APPALACHIA, Va. (AP) — Arch Coal says it is idling the Cumberland River Coal Company complex in Wise County, Virginia, and Letcher County, Kentucky.
Officials said Monday that more than 210 full-time positions are being eliminated by the move.
Arch Coal CEO John Eaves says the company is responding to market challenges for metallurgical coal used to make steel. Eaves said the company’s strategy is to shift its portfolio toward higher-margin, lower-cost metallurgical coal operations. The mining complex had previously shuttered two contract mines during the second quarter of 2013.
Idling the operations will reduce the company’s 2014 metallurgical coal sales volumes by about 200,000 tons. Arch Coal now expects to ship between 6.3 million and 6.9 million tons of metallurgical coal for 2014.
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