Hundreds of coal miners moved one step closer to returning to work at two idling Powder River Basin mines yesterday, after a federal judge approved the sale of mines owned by bankrupt coal giant Blackjewel to previous owner Contura Energy, the Casper (Wyo.) Star Tribune reported. Contura said that it planned to “reinstate immediately” 500 jobs at Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines if the sale is finalized. But the sale hinges on the final approval of the federal government, after it objected to outstanding royalties and leasing terms of the Wyoming mines. “It’s in everyone’s interest to return these properties to productive use as soon as possible,” U.S. District Judge Frank Volk said at yesterday’s hearing. The judge approved the sale despite myriad objections from creditors. The sale to Contura comes more than five weeks after Blackjewel filed for bankruptcy, lost a key creditor and closed 32 mines across the country — all on July 1. About 1,700 workers found themselves out of work indefinitely. In addition to approving the sale of the two Wyoming mines and one West Virginia surface mine to Contura, Volk also authorized the sale of several other mines and equipment speckled throughout the Appalachian region to seven additional companies during the two-day sales hearing. Read more.
In related news, coal miners who’ve been protesting in Kentucky for days after their employer went bankrupt and their paychecks bounced got some relief yesterday in the form of $1 million from a former coal baron, Bloomberg News reported. Ex-Cumberland Resources Ltd. founder Richard Gilliam said he will give $2,000 apiece to 508 workers waiting to be paid by Blackjewel LLC. Gilliam, who started a charitable foundation with his late wife in 2010 after selling Cumberland, said in an emailed statement that he hopes the money “will act as a bridge” for the miners until they’re paid. On Monday, the company said that it would set aside revenue until the workers are paid. Last week, Peabody Energy Corp., the largest U.S. miner, said it had hired 30 of them. Read more.
