{Bickmore, West
Virginia}…Friday, Consol Energy announced it would complete the idling of its
Fola operations near Bickmore in Clay County, effecting 131 surface miners and
office employees at the mine and another 16 at the Little Eagle Deep mine. The
layoffs will occur over a 14-day period starting on February 14th. In June, the
first 318 Fola employees were told they would lose their jobs due to the idling.
The company blames the layoffs on "expected February completion of coal
processing and shipping from its preparation plant and recovery of equipment
and infrastructure from the Little Eagle Deep Mine. Company officials say rules
from the Environmental Protection Agency has increased surface mining costs and
generated uncertainty for Appalachian coal customers.
