Survivors of the Buffalo Creek catastrophe sued Pittston for $65 million but in 1974 settled out of court with the company for $13.5 million. In 1972 a dam created with mine waste at a Pittston subsidiary's operation in Logan County, West Virginia collapsed, inundating 16 communities with more than 100 million gallons of black waste water 125 people were killed. Pittston, some of whose properties helped to create Alpha, was involved in one of the worst environmental disasters linked to the coal industry. Today Alpha operates 60 mines in northern and central Appalachia as well as the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. Joe Minerals in 1974, but in the 1980s it ended up under the control of engineering giant Fluor, which spun it off in 2000. Massey began mining coal after the Second World War but remained a minor player until the 1960s. coal producer.Īlpha became even larger after the 2011 acquisition of Massey Energy in the wake of that company's role in the Upper Big Branch mine disaster the year before (see below). The combined company became the third largest U.S. A planned merger with Cliffs Natural Resources fell apart in 2008, but the following year Alpha acquired Foundation Coal Holdings, which gave it a presence in western strip mining. After the completion of that process, Pittston changed its name to The Brink's Company.Īfter the Pittston deal, Alpha proceeded to purchase other coal properties and went public in 2005. It also made acquisitions in other sectors, most notably the Brink's armored car business in the 1950s.įollowing a bitter labor dispute in the late 1980s (see below) and poor financial results, Pittston decided to get out of the mining business, selling its coal properties to various buyers. Pittston survived the collapse of the Van Sweringen empire during the Depression and went on to purchase other mining companies, becoming a leader in the production of metallurgical coal for the steel industry. Pittston had its roots in Pennsylvania's anthracite mining industry in the 19th century but was officially founded in 1930 by the Alleghany Corporation, a holding company for the Cleveland-based tycoons, the Van Sweringen brothers.
A lesser known acquisition, Foundation Coal, also had its share of controveries.Īlpha was formed in 2002 when the private equity firm First Reserve acquired most of the Virginia coal operations of the Pittston Company.
RISE OF INDUSTRY TORRENT ALPHA 5 SERIES
coal producer put together through a series of acquisitions that included two of the most controversial names in mining: Pittston Coal and Massey Energy, each of which were known for environmental disasters, deadly mine accidents and union-busting. Alpha Natural Resources is the non-descript name of a leading U.S.
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