June 5, 2019 - Construction on a new coal mining operation is set to begin in West Virginia.

According to a release by CONSOL Energy, the company has started on the development of a metallurgical coal operation near Itmann, W.Va.

The anticipated completion date is 2021.

“We are very pleased to announce the commencement of the Itmann Mine project, our first major growth initiative,” said Jimmy Brock, Chief Executive Officer of CONSOL Energy Inc. “Since becoming an independent publicly-traded company, we have meaningfully de-levered our balance sheet and improved our liquidity through strong operational performance and completion of our 1Q19 refinancing. We also continue to return capital to our shareholders through our expanded repurchase program announced today. The Itmann Mine begins the next phase of our evolution, as we are now focusing on strategic and controlled growth as an additional avenue to increase our per-share value.”

CONSOL is projecting the mine will produce more than 2.5 million tons of met coal a year.

At one time, the Itmann Coal Company that ran the operation before employed up to 2,000 workers.

Wyoming County Circuit Clerk David ‘Bugs’ Stover said Wyoming County could reap considerable benefits from the mine.

“They’re going to re-open and mine some coal there and hire up to 400 people when it maxes out which is outstanding. We get the severance tax from the coal which is a good thing because it’s metallurgical coal.”

He went on “the future is up for us in this county. We are diversifying and coal is making a comeback. We have several mines that may open in the next few years. We hope that the conditions stay good so they can open up.”