Blackjewel

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Blackjewel LLC is an American energy company which held a significant portion of the coal mines in the United States.[1] The company became of national importance after its 2019 bankruptcy filling and liquidation.[2][3] In 2021, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that the company was allowed to abandon assets without cleaning up the environmental damage of mines in its holdings.[1] These holdings included mountaintop removal, surface mines and coal refuse many of which had significant potential environmental and public health impacts.[1][2] For example, of 187 mining permits in Kentucky, 150 had 587 outstanding environmental violations,[2] many of which were did not have a bond to pay for cleanup.[4]

In part the large environmental legacy of the company was caused by the practice of former CEO in buying coal assets from companies that were not finding them economically viable.[1] Many of these were acquired from bankruptcies in 2014/2015.[2] At the time of the 2019 filing, the company had 1700 employees in Wyoming, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky coal countries.[1][4] These employees were left without any financial relief at their termination, spawning protests in Cumberland, Kentucky and Harlan County.[4]

Protests[]

This section is an excerpt from 2019 Harlan County coal miners' protest.[]
The 2019 Harlan County coal miners protest was a labor protest held by dozens of coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. The causes of the protest stemmed from the 2019 bankruptcy of Blackjewel Coal, a coal mining company that operated a mine in the county. Following the company's bankruptcy, former coal miners did not receive payment for several weeks of work, leading to many miners protesting by blocking a coal train on tracks in the county. The protest lasted from July 30 to September 28, with litigation continuing in bankruptcy courts.

Mines[]

Mines controlled by Blackjewel included:

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Bruggers, James (2021-03-20). "A Bankruptcy Judge Lets Blackjewel Shed Coal Mine Responsibilities in a Case With National Implications". Inside Climate News. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  2. ^ a b c d "A 'smoking hole in the ground': Blackjewel's coal bankruptcy plan raises concern". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  3. ^ "Lawyers liquidating Blackjewel coal company accuse founder of extracting millions in improper transactions - Lane Report | Kentucky Business & Economic News". Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  4. ^ a b c James, Connor. "Beyond Blackjewel: The impact of the infamous bankruptcy one year later". www.wymt.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.


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