Coal mining company to lay off 118 in Southwest Virginia

Wellmore Energy Co.,  a metallurgical coal mining company, is again planning to lay off workers in Buchanan County.

The company plans to lay off 118 workers across several locations, according to notices sent in early October to the state in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

In August, Wellmore notified the state it planned to lay off 72 workers in Buchanan County in September.

A subsidiary of United Coal Co., a Tennessee-based metallurgical coal company, Wellmore’s operations include two company-operated underground mines, one company-operated surface mine, seven contract mines, three shops, two preparation plants, rail-loading facilities, a lab and an administration office, according to United Coal’s website.

According to notices to the state dated Oct. 6, Wellmore plans to lay off 95 employees at one location in Big Rock and 14 employees at another Big Rock site, eight employees at a site in Grundy and one employee in Hurley on Dec. 6.

United Coal and its parent company, Ukraine-based mining and steel company Metinvest Group, did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.

Wellmore produces approximately 1.8 million tons of coal, according to United Coal’s website. Metinvest Group bought United Coal in 2009.