By Bryce Gray

March 1, 2020 - The bankrupt owner of St. Louis-based coal company Foresight Energy has signaled that it plans to shut down a Macoupin County, Illinois mine.

The likely closure was first made public earlier this week, when Murray Energy — the Ohio-based coal producer that owns a controlling stake of Foresight — disclosed a fresh round of documents amid its ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy and reorganization. The release featured an internal company presentation from January that stated that its Shay No. 1 Mine complex near Carlinville, Illinois, about an hour north of St. Louis, is scheduled to be shut down in the first quarter of the year "due to its inability to operate profitably and ongoing issues with coal quality."

The complex began production in 2009, and is one of Foresight's four operations across Southern Illinois.