CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Alpha Natural Resources, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on July 27, has set a goal of mining about 13 million tons of coal in 2017.
Alpha put out a news release about its goal today because, its leaders said, many people perceive the company as remaining in existence primarily to take care of its outstanding reclamation projects.
“With 2,700 employees and 17 active mines and 7 prep plants, we are a fully integrated coal company with estimated 2017 production in excess of 13 million tons,” stated Alpha chief executive officer David Stetson.
“While one of the largest coal producers in the Central Appalachia region, we remain committed to being a good steward of the environment as we honor our obligations to federal and state agencies, as well as the communities in which we operate.”
Alpha’s news release was issued after a Thursday report that the state Division of Environmental Protection has sued Alpha’s former management.
The lawsuit accused six senior executives including CEO Kevin Crutchfield of making misleading financial projections about Alpha so its bankruptcy plan would get court approval. After the bankruptcy was approved, those executives joined the management team of Contura Energy Inc, which bought some of Alpha’s most productive mines.
That’s what led Alpha’s current management to conclude there’s a perception that it now exists to focus on cleaning retired mining sites, mostly in West Virginia.
Of the coal Alpha aims to mine next year, half will be sold into the thermal market for power generation and half into the metallurgical market for steel production, Stetson said.
Stetson also announced Alpha’s plan for capital expansion for next year and beyond.
The capital projects include developing a conveyor system to connect the Workman Creek reserve base with the Marfork Preparation Plant in Raleigh County, which will provide transportation for 50 million metallurgical reserve tons and will remove coal trucks from local highways, the company said.
Expansion is also planned for the Kepler mining complex in Wyoming County to provide access to 15 million tons of premium metallurgical coal.
Stetson said additional divestitures of inactive assets are likely. An information packet provided by the company said divestiture of non-strategic properties would help relieve the cost of maintaining idle assets, reducing reclamation bonds and decreasing required bond amounts.