Patriot Coal Idles Two W.Va. Mines, Eliminates 35 Positions

  Patriot Coal is temporarily idling two mines at a southern West Virginia coal mining complex.

On Monday, the St. Louis-based company announced the changes at its Paint Creek Complex near Cabin Creek.

The company says it’s idling the Samples surface mine and Winchester underground mine because of high coal inventory levels. Patriot attributes the high levels to the CSX railroad service disruption last month and diminished demand for coal.

Coal production at the complex is expected to resume in three to four weeks. The entire complex has about 400 employees.

About 35 positions were permanently eliminated at the Samples mine.

Processing and shipping of coal to customers from the site will continue while the mines are idled.