Alpha Metallurgical Resources Expects Delays in Coal Shipments

By Sabela Ojea

Alpha Metallurgical Resources said Friday that it expects delays in thousands of tons of vessel and coal shipments due to a production halt at a mine and a mechanical failure at a plant.
The Bristol, Tenn.-based mining company, with operations across Virginia and West Virginia, said its Road Fork 52 mine temporarily halted production for six days to resolve a ventilation problem.

The mine is running at nearly one-third of capacity. It is expected to ramp back towards full capacity in the next few days, but the halt will result in a delay of shipments to its customers. The company expects to be able to make up these delayed tons in the third quarter.
A separate technical failure related to a stacker/reclaimer machine at the Dominion Terminal Associates facility in Virginia, in which Alpha holds a 65% interest, created vessel loading delays for roughly 250,000 short tons of Alpha shipments for export customers.
The plant remained inoperable for approximately three days while repairs were being made, and Alpha anticipates being able to fulfill these shipments in early July.
Both separate issues have now been resolved, Alpha said, noting that the stacker/reclaimer is now back to full capacity.
Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix