CHARLESTON, W.Va.
Massey Energy Co. says it's idling an eastern Kentucky mine that federal regulators had sought to close as a serial violator of safety laws.
Virginia-based Massey announced the closure of the Freedom Energy Mine on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Labor had filed an unprecedented lawsuit seeking to close the troubled mine Nov. 3.
The action was the agency's first attempt to obtain an injunction to protect coal miners.
Massey says the mine was safe, but decades of mining left vast workings that were difficult to maintain. Some employees will remain to recover equipment, but others will shift to other mines.
Read more:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JR8M080.htm
