Two of the biggest U.S. coal mines have been sold, raising the possibility that hundreds of miners in Wyoming could return to work almost four months after the owner of the mines filed for bankruptcy protection, the Associated Press reported. Tennessee-based Contura Energy announced Monday that Blackjewel closed Friday on the sale of the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines to a subsidiary of Alabama-based FM Coal. Contura, which owned the mines before selling them to Blackjewel in 2017, participated in the deal as the mines’ permit holder. Under the sale, Contura will pay about $90 million to FM Coal subsidiary Eagle Specialty Materials, which will assume about $238 million in reclamation liabilities in Wyoming and at dozens of sites in Appalachia. Contura also paid $13.5 million to settle a tax bill in Wyoming. West Virginia-based Blackjewel furloughed over 500 employees in Wyoming when it filed for bankruptcy July 1.
