
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 25, 1990                   TAG: 9003251967
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, W.VA.                                LENGTH: Medium

UMW TOUTS NEW W.VA. PITTSTON MINE

The Pittston Co.'s plan to spend $27 million on a new surface mining operation in southern West Virginia was welcomed Saturday by a United Mine Workers official, despite the company's plan to use non-union miners.

Under an accord reached last month with the UMW, Pyxis Resources Co., a Pittston subsidiary, would be required to hire four UMW members for every five openings once the company employs 540 people.

The location of the new operation was not revealed in Friday's announcement.

"It's always good news when you hear a company is going to invest and make new jobs," said UMW District 17 President Robert Phalen. "Certainly it would be better news if they were starting it under the UMWA contract."

The new mine would bring the non-union arm of Pittston a step closer to hiring UMW members for the first time, officials said.

Pittston was the focus of a bitter 10-month strike by the UMW that ended last month.

The Pyxis Resources Co. operation would reduce about 1.5 million tons of low-sulfur coal each year, employing miners who worked as replacements during the strike, according to coal industry analysts quoted by the Charleston Daily Mail.

Pyxis employs 400 non-union miners in Virginia.

"I'm a little closed-mouth about it right now because we're not finalized," said Larry Miller, president of Pyxis Coal Sales Inc. "We want to do this right."

The newspaper quoted Pittston Chairman Paul Douglas as saying it would be located in Logan County, where Pittston already owns several million tons of coal reserves.

"The project will add significantly to the scale and profitability of Pittston's surface mining activities," Douglas said in the news release. "The new sales contract provides for appropriate pricing and cost escalation provisions."

Pittston Coal Group Inc. hopes to reach its 11-million-ton pre-strike production within the next few months, Douglas said.

The company will lose about 35 cents per share - more than $13 million - during 1990's first quarter, Douglas said. The company lost $13.5 million, or 36 cents per share, during 1989's last quarter.

by CNB