Black Castle Coal Mine
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Black Castle Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Julian, Boone County, West Virginia, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Black Castle Coal Mine | Julian, Boone County, West Virginia, United States[1] | 38.01, -81.57 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[1] | – | 1990[1] | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 0.05776770733[2] | 2025[2] | Surface[2] | Open Pit[2] | – | 75* | 17[2] |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | Appalachia | Bituminous | – | – |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Black Castle Mining Co LLC [100.0%][1] | Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc | USA |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 1.6[1] | 1.1[1] | 0.64[1] | 0.1[1] | 0.0[1] | 0.06[1] | 0.14[1] | – | 0.06[2] |
Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker August 2026 release.
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
Black Castle Surface Mine is a surface coal mine located near Sylvester, in Boone County, West Virginia. The mine is operated by Black Castle Mining Co., a subsidiary of Massey Energy. The mine had 252 workers, operating six days per week and producing an average of 11,700 tons of coal daily from six separate pits.[3]
In April 2009 Massey idled the Mine, citing "market conditions." A skeleton crew is currently keeping the mine going. Massey Energy Executives plan to take a look at the overall mine plan. The goal is to continue to bring small groups of workers back as demand increases.[4] In June 2012 Alpha said it was scaling back production at the Black Castle Surface Mine as well as the Republic Surface Mine, due to a declining 2012 export market for Europe.[5]
- MSHA ID: 4607009
- Operator: Black Castle Mining
- Controller: Massey Energy Company
- Union:
- County: Boone
- State: WV
- GPS Coordinates: 38.01, -81.57
- 2007 Production (short tons): 1,337,541
- Coal Type: Bituminous
- Mining Method: Underground
- Mine Status: Active
- Average No. of Employees: 101
Contact Details
Black Castle Mining Co.
Sylvester, West Virginia
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 "Mine Data Retrieval System". Mine Health and Safety Administration. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20260701051244/https://www.msha.gov/data-and-reports/statistics/mine-employment-and-coal-production. Archived from the original on 01 July 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Coal Mine Fatal Accident Investigation Report", Mine Safety and Health Administration website, February 1, 2006
- ↑ Amanda Barren, "Massey Energy Idles Black Castle Mine, 300 Affected" WSAZ 3 News Channel, April 10, 2009
- ↑ Vicki Smith, "Alpha set to close 2 W.Va. mines, cut back at others," Associated Press, June 28, 2012.
