Consol paying $44 million to get rid of W.Va. mines

Consol Energy Inc. is paying a Kentucky firm $44 million to take two coal mines off its hands and assume the liabilities of closing the West Virginia properties.

Cecil-based Consol announced in a public filing on Monday that it has made a deal with Southeastern Land LLC, a company registered to James Booth, a Kentucky business mogul and longtime coal entrepreneur.

The deal involves Consol’s Miller Creek mine complex in Mingo and Logan counties and its Fola operations in Clay, Fayette and Nicholas counties. Consol said in a statement that Southeastern would take on $103 million in environmental liabilities for the two assets.

Miller Creek, which is still operating albeit at diminished capacity, produced 2.1 million tons of coal last year. Fola has been shut down since 2012.

Consol, whose spokesman Brian Aiello said the deal “represents the final piece of our coal divestment strategy,” has been working for years to evolve into an oil and gas exploration and production company.

“(This) exits us from Central

Appalachia and surface mining and the associated risk profile,” Mr. Aiello wrote on Monday.

The company still has three mines in its Bailey complex in southwestern Pennsylvania, which is operated by a spinout, CNX Coal Resources.

On Monday, CNX Coal reported earnings of $2.6 million for the second quarter of 2016, down from $10 million during the same three months last year.

Consol Energy Inc. is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings on Tuesday morning.