Several other major coal producers have filed for bankruptcy protection this year, including Blackjewel Mining in West Virginia and Cloud Peak Energy in Wyoming.
Blackjewel, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 business bankruptcy protection on July 1 and sent hundreds of Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte workers home the same day.
Under the deal, West Virginia-based Blackjewel would sell the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines in northeast Wyoming to Eagle Specialty Materials, a subsidiary of Alabama-based FM Coal.