"This will be the first time coal is mined in Ohio County in 30 years," said state Sen. Andy McKenzie, R-Ohio. "It's going to be one of the largest openings of a coal mine in a long time."

Alliance Resource Partners, which owns a portion of the Pittsburgh No. 8 coal seam, has started its formal paperwork and permitting process to reopen the former Valley Camp mine, now called Tunnel Ridge LLC.

The Tunnel Ridge reserve area encompasses more than 50,000 acres in Ohio County and Washington County, Pa. It controls about 900 acres of surface land.

The longwall mine operations will be in Ohio County, and Alliance has said the mine could produce up to 6 million tons of coal each year. The operation will stretch from the mine, which is near the Pennsylvania state line, across Ohio County to a coal-loading facility along the Ohio River.

Alliance also operates the Mettiki and Mountain View coal operations in North-Central West Virginia.

$200 Million Investment

Residents should not look for the mine to open immediately, but Alliance has made its intentions known, McKenzie said.

"The permitting process takes a while, and I've been told early estimates are that the mine could open in 2007," he said.

The company is projecting about 300 new jobs with salaries averaging in the $50,000 to $55,000 range with benefits.

Tunnel Ridge is expected to be a $200 million investment venture over five years.

"This is major news for Ohio County," McKenzie said. "Every one job at the mine could produce another one or two spinoff jobs, so we're looking at potentially 1,000 new jobs because of the coal mine. And this is a new source of revenue for the county.

"... This will be the only active coal mine in Hancock, Brooke or Ohio counties, so this is pretty exciting," he said.

McKenzie said Alliance first started looking at the Valley Camp site five or six years ago.

Last year, the company indicated it was moving forward with its plans to begin mining coal in that area again.

"Just this week, they said they have a formal deal and are starting the permitting process, which is one of the last major hurdles," McKenzie said. "This is great news. This shows they are convinced this is a profitable mine."

Alliance estimated earlier this year that Tunnel Ridge could generate as much as $179 million in state severance taxes and $9 million in county severance taxes over the life of the mine.

Finding the Miners

Chris Hamilton, senior vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association and a Wheeling native, said Alliance's plans are exactly what the Northern Panhandle needs.

"This is exceptionally good news for the northern part of the state that has seen a great erosion of its industrial base over the years," Hamilton said, referring to a decline in steel jobs and other industrial and manufacturing employment.

Finding 300 miners should not be difficult, he said.

"The Northern Panhandle prides itself on the skill level and overall competence of its work force," Hamilton said. "Because of a slowdown in industrial jobs, many have had to find work elsewhere, and I think they would jump at the chance to get back to a stable, high-paying job."

In addition, Hamilton said new mining training academies are creating a new mining work force for West Virginia.

"Once the news becomes widespread in the county, I don't think they will have a problem recruiting workers," he said.

"The total investment of this project speaks to the commitment that Alliance Coal is making in West Virginia. It's extraordinary," Hamilton said. "It reflects the tremendous confidence they have in our government, the permitting process and the work force."