A local mining company is offering a substantial cash reward following a recent series of intentional damage to its property.
Brookwood’s Warrior Met Coal is offering $10,000 to any individual who provides information to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department which directly leads to an arrest and conviction of the responsible individuals. Warrior Met Coal’s action is in response to damage to electrical transmission and distribution equipment located on its property on the evenings of May 15, June 1 or June 12 of this year.
Damage done to the equipment impacted public utility service and could have endangered the health and safety of workers, according to the company.
Patrick Cagle, president of the Alabama Mining Association (AMA), spoke to those health and safety risks in a release from his organization.
“Our industry’s greatest responsibility is to ensure the health and safety of our workforce and our neighbors in the communities where we operate,” Cagle remarked. “These incidents were serious threats to Warrior’s team and the surrounding area, and we encourage anyone with information to contact the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office so this reckless behavior can be stopped.”
AMA encouraged anyone with information that may assist law enforcement in their investigation into these incidents should contact the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 205-464-8652.
Warrior Met Coal is a leading producer and exporter of metallurgical coal for the global steel industry from underground mines located in the Yellowhammer State. The company currently has the operational capacity to mine about 8 million tons of coal per year from more than 300 million tons of recoverable reserves.
Alabama’s met coal is especially important to the global steel industry due to its very low sulfur and strong coking properties. Around 70% of global steel production is dependent on met coal, according to AMA. Most of the met coal mined in Alabama is exported to steel makers in Europe, Asia, and South America through the Port of Mobile.
Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia
