Contura Energy emerged from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization as a new company comprised of the members of Alpha Natural’s top lien holders. Along with purchasing Alpha’s Nicholas, McClure, and Toms Creek complexes in West Virginia and Virginia, Contura now controls the company’s two Powder River Basin mining complexes in Wyoming, all of the companies interest in its Dominion Terminal Associates coal export terminal in Newport News, Va., among other assets and working capital, and all its Pennsylvania coal operations and certain coal reserves.
In one week alone, Contura’s McClure Complex has moved from loading two metallurgical coal unit trains per week to six in the third week of July, with five new train orders already confirmed the week beginning July 25, with more orders expected. As the locals notice a decrease in stored empty coal hoppers along the mothballed section of the former Clinchfield Railroad, chatter has already begun to keep a watchful eye on how this might affect coal traffic leaving the Powder River Basin.
Sign of things to come for “King Coal?” More like a blip in a trend to oblivion, at least for steam coal.
I had to go to Ky. this past week because my mom was put in icu. While there, I ran beside a CSX train headed south beside old highway 41. I counted over 75 loaded coal cars before it went behind a deep cut. The next day the same thing at a different time. Good sign! Oh, my mom pulled through. God is good!
One robin doesn’t make spring…..
possible resurrection of the Clinchfield??
Great news for everyone involved, except the environmentalist, they’re going to hate it. A lot of coal cars are being brought out of storage down here in the south. Electricity usage is up this summer and that’s helping drive the increased demand for steam coal. Hope this new company can successfully market their coal both here and abroad and keep Americans working.
“Trump Digs Coal”……A sign of things to come for King Coal!
And met coal would either go north to domestic steelmakers or to tidewater at Newport News for export. No salvation for the CRR as a through route.
And because it’s met coal, parallels to the PRB are not valid.
The article mentioned met coal, which is mostly used for steelmaking and not power generation. The decline in met coal has always been cyclical and was expected to rebound at some point, unlike the decline in steam coal, which is secular and driven by the abundance of low cost natural gas.