closing was announced last year, a number of employees retired at both mines, he said. Those who retired at Cumberland helped open jobs for workers from Emerald, he said. However, about 250 union employees are still working at Emerald, Rutherford said.
“None of them are too pleased” with the closing, he said. “The older guys would like to get a couple of more years in and there are a lot of younger guys there, too.”
Employees at both Emerald and Cumberland are represented by the UMW. Rutherford said once union employees are officially laid off at Emerald they will have “panel rights” under the union contract for jobs at Cumberland. The “panel rights” require the company to offer laid-off Emerald employees jobs at other union mines when jobs become available, he said.
Last month, Alpha filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing sharp declines in coal demand because of increased competition from natural gas, an oversupply of coal on the global market and increases in government regulations that forced electric utilities to shift generation away from coal-fired power plants.
The company is currently seeking bankruptcy court approval for a $692 million bankruptcy loan. Alpha said it plans to reorganize the company to better suit the current energy markets.
Emerald Mine was opened in 1977 by Emerald Mines Corp., a subsidiary of Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. Since that time, it has had several owners. Alpha Natural Resources purchased Emerald and Cumberland, which were then owned by Foundation Coal Co. in 2009.