The shutdown of a coal mine just days before Christmas has left nearly 200 workers without jobs.
The Crown III mine just south of Springfield closed on December 20. Its operators had warned of the closure in October because a major customer, Archer Daniels Midland Company, didn’t renew a contract. But the workers learned only days earlier that they wouldn’t receive an extension of basic health insurance as they had hoped. They’re now scrambling to replace jobs that often paid more than $60,000 a year.
United Mine Workers of America officials say the closure was as “confusing as a tornado.” The mine’s owner, Springfield Coal Co., didn’t return messages seeking comment.