VARYING THE LOAD

摘要

On sept. 10, Patriot Coal Corp. announced plans to idle a CSX Corp.-served surface coal mine, preparation plant and rail load-out facility near Man, VV.Va. Company officials made the move to better align production with projected sales. Patriot Coal is contending with thermal coal prices that have fallen well below production costs at many Central Appalachian mines, said President and Chief Executive Officer Bennett Hatfield in a press release. "Thermal coal markets are extremely weak due to low natural gas prices and costly regulatory changes that have reduced coal-fueled electricity generation capacity," he said.