More on West Virginia
Since NAG acquired Appalachia Coal it has become of great interest what happens "on the other side of the fence"
at Alpha Natural Resources. As I wrote yesterday, the Whitetail Kittanning Mine operated by Kingwood Mining of Tunnelton, W.V., a subsidiary of Alpha, has been shut down as of the end of December 2008 because of unresolvable tunnel roofing safety issues.
In my mind this cannot impact NAG in a negative way as some readers suggested yesterday.
On the contrary. NAG is getting into strip mining so tunneling is simply a non issue. What impacts NAG, now that it is launching itself into the coal business in West Virginia, are the larger issues of the global economic crisis, hence the shrinking demand and drop in the price of coal. On Thursday, February 5, Alpha's management will host a conference call to discuss their most recent quartertly results and the outlook for the company. This can be very informative for NAG, since the outlook for Alpha is basically the outlook for the coal business in West Virginia.
Hopefully, NAG's management will find the wisdom, perseverence and resourcefulness in these perilous times. It is also hoped that the directors will take to heart that it is to their shareholders that they are ultimately accountable; transparency and accurate reporting of events and data will go a long way in building confidence among present and potential investors in the Company.
at https://www.alphanr.com