TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – US coal producer Patriot Coal on Tuesday issued 360 workers at the Corridor G mining complex near Danville, West Virginia, with Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices, giving them 60 days notice of potential layoffs.

"The combination of increasing [US Environmental Protection Agency] regulations, mild summer weather and low natural gas prices has resulted in thermal coal pricing at levels below operating costs at many Appalachian mines," Patriot president and CEO Bennett Hatfield said.

"Over the next two months, Corridor G management will further evaluate operations and staffing to assess their ability to produce coal at lower costs and determine the extent of actions to be taken. We deeply regret the impact these actions will have on our hard-working employees and neighbouring communities."

The Corridor G mining complex, which includes the Hobet 21 mine and the Beth Station preparation plant, had produced about 2.3-million tons of thermal coal in 2013.

At the end of April, mere months after announcing its emergence from an 18-month-long Chapter 11 reorganisation as a well-capitalised private company, Patriot announced that it had issued 60-day notices of potential layoffs to 847 West Virginia workers at two mining complexes.

North American coal miners are dealing with weak prices amid low demand for thermal electricity-making coal and metallurgical steelmaking coal as competition from the emerging shale gas industry impacts on markets.

Last month, US coal producer Alpha Natural Resources said eight of its affiliates had given about 1 100 employees, working at 11 West Virginia surface mines, notice that they would be laid off in three months.

Alpha joined other coal miners such as Consol Energy and Walter Energy that had, in recent months, either given notice to idle mines, or had shuttered operations, as they battled the stubbornly low coal prices.

Two significant Canadian development projects had also been placed on the back burner as a result of the low prices. Teck Resources had deferred restarting the Quintette coal mine, in north-east British Columbia, which had the potential to produce between three-million and four-million tonnes of steelmaking coal a year, until market conditions improved.

Australia’s Coalspur had also delayed its $478-million Vista project, in Alberta, which had the potential to become Canada’s largest thermal coal mine, while Walter Energy had idled three mines in British Columbia.