Alpha Metallurgical Resources said two separate operational challenges are expected to delay certain shipments that would have otherwise occurred within the second quarter.
Due to a ventilation issue likely stemming from a previously mined and worked-out area, the Road Fork 52 mine in Wyoming County, W.Va., temporarily halted production as a safety precaution while the issue was analyzed and addressed. The miner said the six-day shutdown will result in the delayed shipment of coal to customers who have received force majeure letters notifying them of the circumstances until the third quarter.
Separately, a mechanical failure at the Dominion Terminal Associates facility in Newport News, Va., in which Alpha owns a 65% interest, hampered train unloading capability and created related vessel loading delays for roughly 250,000 short tons of Alpha shipments for export customers.
“Our teams safely and quickly addressed the separate issues at our Road Fork 52 mine and at DTA, bringing each unfortunate interruption to a positive conclusion in a relatively short period of time,” said Alpha CEO Andy Eidson.
“We have been in communication with our customers to explain these circumstances and reiterate our commitment to serving them. Now that we are working back toward full productive capacity at Road Fork 52, we expect to swiftly make up lost time with some extra shifts, and we are already rescheduling vessels at DTA in the early days of July.”
Tennessee-based Alpha Metallurgical Resources has surface and underground operations across Virginia and West Virginia.
Source: Alpha Metallurgical Resources