Mountain View Mine In Tucker County To Close

Mettiki Coal in Davis, West Virginia has issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Notice for the Mountain View Mine saying it plans to lay off all its employees and cease operations. 

WARN notices are a legally required written notice when a company with more than 100 employees decides layoffs are necessary. 

The layoffs will result in nearly 200 employees losing their jobs. Production will cease immediately and the company will fulfill existing contracts with its stockpile to completely shut down by April 1. 

Workforce West Virginia received the WARN Notice on Jan. 29. It notes that the job losses are expected to be permanent and the employees are not represented by a union. 

In November 2025, Joseph Mitchell, 25, was killed in the Mountainview mine when he was pinned underneath a derailed mine supply car.

Mettiki Coal (WV), LLC is owned by Alliance Resource Partners. According to the company website the Mountain View mine uses longwall mining and continuous miners to produce low/medium-sulfur coal. Mettiki is capable of producing coal for both the steam coal and metallurgical coal markets. 

“Mettiki has a long operating history, having been part of ARLP and its predecessor entities for nearly 50 years,” said Joseph W. Craft, III, chairman, president and CEO. “We recognize today’s announcement will affect families and communities that have supported this mine for generations, and that decision weighs heavily on us.”

Craft said that due to the location of the mine and the low-volatile quality of coal the mine produces, Mettiki’s livelihood depends on this customer purchasing a minimum of one million tons per year for it to be viable under its existing operating plan. With no clear alternative customer to absorb production, issuing WARN Act notices became an unavoidable step. 

“Unfortunately, a series of planned and unplanned outages at a key customer’s plant negatively impacted their demand and our shipments in 2025,” he said. “We have recently been informed that the plant expects additional outages during 2026 and based upon current demand projections and contractual commitments for 2026, they are not in a position to commit to purchase any additional tons from Mettiki for the foreseeable future.”

As of January 29, 2026, Mettiki expects to fulfill its existing contractual commitments, which are scheduled to conclude in March 2026, primarily from existing inventory. Production will immediately cease, giving Mettiki time to evaluate its options concerning the mine’s future and the exact timing for permanent closure. Mettiki employees not involved in the reduced production of coal will focus efforts on reclamation activities, as needed, throughout the Mountain View Mine.