Some Coal Is Still Left.

Armstrong Coal Company, unofficially a junior company or a spinoff of Peabody Coal Company, has run a partially successful company for the past several years in the Centertown area of Ohio County and the Central City area of Muhlenberg County. With the dwindling coal reserves in these areas and the USA, federal government agency, the EPA enforcing and producing more constringent rules on air pollution, coal companies in this area have been given a rough row to hoe. Peak employment of the Armstrong Coal Company, in this area less than ten years ago, approached a thousand miners. Several large "Strippers" were removing the overburden in the five or so area strip mines and some quality coal was being removed from the four or so underground mines. Two Coal Preparation Plants, one in Muhlenberg County and the other in Ohio County shipped out quality coal, some on a "Coal Demand Type", where customers could order the type of coal they needed to burn in their coal usage plants. There were also two coal loading facilities on the Green River where the coal could be shipped out by way of the Green River. That was then, some ten years ago. This is now at the end of 2017, where Armstrong Coal Filed bankruptcy earlier this year.

Armstrong Coal Company, in working with the state of Kentucky trying to protect the company employees, has filed a "Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification" document. After the document filing, Armstrong Coal Company stated that its' plans are to close all coal removal, processing, and shipping coal facilities in Kentucky no later than the last day of February of 2018. At present, the current 427 Kentucky active coal miners would be without a job.

All coal mining news is not bad as there is still a possibility for most of the miners to continue to work in their present position. All of the assets of Armstrong Coal company in the state of Kentucky, after filing for bankruptcy in November, have been transferred to a new company jointly owned by Knight Hawk Holdings LLC and some of Armstrong's creditors. Whether this type of move is akin to the move that Peabody Coal Company made when they left the state of Kentucky is yet to be determined. Any blame or wrong doings are being withheld, for now, and will be determined depending on the outcome of this new business venture. If just a means of getting over a bankruptcy is the ploy, shame on some of the coal mining businesses. If a means to keep this area in the "Coal Producing" mode and to keep five hundred or so miners employed, then "Hats Off" to some of the coal mining businesses.

Knight Hawk Holdings LLC owns six mines in the state of Illinois. The proposal for Armstrong Coal Company to transfer their Kentucky holdings to Knight Hawk will have to be approved by the bankruptcy court. If approved and Knight Hawk decides to continue mining operations in this area, the coal miners will be encouraged to apply for their current positions. If not approved, the mines will close. At present, this will include Survant Mine in Central City and Equality Mine, Lewis Creek Mine, and Kronos Mine in Ohio County. It will also include the Midway Preparation Plant, the Armstrong Preparation and Dock, the Armstrong Training Center, and the Centertown Complex in Ohio County, as well as the Parkway Preparation Plant in Central City. If the proposal is not approved, there will only be the KenAmerican Resources' Paradise Mine left in Muhlenberg County and no operational mine in Ohio County. We have come a long way since "King Coal" was the byword in this area and not necessarily for the better.