Twin Star 2 Mine (VA)

Twin Star No. 2 Surface is a coal mining operation in Buchanan County, Virginia, operated by Twin Star Mining and owned by Alpha Natural Resources. The mine was closed in 2012.

Mine closing
On September 18, 2012, Alpha said it was immediately closing eight mines in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, cutting production by 16 million tons. They are a mix of deep and surface mines, all non-union operations. To meet the production cut the company said it will use a combination of mine and equipment idlings, production curtailments, and "mining out reserves" through early 2013. Alpha plans to shift its operations away from thermal coal used in domestic power generation to concentrate on metallurgical coal used in steelmaking overseas. Altogether, the firm idled four mines in West Virginia, three in Virginia, and one in Pennsylvania:

In West Virginia: the Alloy deep mine near Powellton, and the Alloy surface mine near Boomer, both in Fayette County; and the Premium highwall mine at Gilbert, and the White Flame Surface mine near Wharncliffe, in Mingo County. In Virginia: Guest Mountain deep mines No. 8 and No. 9 near Norton, and the Twin Star Surface Mine near Hurley. In Pennsylvania: Dora deep mine in Jefferson County.

Mine Data

 * MSHA ID:	4403658
 * Operator:	Twin Star Mining, Inc.
 * Controller:	Alpha Natural Resources LLC
 * Union:
 * County:	Buchanan
 * State:	VA
 * Latitude:	37.5
 * Longitude:	-82.02
 * 2007 Production (short tons):	421,509
 * Coal Type:	Bituminous
 * Mining Method:	Surface
 * Mine Status:	Active
 * Average No. of Employees:	 57

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