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Joy Global has agreed to buy LeTourneau Technologies from Rowan Companies for $1 billion in cash.
LeTourneau produces earthmoving equipment for surface mining and makes drilling equipment for the mining, oil and gas sectors. The company is a top manufacturer of large-wheel loaders, and boasts the industry's largest model sizes and payload capacities, according to Joy. It is the only manufacturer of electric drive loaders.
LeTourneau's mining and drilling units had 2010 revenue of $259-million and $556-million respectively.
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Local residents were able to hear about some of the bills currently before Congress straight from one of the individuals elected to represent them in Washington, D.C. Congressman David McKinley held a town hall meeting in Weirton's Millsop Community Center on Tuesday, hoping to discuss some of the legislation making its way through the halls of the U.S. Capitol, as well as to hear some of the residents' concerns.
The Republican has hosted two previous town hall meetings within the 1st District. There also have been three telephone town halls, one of which the congressman said included 14,000 participants.
He said many issues have been brought up during those events, but he feels they all end up pointing back to one thing. "It's all about jobs," McKinley said. "You can call it anything, it's all about jobs."
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“It’s appropriate and right that the first focus of the report is on the miners themselves – the 29 men who were lost that terrible day and the one miner who is seriously injured – because we must never forget that they and their families have paid a terrible price.
“We welcome the thoroughness and comprehensiveness of the report and will be reviewing it in detail in the days and weeks ahead. We also look forward to the other three reports that will be issued this year so that everyone can get as full a picture as possible as to the causes of this explosion and take steps to ensure that our mines are operated safely every single day.
“That’s our goal and there have been great strides made over the years to improve safety and working conditions. But we know that we must continue those advancements and we’ll be working with a wide range of interested parties to achieve those objectives.”
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MetroNews
West Virginia Coal Association Chairman Gary White says if the coal industry isn't crippled by federal regulators, bright days could lie ahead.
http://www.wvmetronews.com/
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Some of the nation's fuels would be required to contain a minimum volume derived from coal under a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republican Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said Thursday that using coal to produce fuels for vehicles, machinery and aircraft would further reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil. She says it also would create good-paying jobs and increase the nation's energy security.
Democrat Nick Rahall is a co-sponsor of the bill.
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MetroNews - May 11, 2011
Speakers from the Appalachian coalfields delivered a scathing rebuke to the federal EPA during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. The subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held the public hearing EPA mining Policies; Assault on Appalachian Jobs Part II.
Among those testifying was West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts who told committee members the threat to the West Virginia coal industry through actions of the Obama administration is severe.
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WV Gazette
John McCoy
GLEN JEAN, W.Va. -- The head man at West Virginia's New River Gorge National River park minces no words when it comes to the sprawling Boy Scout center being developed nearby.
"This is absolutely a game-changer for West Virginia, and also for the New River Gorge area," said Don Striker, the park's superintendent.
Developers of the Summit Bechtel Family National Scouting Reserve expect it to attract roughly 100,000 people a year to the gorge. Striker expects the influx of visitors to dramatically raise the park's profile.
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Wheeling News-Register
WHEELING - Rep. Shelley Moore Capito has joined a Republican initiative to "heat up" efforts toward a national energy policy.
Capito, R-W.Va., recently stood with Republican leaders to announce the creation of "HEAT," the House Energy Action Team.
HEAT members plan to push the American Energy Initiative - the GOP's version of a national energy policy - which has three goals, according to Capito. She said HEAT hopes to stop government policies driving up gas prices; to expand American energy production to lower costs and create more jobs; and to promote an "all of the above" strategy to increase use of all forms of American energy.
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GILBERT -- The technology to convert coal to oil, diesel fuel and gasoline has been around for more than 60 years. During World War II, Nazi Germany ran its economy largely on fuel derived from the coal mines of the Ruhr. Since World War II, the technology has languished in large part due to the availability of cheap oil. Today, however, as the nation and the world cast a worried eye at the reliability of oil supplies from the troubled Middle East and as the price of that oil has topped $100 a barrel, more and more people are asking why America isn't making better use of its own resources -- such as our plentiful coal supplies -- to lessen our dependence on foreign oil.Enter Transgas ... a company developed to commercialize coal-to-liquids technology.
"We are dedicated to independence, and we have seen in the past 30 years the increase in American dependency on foreign oil,” he said. “To convert coal to gas, we have had the technology for quite a few years and have had the skilled labor for it; yet, for multiple reasons, they have chosen to ignore our country’s assets. This ends today in Mingo County,” said Adam Victor, owner and president of Transgas.
Victor joined local and state political and economic development leaders Monday for the groundbreaking and dedication of a state-of-the-art coal-to-liquids production facility in Mingo County.
The Adams Fork Energy plant will be located on a 300-acre former surface mine near Wharncliffe . Construction is expected to begin in July and be completed in 2015. It is expected to result in some 3,000 construction jobs during the construction phase, with 300 permanent direct and approximately 1,000 indirect jobs once production begins. The plant is expected to produce 6.5 million barrels (273 million gallons) of synthetic gasoline per year, by converting 2.7 million tons of coal per year. By comparison, the United States uses approximately 20.6 million barrels of oil per day. The project has been in the works for nearly seven years.
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