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MASSEY, which posted a US$3.8 million or five cents a share third-quarter loss, had not revealed which mines would be closed. However CEO Don Blankenship said the mines would close as coal contracts ended.
The shift in production was blamed on the saturated metallurgical coal market. Blankenship said Massey saw more potential in the demand for steam coal, which its current operations could not meet.
Associated Press (AP) reported Blankenship said the change would shift operations toward surface mines and thick-seam underground mines. Previously, the coal producer had focussed on thin-seam mines.
Massey currently has 19 mining operations located in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southern Virginia. The company utilises room and pillar, longwall, surface and highwall to extract more than 40 million tons of coal a year.
