How recently? Try in the harrowing months following the disaster at the Upper Big Branch mines in Montcoal, WV, that took place on April 5, 2010 and claimed the lives of 29 miners at a Massey Coal subsidiary that had been repeatedly cited for failure to ventilate properly or keep coal dust under control.
Everyone took some heat as a result of this catastrophe, but Massey was the main recipient. And the company that came to their rescue by acquiring them was Alpha Natural Resources. There are many of us who believe the whole idea behind this was to take Massey off the hot seat after a lot of experts concluded it was their failure to adequately see to safety measures at Upper Big Branch that lead to the disaster in the first place.
Alpha was out some $7.1 billion in taking control of Massey in a deal that gave former shareholders of Massey 46% of the new company, and Alpha shareholders the remaining 54%. And that answers another question: How big is Alpha Natural Resources now? Considerably bigger than before they swallowed the gargantuan Massey whole.
Consider that the new version of Alpha now has the second largest reserves of coal in the country. That would be some 5 billion tons spread out from the Appalachian coal fields to the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. Their assets include 150 mines and 40 prep plants. Alpha’s pro forma revenue in 2010 was around $6.9 billion. It’s 14,000 or so employees can produce around 120 million tons of coal annually.
All of which makes me wonder why such a large company would come to Pike County with hat in hand, looking for money from local governments that are barely able to keep the wolves from their doors.
Pike County, for instance, was willing to put up $3 million dollars to build an office for Alpha at Scott’s Branch Industrial site just a little after considering, but then rejecting, an occupational tax on county residents so it could break even. County workers got laid off and needed services were curtailed, but this money was approved because word was the County had only a week or so in which to act.
Alpha ultimately rejected Pike County’s offer of cash, but Pikeville is now in line to donate some funds to them. The city is willing to loan $170,000 to this billion dollar corporation so they can renovate an office building. The city is also willing to forego a sizable chunk of their occupational taxes for a few years.
In the Old Testament, the Prophet Nathan was charged with getting David to see the wrong he’d done when he sent Uriah the Hittite to his death in battle so he could marry Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. Nathan told David of a rich man who had many sheep and of a poor man who had but one lamb. When the rich man wanted to prepare a feast for friends, he took the poor man’s one possession.
That’s how Alpha must view local governments; as sheep, ready, and all too willing, to be fleeced.
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