Ohio-based Cliffs, which sold its three-mine Logan County complex in southern West Virginia to Coronado Coal earlier this year, is now “working hard” to sell its Oak Grove operation in Alabama as well as the Pinnacle underground mine in West Virginia.
“We continue to work diligently with interested buyers toward a deal, which we expect to announce in the very near future,” he said during the teleconference.
When asked by a representative of Imperial Capital if he was optimistic about the potential divestiture, and if there was anything “new in the marketplace” that was fueling his confidence, Goncalves answered in the affirmative.
“So far since I joined Cliffs, there was only one meaningful transaction in the coal market, and that was the sale of Logan County for cash, and nobody was expecting that one,” he said. “So…stay tuned, because we are working hard to get that deal [for Oak Grove and Pinnacle] done.”
Both Pinnacle and Oak Grove are active operations and continue to produce coal; according to federal data, the former produced 476,501 tons in the second quarter, while the latter reported 557,459 tons during the period.
Pinnacle output was down year-on-year, while Oak Grove had jumped about 32% during the same comparable period.
