Alliance Resource Partners, parent company of Mettiki Coal issued a statement on the planned closing of the Mountain View Mine on Thursday.
“Mettiki has a long operating history, having been part of ARLP and its predecessor entities for nearly 50 years,” said Joseph W. Craft, III, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We recognize today’s announcement will affect families and communities that have supported this mine for generations, and that decision weighs heavily on us.”
Mr. Craft continued, “Unfortunately, a series of planned and unplanned outages at a key customer’s plant negatively impacted their demand and our shipments in 2025. We have recently been informed that the plant expects additional outages during 2026 and based upon current demand projections and contractual commitments for 2026, they are not in a position to commit to purchase any additional tons from Mettiki for the foreseeable future. Due to the location of the mine and the low volatile quality of coal the mine produces, Mettiki’s livelihood depends on this customer purchasing a minimum of one million tons per year for it to be viable under its existing operating plan. With no clear alternative customer to absorb production, issuing WARN Act notices became an unavoidable step. We remain committed to open communication with our employees and community partners as we move forward.”
The company did not identify the customer in question, but the mine has been the main provider of coal to the nearby Mount Storm Power Station for many years.
The company noted in 2025 the Mountain View Mine produced 1.2 Million tons of coal. 300,000 tons were shipped overseas on the metallurgical coal market, the rest was provided to the customer referenced in the company’s statement.