Alpha Natural Resources to shutter company's last remaining Kentucky coal mine

An Eastern Kentucky coal mine is expected to be idled in November, resulting in the loss of 117 jobs, Karla Ward reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Steve Hawkins, spokesperson for Alpha Natural Resources, said the Process Energy Mine in Pike County (Wikipedia map) will go idle on Nov. 7. Hawkins said the mine, the company's last active one in Kentucky, is being shuttered “based upon the continued depressed coal market.”

Coal jobs in Kentucky have reached the lowest levels in 118 years. Of the 25 U.S. counties with the biggest coal job losses since 2011, eight are in Kentucky. Eastern Kentucky saw a 21.6 percent decline in coal jobs during the first three months of 2016 and lost another 6.1 percent of coal jobs from April to June, according to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet.