New Elk Coal Co (# 0066)

New Elk Cola mine. Not far past Cokedale, what appeared to be an ongoing current mining operation. Searching around on the web, though, the most recent information that I could find was that the company owning the mine filed for bankruptcy in 2014 due to changes in the market for coal. I could not find information regarding whether it has reemerged from bankruptcy and is back in operation.

From my years of exploring around mining towns in the west, mining seems to be generally a very unstable market with periods of rapid growth, then over-production and reduced demand, then bankruptcies, and then a repeat of the cycle. The main constant, all too often, is companies being able to walk away from the consequences of their environmental destruction.