Consol Mine in Washington County May Idle

Consol Energy could idle Mine 84 located in Amwell Township as early as March 5th putting 260 workers—at least temporarily—out of work. The energy group issued a WARN notice (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) on Friday saying layoffs could begin in 60 days. The site switched from mining steam-generating coal, to metallurgical coal in 2008 due to the geological state of the coal seam. Consol spokesman Tom Hoffman says the drop in the demand for steel has caused a drop in the demand for metallurgical coal and caused the impending Mine 84 idle. In fall 2008, metallurgical coal sold for $150 a ton. Hoffman says now it cannot be sold at all.