Alpha Natural Resources said that its idling or reducing hours at 10 coal mines in Kentucky and West Virginia, including several in or near the Kanawha Valley.

An Alpha spokesman said that all told, about 320 miners are being laid off, though Alpha hopes to find positions for most workers at its other operations in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.

In West Virginia, 152 employees will be laid off or displaced.

Specifically, Alpha is idling the Mammoth No 2 Gas mine in Kanawha County and the Randolph mine in Boone County.

The company is also closing one section of the Alloy Powellton mine in Fayette County; reducing hours at the Twilight mine in Boone County; reducing hours at the Camp Branch mine in Logan County; and reducing hours at the Back Castle mine in Boone County.
Alpha spokesman Ted Pile said there is poor market for thermal coal used to generate electricity and low-quality metallurgical coal, the coal used to make steel. Part of the problem is the European financial crisis, which is curbing demand for met coal.

Mr Pile also blamed, in this order: more and more utilities switching to natural gas, in part because of low natural gas prices; the unseasonably warm weather in the United States; coal coming into the region from Illinois and utilities considering regulatory uncertainty over coal.

(Sourced from dailymail.com)