Like many others, Consol pointed to regulatory pressures and the state of the coal markets for its decision.

The company said 318 surface, reclamation, underground and general office staff at the mine in Bickmore were informed of the decision via a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice.

The layoffs will begin at 12.01am local time on August 30 and continue over a 14-day period.

Consol officials said the market and an increasing push for fresh laws from the Environmental Protection Agency resulted in increased costs as well as significant uncertainty for its generation customers using central Appalachian coal.

“The decision to idle our Fola operations is a difficult one but in an effort to manage our inventory and to balance coal production with expected utility demand and shipping schedules, we are faced with making adjustments which unfortunately will impact our workforce,” Consol president Nicholas Deluliis said, noting that the domestic market for coal remained soft.

“The warm winter resulted in the growth of our utility customers' stockpiles and their inability to accept committed coal shipments.

“Additionally, the escalating costs and uncertainty generated by recently advanced EPA regulations and interpretations have created a challenging business climate for the entire coal industry."

The producer will continue underground operations in the time before the furloughs but will reassign Fola surface mining employees to reclamation duties.

The complex will idle underground operations following the expiration of the WARN notification’s required 60-day period and then only mine coal that is incidental to reclamation.

Reclamation will begin in the areas not necessary to future operations.

Employees will be retained for reclamation efforts, though Consol said the number of those assisting was undetermined.

“Consol Energy expects 2012 production to be reduced by approximately 800,000 tons,” officials said.

“To date in 2012, the Fola complex has produced 1.05 million tons of coal.

“Annual direct estimated economic impact of the Fola complex is $US165 million.”