Blackjewel Still Seeking Funding to Reopen Mines in Campbell County
Blackjewel, LLC, the company that owns the shuttered Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte mines in Campbell County, is still negotiating with potential lenders, according to a status report it filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Meanwhile, it has spent $3 million of its $5 million emergency funding to secure the property against loss at these and other mines it owns, according to the status report.
The Milton, West Virginia-based Blackjewel received the $5 million emergency funding after two unsuccessful attempts to secure $20 million two weeks ago, and received it with as part of an agreement under which CEO Jeff Hoops Sr., resigned.
On July 1, after failing to secure the first $20 million, Blackjewel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy business reorganization; closed Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte, and the mines it operates in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia; and sent hundreds of miners home without notification.
The miners, led by a Campbell County miner, have since filed a class-action lawsuit against Blackjewel, saying it violated the terms of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Friday, Blackjewel, creditors, attorneys and other interested parties met during a telephone conference in the bankruptcy court for a status conference, during which Judge Frank Volk said the Mills-based Wyoming Machinery Co. has received assurances that its equipment at the mines is secure.
The attorneys for Blackjewel said they expect to provide another status report about possible financing by Wednesday.