Cleveland, Ohio-based Cliffs Natural Resources said Friday that regulatory agencies have denied a remediation plan designed to address detected levels of carbon monoxide at Cliffs' Pinnacle Mine in West Virginia. If the plan had been approved, Cliffs would be able to resume underground mining operations at its Pinnacle Mine. Operations were halted in late May due to detected levels of carbon monoxide.
In a press release, Cliffs said that it is considering an appeal of the regulatory agencies' decision, but unless other options prove effective, it does not expect underground operations to resume prior to Q4 2011. Before the shutdown last month, Cliffs had anticipated producing over 1 million tons of low-volatile metallurgical coal at the Pinnacle Mine in the last six months of 2011.