Alliance Resource Partners, parent company of Mettiki Coal, indicated promising news for their now idle Mountain View Mine in Tucker County.
During an earning’s conference call, Joseph Craft, President and CEO of Alliance Resources Management indicated plans to restart coal production at the mine.
“We are pleased to announce a new multiyear coal supply agreement with our largest historical customer that will allow the mine and nearly 150 miners to return to coal production operations,” Craft told shareholders.
He further stated the mine was in a transition from longwall operations to a room and pillar mining operation on two sections. Craft stated the plan was for two shifts to operate daily by the end of the first quarter of 2027. He concluded the outlook was for the mine to produce 550,000 tons more in 2027 than what the mine produced in 2026.
The company issued the WARN notice and idled operations in the first quarter of this year.
Company officials had no comment beyond Craft’s statement in the earnings call. The company did not identify the “largest historical customer.” However, at the time of the mine’s announced closing in April of this year, more than 90 percent of the company’s coal was bring hauled only a few miles away to the Mount Storm Power Station, which is owned and operated by Dominion Energy.