By Associated Press
Alabaster, AL – The owner of a coal strip-mining operation near Alabaster has received state permits to begin operations. The nearly 1,300 acre site could produce as much as one million tons of coal annually.
Jasper-based Cherokee Mining was granted permits from the Surface Mining Commission and Department of Environmental Management to begin surface mining at Segco Mine Number 1. Its located about mile from Shelby County 270 and Shelby County 91.
Randy Johnson, state Surface Mining Commission director, said rising oil prices and a higher demand for coal is driving the activity.
The company said the mine will create 104 jobs and 35 spinoff jobs. Segco joins several coal mines in Shelby County where operations have started in recent years.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)