Murray Energy has stopped production at its Marion County mine in West Virginia because of poor market conditions, the company confirmed Wednesday.
The mine was idled at midnight Tuesday and production is expected to stop for about two weeks, Murray said. The company said in a statement the move comes in response to increased natural gas generation and tighter federal emissions rules for power plants.
The mine will continue to process and ship coal during the idling and service to customers will not be interrupted, Murray said.
In 2013, Murray bought Marion County, along with four other Northern Appalachian mines in West Virginia, from Consol in a $3.5 billion deal.
Marion County produces coal at about 13,000 Btu/lb and 4.8 lbs SO2/MMBtu.
US Mine Safety and Health Administration data shows Marion County produced 6.48 million st in 2015, down from 6.57 million st in 2014.
Production at Marion County spiked to 1.88 million st in Q4 2015, when utility coal demand dipped because of warm weather and lower natural gas prices.
Combined, Murray's five former Consol mines -- Marion County, Ohio County, Marshall County, Harrison County and Monongalia County -- produced almost 33.3 million st in 2015.
