Alabama Coal Production Dips Slightly.

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Alabama coal production fell slightly during the state's fiscal second quarter, after both surface and underground operations excavated less of the mineral.

Total production for the three months ended March 30 was 5.1 million tons. That was down from 5.3 million tons in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 30.

The seven underground mines produced 3.1 million tons, led by the 1.2 million tons mined by the Jim Walter Resources No. 7 mine in Tuscaloosa County. The mine employs about 800 people inside and outside.

Surface mines produced 2 million tons. The production leader among the dozens of operations was the Taft Coal Sales Choctaw mine in Walker County, with 303,000 tons. The mine employs 86 people.

Alabama produces about 20 million tons of coal each year, selling it to utility companies that burn it for electricity and steelmakers that need it for their process.

Russell Hubbard --