Coal’s Decline Seems Impervious to Trump’s Promises
“I don’t know if there are that many new policies, but many of the policies that were threatening the industry are no longer in play.”
Nationwide, there was a 1 percent increase in coal mining jobs last year, to just over 50,000, mostly
because of an increase in mining metallurgical coal for export to Asia.
William Laviolette, a 26-year-old maintenance worker at the mine who made roughly $55,000 last year, said
that if he didn’t find another mine job, he would go back to school to get his high school degree.
“It‘s a major impact — it’s tax revenue, it’s jobs, it’s the housing market,” said Mr. Zimmerman, a former coal mine worker and a Democrat.
“It’s just come to a point where the mine is not economical to continue,” said Brian Osborn,
senior vice president for operations for Mepco Holdings, owner of the 4 West mine.
BOBTOWN, Pa. — When Nic Zmija applied for a job at the 4 West coal mine three years ago, he was tantalized by a fat raise and a secure future.
As aging coal-fired power plants are shut — roughly 20 of 380 have closed or are in the process of shutting since Mr. Trump
took office — coal’s share of the nation’s power mix has plummeted from nearly half in 2008 to roughly a third today.
Its coal seam is thin and of lower quality than competing mines, and its traditional form of mining requires costly methods to stabilize roofs to protect against the kind of accidents
that caused the deaths of two miners at 4 West over the last three years.