Arch Coal says it is idling the Cumberland River Coal Company
complex in Wise County , Virginia ,
and Letcher County , Kentucky
Officials said Monday that more than 210 full-time positions are
being eliminated by the move.
Arch Coal CEO John Eaves says the company is responding to
market challenges for metallurgical coal used to make steel. Eaves said the
company's strategy is to shift its portfolio toward higher-margin, lower-cost
metallurgical coal operations. The mining complex had previously shuttered two
contract mines during the second quarter of 2013.
Idling the operations will reduce the company's 2014
metallurgical coal sales volumes by about 200,000 tons. Arch Coal now expects
to ship between 6.3 million and 6.9 million tons of metallurgical coal for 2014.
