Records show Massey paid $5.1 million for coal reserves from bankrupt rival

CHARLESTON, W.Va.  — Court records show Richmond, Va.-based Massey Energy paid more than $5.1 million for the 23 million tons of coal reserves and other assets acquired from a bankrupt rival.

The records list six mines, a processing plant and permits for the Fayette County operations. Government records indicate the mines and processing plant are not in operation.

Massey made the acquisition from Ashland, Ky.-based Appalachian Fuels, which filed for bankruptcy last summer.

More than half the reserves contain metallurgical coal for making steel, and Massey said it intended to resume mining some of them when it announced the purchase Wednesday.

Massey operates mines in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.