BECKLEY, W.Va. — A southern West Virginia coal mining company announced Monday it’s calling 200 union miners back to work.
Bluestone Resources—recently repurchased by Greenbrier Resort owner Jim Justice–said it would resume production at its Coal Mountain mine in Wyoming County and its Red Fox mine in McDowell County.
Justice called the announcement a “great day for these families in wake of all of the devastation that has happened to the coal industry.”
Justice, who announced last month he’s running for governor next year, added “it is about time that we finally have some good news to report for our miners and their families.”
United Mine Workers Union President Cecil Roberts said he was pleased the union was able to reach a “fair agreement” with Bluestone.
“At a time when the coal industry and the people who work in it are suffering, this is extremely good news. I appreciate the efforts of Bluestone’s owner, Jim Justice, to get these mines back up and running and to put UMWA members back to work,” Roberts said in a prepared statement.
Justice promised the restart when he repurchased the operations from Russian-based Mechel OAO earlier this year. The mines have been idled for more than a year.