Ian Lange, assistant professor of economics and business at Colorado School of Mines, was recently interviewed by Wyoming Public Media about a potential Westmoreland Coal Co. bankruptcy and the company's mine-mouth operations.
From the story:
Ian Lange, Assistant Professor and Director of the Mineral and Energy Economics Graduate Program at the Colorado School of Mines said mine-mouth operations also aren't the easiest to sell.
"Mine-mouth plants, in general, don't have rail access. They're there for the plants, and so if the plant's not there, then there's no point in the mine being there. You either have to build the rail line out there, try to chuck the coal somewhere, or find some other way to get the coal out," he said.