Platts Coal Trader said Cook & Sons Mining and sister company Earnest Cook & Sons Mining, formed in 2000 with the purchase of Golden Oak Mining, sought protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on August 25.

The company told Platts it had struggled to recover after the collapse of a raw coal silo at the Sapphire preparation plant on April 30. The accident caused the closure of operations for five weeks.

The shutdown was coupled with a slow US coal market in 2002.