Contura Energy closed its transaction with Iron Senergy Holding, the new owner of its former asset the Cumberland underground coal mine in Greene County, Pa. The sale was first confirmed on Nov. 12, 2020, and was initially expected to close by the end of the year.
It included Contura’s Pennsylvania operaions, which included Cumberland as well as the Emerald mine, along with associated coal reserves, mining permits and operations, infrastructure, equipment and transloading facilities.
“According to the terms of the transaction, Iron Senergy has acquired all of the equity of the following subsidiaries previously owned by Contura: Emerald Contura, LLC; Cumberland Contura, LLC; Contura Coal Resources, LLC; Contura Pennsylvania Land, LLC; and Contura Pennsylvania Terminal, LLC (together, the Pennsylvania Entities),” the miner said, adding that it also had posted replacement reclamation bonds for the Pennsylvania entities and assumed their UMWA collective bargaining agreements.
David Stetson, Contura’s chairman and chief executive officer, said the deal “extends the runway for Cumberland” under its new ownership structure and was a “transformational milestone” for Contura’s history.
“[It] fulfill[s] our vision of moving swiftly to sharpen our company’s focus on producing metallurgical products used in steelmaking. At the same time, dramatically reducing our portfolio’s thermal coal production will yield financial benefits to Contura by significantly reducing our asset retirement obligations and collateralization requirements,” Stetson said.
Iron Senergy previously said it intends to continue operating the Cumberland mine beyond 2022 and keep its workforce.
“Our team is excited about taking over mining operations at Cumberland and extending the operation’s expected lifespan,” said Mike Castle, Iron Senergy’s chief financial officer. “We plan to keep the mine running and … Cumberland’s mine management and sales agent will remain with the Cumberland operations under Iron Senergy’s new structure.”